Dr. Christian Thurstone spoke with NBC News for this report about teen marijuana use and growing concerns about the rising number of cases of cannabis-induced psychosis. From the report:
“As many as half of people with cannabis-induced psychosis may go on to develop either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, research suggests.
“Young adults and teenagers should be especially concerned, Thurstone said.
“’The studies that we have so far clearly indicate that the risk for psychosis is dose dependent, meaning that the more marijuana somebody’s exposed to especially in adolescence, the greater the risk of developing psychosis, schizophrenia and severe mental illness,’ he said.”
Dr. Thurstone first personally observed THC-induced psychosis in an adolescent patient in Colorado, shortly after the United States Department of Justice’s release on Oct. 19, 2009, of what is now commonly known in drug-policy-debate circles as “The Ogden Memo.” After the memo’s release, he was among the first physicians in the U.S. to warn that marijuana legalization could lead to increased rates of THC-induced psychosis. Dr. Thurstone and his wife periodically update this post about the subject.
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