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Cannabis may bring out psychosis symptoms in people who already have psychosis, but there is no proven link between cannabis directly causing psychosis to develop on its own.Various cross-sectional epidemiologic studies have revealed an association between cannabis use and acute or chronic psychosis, a mental disorder in which thoughts and emotions are impaired to the point of losing a sense of reality. Although no study exists confirming a connection, there have been seven studies that show an association between the two, notably in teenagers and young adults who consistently consume marijuana in large quantities.Evidence against a connection between chronic cannabis use and psychosis is not very strong, but includes reverse causality (as in, psychosis leads to cannabis use), the lack of increase in psychosis-related cases pertaining to schizophrenia despite a stark increase in cannabis use, and an interesting amount of publication bias in a number of now-ignored studies conducted in the 70s and 80s, which were found to have willfully excluded negative evidence. That being said, publication bias was not found in a number of meta-analyses of other studies. Another interesting note is many studies’ inclusion of temporary, short-term symptoms as psychosis-related symptoms. Studies conducted by Benford et al, 2011, Every-Palmer, 2010, Muller et al, 2010, Van Der Veer et al, 2011 and Hurst et al, 2011 all count temporary anxiety, disorganization, paranoia, agitation, confusion, tachycardia (increased heart rate) and hypokalemia (low potassium levels) as psychosis symptoms, whereas many psychologists, doctors and therapists disagree with this notion, as these symptoms are neither severe nor do they last more than a few hours after consumption. They are very common and do not cause psychosis, yet these studies seem to affirm that they can.To date, there has only been a single case of psychosis emerging from the use of medical marijuana reported in literature. A 24-year-old man with mild, transient psychotic symptoms switched from “street cannabis” (cannabis from a drug dealer) to medical marijuana for its increased potency and to conform with the law. He obtained a physician’s recommendation based on diagnoses of PTSD and pain. After several months of increased medical marijuana use, he developed florid and persistent psychotic symptoms necessitating antipsychotic medication, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.Thus far, the most agreed-upon conclusion is that cannabis worsens existing psychotic disorders, as there is little evidence that it is the ultimate cause of psychotic disorders. Even this, however, has been called into question as THC improves many symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. It should also be noted that the seven studies regarded as trustworthy relied on self-reported cannabis use before psychosis onset and did not control factors such as other drug use, demographic, social and other psychological variables.The meta-analyses of these studies concluded an increased risk of psychosis in association with cannabis use, with an odds ratio of 1.4 to 2.9, meaning the risk is up to threefold higher than non-cannabis users. As stated prior, there is no firm evidence that cannabis is the cause, and may rather be a component cause, meaning that although neither necessary nor sufficient, cannabis use can play a part in increasing the risk of developing psychosis.To be ultimately clear in this information, as the links between psychosis and cannabis have long been a fear-mongering method of condemning its use; cannabis is not a cause of psychosis, but it may worsen pre-existing symptoms of emergent psychosis in teens and young adults. The vast majority of cannabis users do not develop psychosis, and if you have no pre-existing symptoms of psychosis, you are extremely unlikely to develop it. The issue with studies refuting this conclusion is that many cases of psychosis aren’t diagnosed until people are adults, usually long after they’ve begun consuming cannabis, so some studies claim cannabis caused the psychosis because they didn’t know it existed before.Andreasson S, Allebeck P, Engstrom A, et al. Cannabis and Schizophrenia. A Longitudinal Study of Swedish Conscripts. Lancet. (1987)Zammit S, Allebeck P, Andreasson S, et al. Self Reported Cannabis Use as a Risk Factor for Schizophrenia in Swedish Conscripts of 1969: Historical Cohort Study. BMJ. (2002)Arseneault L, Cannon M, Poulton R, et al. Cannabis Use in Adolescence and Risk for Adult Psychosis: Longitudinal Prospective Study. BMJ. (2002)Van Os J, Bak M, Hanssen M, et al. Cannabis Use and Psychosis: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study. Am J Epidemiol. (2002)Phillips LJ, Curry C, Yung AR, et al. Cannabis Use is not Associated with the Development of Psychosis in an “Ultra” High-Risk Group. