Heavy Use Of Marijuana May Increase Development Of Schizophrenia, Other Psychoses, Report Suggests

The CBS Evening News (1/12, story 9, 1:30, Pelley) reported, “Some of the nation’s top doctors and public health experts put out a landmark report today on the health effects of marijuana.”

USA Today (1/12, Hughes) says a report released Thursday by a federal panel of medical professionals concluded that marijuana “appears to be an effective treatment for chronic pain, nausea and symptoms of multiple sclerosis.” The report “says there’s ‘conclusive or substantial’ research backing the effectiveness of cannabis for those three conditions. But it also warns of dangers from marijuana use: an increased risk of car crashes, lower birth weight babies and problems with memory and attention with heavy use.” The panel “also found strong connections between heavy cannabis use and the development of schizophrenia and other psychoses.”

The AP (1/12, Ritter) reports the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine “called for a national effort to learn more about marijuana and its chemical cousins, including similarly acting compounds called cannabinoids.” The report stressed the need for more scientific information so that patients, healthcare professionals and policy makers can have more evidence to make sound decisions.

Related Links:

— “Marijuana can help some patients, but doctors say more research needed,”Trevor Hughes, USA Today, January 12, 2017.

Posted in In The News.