People who regularly use cannabis, a drug that depresses the nervous system, are more likely to develop mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression, and even more serious ones such as psychosis or schizophrenia. This has been revealed by a study carried out by members of the University of Birmingham and the Institute for Applied Health Research (UK).
The work has been based on one of the largest cohorts ever explored in this field, specifically, in the records of 787 consultations of general practitioners in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 2018. In total, data was obtained from 28,218 people who consume cannabis in the form of hashish or marijuana, and were compared with 56,208 participants who were not taking this drug.
The results, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, showed that those who used cannabis on a regular basis were three times more likely to end up developing mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, and almost seven times more likely to develop psychosis and schizophrenia.
Using cannabis has been associated with a history of using other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines
On the other hand, it was also found that people who tend to smoke cannabis also had much higher rates of having a history of using other types of drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines.
Believing that cannabis is a safe drug is a mistake
As Clara Humpston, lead author of the research, explains, “Cannabis is often considered to be one of the ‘safer’ drugs and has also shown promise in medical therapies, leading to calls for its legalization worldwide. . Although we cannot establish a direct causal relationship, our findings suggest that we should continue to exercise caution, as the notion that cannabis is a safe drug may be wrong.”
Therefore, the authors believe that these results should be taken into account and it is necessary to adopt measures to prevent and detect drug use, in addition to implementing support measures that help avoid the harmful consequences of this consumption for health.
Researchers have reported that future studies on this topic will need to look more closely at the amounts of cannabis consumed or the potency of ingredients and their direct effects on mental health.
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