Chronic cannabis use raises the risk of major depression and bipolar disorder by up to FOUR TIMES

Chronic cannabis use significantly increases the risk of mental health problems and personality disorders, a large study suggests.

Research of more than 6.6 million people in Denmark found that those addicted to marijuana were up to four times more likely to be diagnosed with major depression or bipolar disorder.

They looked at people with a cannabis use disorder (CUD), defined as an inability to stop using the drug, even if it harms their health and social life.

The number of cases of depression has increased in recent decades, in connection with the growing and aging population. But the researchers warn that it’s becoming more common as marijuana becomes more legal. It can be used recreationally in 22 US states.

The researchers found that 14 percent of people with a cannabis use disorder were later diagnosed with bipolar disorder

Researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark analyzed the medical records of people born between 1995 and 2021.

All participants were at least 16 years old. They also all came from Denmark, where recreational cannabis use is illegal but still available through the black market.

Participants’ medical records were reviewed for cannabis use disorders, history of major depression, with and without psychotic features, and bipolar disorder with and without psychotic features.

Major depression is defined as feeling down or disinterested in activities you previously enjoyed for more than two weeks.

Bipolar disorder is a condition that causes episodes of mood swings that range from depressive lows to manic highs.

Psychotic features such as delusions, hallucinations, incoherent talking, and agitation can accompany both disorders.

Approximately 56,000 participants had a cannabis use disorder.

About 41 percent of those individuals were diagnosed with major depression. Nearly all (96 percent) of those diagnoses were nonpsychotic major depression.

The risks of major depression were highest immediately after diagnosis of a cannabis use disorder, but they remained “significantly elevated five to 10 years after CUD,” the researchers said.

Approximately 56,000 participants had a cannabis use disorder. About 41 percent of those individuals were diagnosed with major depression

Nearly all (96 percent) of major depression diagnoses were for nonpsychotic depression

The findings are consistent with previous research showing significant links between cannabis use and depression, but not bipolar disorder

They also found that 14 percent of individuals with a cannabis use disorder were later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Again, most patients (90 percent) had non-psychotic bipolar disorder.

A cannabis use disorder was associated with a higher risk of any form of bipolar disorder in men, with men three times more likely to suffer from the condition than 2.5 times more women.

This was the same for non-psychotic bipolar disorder, where male chronic cannabis users were three times more likely to be diagnosed and female users were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed.

The findings are consistent with previous research showing significant links between cannabis use and depression, but not bipolar disorder.

The results point to a ‘predominantly psychotogenic effect of cannabis’, meaning that it can cause a psychotic reaction, including delusions, delirium and hallucinations.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, acts on cannabinoid receptors and is thought to increase the risk of psychosis by disrupting the normal functioning of the part of the brain that processes information and dictates behavior.

The researchers noted that “a coherent model for how cannabis may influence the development of affective disorders is lacking.”

Evidence that quitting cannabis use can reduce the risk of being diagnosed with a mental health disorder is also lacking, they said.

They said their findings show a need for “improved knowledge about the dose-dependent effects of cannabis use on brain, cognition and behavior” and have implications for the legalization of cannabis.

The research has been published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Several studies have found links between cannabis and schizophrenia in the past, although the exact cause is not clear.

Marijuana can cause psychosis, affecting the way you think, make decisions, deal with emotions, and deal with reality.

It can also interfere with brain development in young people.

But it may be that people who are schizophrenic simply use cannabis to relieve their symptoms.