Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Cannabis use and the risk of later schizophrenia: a review
Filip Smit1, Linda Bolier, Pim Cuijpers
1Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, the Netherlands. fsmit@trimbos.nl
Aim:
To study the role of cannabis use in the onset of symptoms and disorders in the schizophrenia spectrum.
Design:
Review of five population-based, longitudinal studies on the relationship between cannabis use and problems ranging from the experience of psychotic symptoms to hospitalization with a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia. Several hypotheses are examined that may explain this relationship: (1) self-medication; (2) effects of other drugs; (3) confounding; (4) stronger effect in predisposed people, and (5) etiological hypothesis.
Findings:
Hypotheses 1 and 2 can be dismissed; hypothesis 3 is still open to debate, and converging evidence is found for hypotheses 4 and 5-antecedent cannabis use appears to act as a risk factor in the onset of schizophrenia, especially in vulnerable people, but also in people without prior history.
Conclusion:
There is an intrinsic message here for public health, but how that message is to be translated into action is not immediately clear.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin studies.
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within the...
Schizophrenia
Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...
Psychoneuroimmunology: Diabetes and Cancer

