Study cannabis do not smoke a trigger but result of schizophrenia?

Does cannabis cause schizophrenia or does schizophrenic use cannabis??
Researchers now tried to better understand the connection between schizophrenia and cannabis. In their investigation, they found that there is strong evidence for the use of cannabis as a type of self-therapy in many patients with schizophrenia. So far, physicians had assumed that the abuse of cannabis leads to schizophrenia. Now, however, the situation is clearly different.

Researchers at the University of Bristol found in an investigation that patients with schizophrenia often use cannabis as a means of self-therapy. For a long time, medical professionals had assumed that cannabis increased the risk of schizophrenia. The physicians published the contrasting results of their study now in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Many physicians argue that the use of cannabis greatly increases the risk of schizophrenia. However, new results now show that schizophrenic people use cannabis more often to use it for self-medication. (Image: alco81 / fotolia.com)

Schizophrenic people often smoke cannabis
Cannabis users are at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, say physicians. However, the causal relationship has remained unclear so far. The new study found that people with schizophrenia are more prone to cannabis use. "There was strong evidence for a causal effect of schizophrenia on the likelihood of cannabis initiation," explain the physicians.

Highly potent cannabis strains are especially dangerous
Already for some time now there have been warnings that cannabis users are at an increased risk of developing psychosis. Especially cannabis strains with a high THC content seem to be at increased risk, say the experts. These varieties have recently been used increasingly by young people and colloquially referred to as Skunk.

Risks of cannabis should not be exaggerated
However, the experts point out that the risks of cannabis should not be exaggerated. It would require a closer look at the links between mental health and illicit drugs beforehand. The current study from Bristol sheds new light on this topic. "Nevertheless, the results must take into account the wider context of other mental health factors," explain the authors.

Schizophrenic people use cannabis for self-medication
There was, indeed, some evidence to support hypotheses that saw the use of cannabis as contributing to increasing the risk of schizophrenia. What was surprising, however, was that stronger evidence was found that schizophrenic people are more likely to use cannabis. Cannabis could actually be used as a form of self-medication by patients with schizophrenia, the researchers add.

Study used research on genetic variants
A new research technique was used for the study. It used genetic variants to study the risk of cannabis and the risk of schizophrenia. The technique has been used as an alternative to conventional observation epidemiology. So it is possible to consider other variants, which could influence the association, explain the researchers.

Heavy cannabis abuse leads to the greatest risk of schizophrenia
There was also some evidence of a causal effect of cannabis initiation on the risk of schizophrenia, the authors explain in the study. However, the evidence was significantly stronger for a causal effect of schizophrenia on the likelihood of cannabis initiation, the experts add. High levels of cannabis use appear to be most associated with the risk of schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that an existing risk of schizophrenia increases the likelihood of cannabis use. However, the relationship could work in both directions, explains author Dr. Suzi Gage. "Our results do not really allow us to accurately predict the size of the effect. But they can provide evidence that the relationship is actually causal and not the result of common risk factors, "adds Dr. Gage added.

Further research is needed
While we have found stronger evidence that schizophrenia risk affects cannabis use than vice versa, this does not rule out any causal risk to cannabis use on schizophrenia, says the physician. A real advance in research would be the use of genetic variants to predict the severity of cannabis use. It seems at present so, whether severe cannabis abuse is most associated with the risk of schizophrenia. (As)