Largest ever study on cannabis and mental health begins in London

King’s College London begins study of 6,000 people on cannabis and mental health

A London academic body has started a £2.5million study of the effects of marijuana on the brain.

One of the top 10 colleges in the UK, King’s College London, recently announced that it is about to begin research into the effects of cannabis on mental health. dr Medical Research Council (MRC) Senior Clinical Fellow Marta di Forti, who has previously worked on studies involving cannabis, will serve as lead investigator on the study.

“We want to reach out to everyone who uses marijuana, especially those who benefit. Without their help, the discussion about cannabis would remain divisive as we believe it is totally harmful and should be banned, and others claim that since it is a plant, it cannot have any negative consequences,” explained Dr Marta .

“Cannabis & Me (CAMe)” is the name of the study, and the sole sponsor is King’s College London. dr Martha Di Forti first presented the study to the Medical Research Council in 2019 and was awarded a $2.5 million grant in 2020 upon approval. “The pandemic had delayed the start until now. The project includes many partnerships and labs, all of which have been impacted by COVID-19. Finally everyone is ready to start,” said Dr. di Forti. The study will be conducted over five years, with preliminary results potentially being published in 2023 or expected in early 2024.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

according to dr di Forti, the people affected by cannabis are the clinical group that she attends to as a doctor; Therefore, the primary goal of the study is to understand why some marijuana users experience negative cognitive and psychological effects. We will use virtual reality to test whether or how cannabis affects perception of reality, added Dr. di Forti added. She continued, “If they can identify the biological and environmental factors that make a minority vulnerable to adverse effects from the daily use of cannabis, whether for recreational or medicinal purposes, they can authorize a safe prescription and side-effects assessment. “

Di Forti also stressed the need for more detail on potential downsides in addition to favorable outcomes. We can also provide more knowledge to the general population, she added, so that they can learn to recognize negative effects of cannabis use and avoid them altogether. Everyone in our community can recognize the harmful effects of binge drinking, but not everyone knows how to recognize the changes in their ability to process information, thinking, and reasoning that some cannabis users experience.

THE STUDY

In explaining the study objectives, the study authors recognized the need for additional research given the rapid increase in global consumers. This research focuses on examining the broader effects of marijuana use on the mental and physical well-being of marijuana users at a time when marijuana use is increasing worldwide. In addition, it seeks to locate biological and environmental variables that may account for the various effects cannabis use has on users, and specifically points out those who are more likely to face social and mental health problems.

The study will involve 6,000 volunteers who currently reside in the London area and must be between the ages of 18 and 45. In addition to participating in an online survey, they must also agree to a personal evaluation. a blood sample donation and a virtual reality session (which is used to analyze a person’s physiological response to certain conditions). Participation is subject to several critical limitations, including the requirement that the participant is not currently being treated for, and has no history of, a psychotic disorder.

Candidates are selected for in-person interviews based on their current marijuana use or their never or two-time use of marijuana.

MISINTERPRETATIONS AND PREVIOUS STUDIES

dr Martha di Forti has researched the link between marijuana use and psychotic illness in the past. She concluded that the “risk of people developing a psychotic state was about three times higher among users of skunk-like marijuana compared to people who had never used marijuana,” based on the results of a study from 2015. Di Forti disagrees with using study results to support anti-cannabis campaigns. Speaking to Cannabis Health, di Forti noted, “Sometimes the political debate surrounding cannabis has instrumentalized my research in a context that doesn’t necessarily represent my position, and that’s what bothers me.” People are throwing the idea at me now related that cannabis is harmful and that nobody should use it, which is not my opinion.

Another 2019 study built on the earlier one, concluding that daily use of high-potency marijuana “is strongly associated with the risk of developing mental illness.” If high-potency marijuana were no longer legal in Amsterdam and London, respectively, psychosis rates per 100,000 people per year would likely fall from 37.9 to 18.8 and from 45.7 to 31.9.

The Lancet Psychiatry, where the research was first published, responded by publishing an article that challenged the study’s causality premise.

The study authors claimed that their research and previous findings “show that marijuana use may be greater in individuals with a genetic predisposition that predisposes such people to marijuana use and the onset of psychotic illness.”

dr Di Forti is an accomplished and respected researcher, said Professor Mike Barnes, President of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society and Cannabis Industry Council. However, her research focused on the links between psychosis and recreational use of high THC.

He continued: I want to ensure that this research is not biased to support its previous findings. We must consider that the use of cannabis for medical purposes with a valid prescription carries almost no risk of psychosis, since the patient has undergone the necessary examinations and contains the drug CBD, which counteracts the THC “high”. This is a fascinating research study, provided the results and study recruitment were unbiased.

FINAL EFFECT

The study aims to help determine the relationship between cannabis and mental health, i.e. at what point cannabis begins to have a negative impact on mental health. It’s not meant to be an anti-cannabis stepping stone.

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