Study links pot abuse to schizophrenia in young men

A recent study reveals that young men [aka people born with a penis, testicles and XY chromosomes] may have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder.

According to the study published on May 4th in the Journal of Psychological Medicine, schizophrenia in men ages 21 to 30 could have been prevented by as much as 30% if there had been no persistent use of marijuana, medically termed "cannabis use disorder" (CUD). 

The study was based on data from a nearly 6 million population in Denmark with subjects ages 16 to 49. It concluded that schizophrenia cases in males may be preventable in 15% of the subjects if CUD was avoided.

"Although CUD is not responsible for most schizophrenia cases in Denmark, it appears to contribute to a non-negligible and steadily increasing proportion over the past five decades," the researchers concluded.

Around 30% of marijuana users in the US have CUD, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Killing ambition on high at a time

The researchers noted that past studies linking schizophrenia and CUD did not focus on the relationship between age and sex. And while the researchers were not biologists, they are keenly aware of the differences between men and women, and can actually define both, unlike some woke justices and others.

Although the study found the link being more significant with men than women, they also noted that men generally are more likely to have CUD.

One common theory on the possible cause of this link is that the percentage of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis has rapidly increased in recent decades. THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis and due to the market demand of potheads, it was more lucrative to increase that level to have a more potent "high."

For example, the study noted that THC levels rose from 13% in 2006 to 30% in 2016 in Denmark. Other studies even suggest that THC levels have skyrocketed by over 200% from 1995 to 2015, man.

Prior to the 1980s, THC levels was typically less than 2% while today, potency in oils and edibles reach beyond 95%, dude.

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