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. (2002)Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Swain-Campbell NR. Cannabis Dependence and Psychotic Symptoms in Young People. Psychol Med. (2003)D’Souza DC, Perry E, MacDougall L, et al. The Psychotomimetic Effects of Intravenous Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Healthy Individuals: Implications for Psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology. (2004)Macleod J, Oakes R, Copello A, et al. Psychological and social sequelae of cannabis and other illicit drug use by young people: a systematic review of longitudinal, general population studies. Lancet Lond Engl. (2004)Arseneault L, Cannon M, Witton J, et al. Causal Association Between Cannabis and Psychosis: Examination of the Evidence. Br J Psychiatry. (2004)Henquet C, Krabbendam L, Spauwen J, et al. Prospective Cohort Study of Cannabis Use, Predisposition for Psychosis, and Psychotic Symptoms in Young People. BMJ. (2005)Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Cannon M, et al. Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction. Biol Psychiatry. (2005)Favrat B, Menetrey A, Augsburger M, et al. Two Cases of “Cannabis Acute Psychosis” Following the Administration of Oral Cannabis. BMC Psychiatry. (2005)Henquet C, Murray R, Linszen D, et al. The Environment and Schizophrenia: The Role of Cannabis Use. Schizophr Bull. (2005)Semple DM, McIntosh AM, Lawrie SM. Cannabis as a Risk Factor for Psychosis: Systematic Review. J Psychopharmacol. (2005)D’Souza DC, Abi-Saab WM, Madonick S, et al. Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Effects in Schizophrenia: Implications for Cognition, Psychosis, and Addiction. Biol Psychiatry. (2005)Zuardi AW, Hallak JE, Dursun SM, et al. Cannabidiol Monotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol. (2006)Diamond G, Panichelli-Mindel SM, Shera D, Dennis M, Tims F, Ungemack J. Psychiatric Syndromes in Adolescents with Marijuana Abuse and Dependency in Outpatient Treatment. J Child Adolesc Subst Abuse. (2006)Degenhardt L, Tennant C, Gilmour S, et al. The Temporal Dynamics of Relationships between Cannabis, Psychosis and Depression among Young Adults with Psychotic Disorders: Findings from a 10-Month Prospective Study. Psychol Med. (2007)Moore TH, Zammit S, Lingford-Hughes A, et al. Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychotic or Affective Mental Health Outcomes: a Systematic Review. Lancet. (2007)Kristensen K, Cadenhead KS. Cannabis Abuse and Risk for Psychosis in a Prodromal Sample. Psychiatry Res. (2007)Tandon R, Keshavan MS, Nasrallah HA. Schizophrenia “Just The Facts” What We Know in 2008. Epidemiology and Etiology. Schizophr Res. (2008)Zammit S, Moore TH, Lingford-Hughes A, et al. Effects of Cannabis Use on Outcomes of Psychotic Disorders: Systematic Review. Br J Psychiatry. (2008)Schweinsburg AD, Brown SA, Tapert SF. The influence of marijuana use on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. (2008)Morgan CJ, Curran HV. Effects of Cannabidiol on Schizophrenia-like Symptoms in People who use Cannabis. Br J Psychiatry. (2008)Fusar-Poli et al. Distinct Effects of D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing. Arch Gen Psychiatry. (2009)Morrison PD, Zois V, McKeown DA, et al. The Acute Effects of Synthetic Intravenous Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Psychosis, Mood and Cognitive Functioning. Psychol Med. (2009)Rubino T, Realini N, Braida D, et al. Changes in hippocampal morphology and neuroplasticity induced by adolescent THC treatment are associated with cognitive impairment in adulthood. Hippocampus. (2009)Schwarcz G, Karajgi B, McCarthy R. Synthetic Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol(Dronabinol) can Improve the Symptoms of Schizophrenia. J Clin Psychopharmacol. (2009)Di Forti M, Morgan C, Dazzan P, et al. High-Potency Cannabis and the Risk of Psychosis. Br J Psychiatry. (2009)Schwarcz G, Karajgi B. Improvement in Refractory Psychosis with Dronabinol: Four Case Reports. J Clin Psychiatry. (2010)Pierre JM. Psychosis Associated with Medical Marijuana: Risk vs. Benefits of Medicinal Cannabis Use. Am J Psychiatry. (2010)Lemos et al. Involvement of the Prelimbic Prefrontal Cortex on Cannabidiol-Induced Attentuation of Contextual Conditioned Fear in Rats. Behav Brain Res. (2010)Minozzi S, Davoli M, Bargagli AM, et al. An Overview of Systematic Reviews on Cannabis and Psychosis: Discussing Apparently Conflicting Results. Drug Alcohol Rev. (2010)Hurst D, Loeffler G, McLay R. Synthetic Cannabinoid Agonist Induced Psychosis: A Case Series. American Psychiatric Association. (2011)Large M, Sharma S, Compton MT, et al. Cannabis Use and Earlier Onset of Psychosis: A Systematic Meta-Analysis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. (2011)Kuepper R, Van Os J, Lieb R, et al. Continued Cannabis Use and Risk of Incidence and Persistence of Psychotic Symptoms: 10 Year Follow-Up Cohort Study. BMJ. (2011)Winton-Brown et al. Modulation of Auditory and Visual Processing by Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol; an fMRI Study. Neuropsychopharmacology. (2011)Leweke FM, et al. Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. (2012)Di Forti M, Iyegbe C, Sallis H, et al. Confirmation that the AKT1 (rs2494732) genotype influences the risk of psychosis in cannabis users. Biol Psychiatry. (2012)Lynskey MT, Agrawal A, Henders A, Nelson EC, Madden PAF, Martin NG. An Australian Twin Study of Cannabis and Other Illicit Drug Use and Misuse, and Other Psychopathology. Twin Res Hum Genet. (2012)Gleason KA, Birnbaum SG, Shukla A, Ghose S. Susceptibility of the adolescent brain to cannabinoids: long-term hippocampal effects and relevance to schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. (2012)Rubino T, Zamberletti E, Parolaro D. Adolescent exposure to cannabis as a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. J Psychopharmacol Oxf Engl. (2012)Borgelt et al. The Pharmacologic and Clinical Effects of Medical Cannabis. Pharmacotherapy (Review). (2013)Morgan CJA, Page E, Schaefer C, et al. Cerebrospinal fluid anandamide levels, cannabis use and psychotic-like symptoms. Br J Psychiatry J Ment Sci. (2013)Batalla A, Bhattacharyya S, Yücel M, et al. Structural and functional imaging studies in chronic cannabis users: a systematic review of adolescent and adult findings. PloS One. (2013)Filbey FM, Aslan S, Calhoun VD, et al. Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2014)Verrico CD, Gu H, Peterson ML, Sampson AR, Lewis DA. Repeated Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure in adolescent monkeys: persistent effects selective for spatial working memory. Am J Psychiatry. (2014)Radhakrishnan R, Wilkinson ST, D’Souza DC. Gone to Pot - A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis. Front Psychiatry. (2014)Silins E, Horwood LJ, Patton GC, et al. Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. (2014)Wilkinson et al. Impact of Cannabis Use on the Development of Psychotic Disorders. Curr Addict Rep. (2014)Delforterie MJ, Lynskey MT, Huizink AC, et al. The relationship between cannabis involvement and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Drug Alcohol Depend. (2015)Iseger and Bossong. A Systematic Review of the Antipsychotic Properties of Cannabidiol in humans. Schizophr Res. (2015)Blanco C, Hasin DS, Wall MM, et al. Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders: Prospective Evidence From a US National Longitudinal Study. JAMA Psychiatry. (2016)Borges G, Bagge CL, Orozco R. A literature review and meta-analyses of cannabis use and suicidality. J Affect Disord. (2016)Jackson NJ, Isen JD, Khoddam R, et al. Impact of adolescent marijuana use on intelligence: Results from two longitudinal twin studies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. (2016)Volkow ND, Swanson JM, Evins AE, et al. Effects of cannabis use on human behavior, including cognition, motivation, and psychosis: a review. JAMA Psychiatry. (2016)Auer R, Vittinghoff E, Yaffe K, et al. Association between lifetime marijuana use and cognitive function in middle age: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. JAMA Intern Med. (2016)Pasman, J. Verweij, K. Vink, J. GWAS of Lifetime Cannabis Use Reveals New Risk Loci, Genetic Overlap with Psychiatric Traits, and a Causal Influence of Schizophrenia. Nat Neuroscience. (2018)

Cannabis may bring out psychosis symptoms in people who already have psychosis, but there is no proven link between cannabis directly causing psychosis to develop on its own.Various cross-sectional epidemiologic studies have revealed an association between cannabis use and acute or chronic psychosis, a mental disorder in which thoughts and emotions are impaired to the point of losing a sense of reality. Although no study exists confirming a connection, there have been seven studies that show an association between the two, notably in teenagers and young adults who consistently consume marijuana in large quantities.Evidence against a connection between chronic cannabis use and psychosis is not very strong, but includes reverse causality (as in, psychosis leads to cannabis use), the lack of increase in psychosis-related cases pertaining to schizophrenia despite a stark increase in cannabis use, and an interesting amount of publication bias in a number of now-ignored studies conducted in the 70s and 80s, which were found to have willfully excluded negative evidence. That being said, publication bias was not found in a number of meta-analyses of other studies. Another interesting note is many studies’ inclusion of temporary, short-term symptoms as psychosis-related symptoms. Studies conducted by Benford et al, 2011, Every-Palmer, 2010, Muller et al, 2010, Van Der Veer et al, 2011 and Hurst et al, 2011 all count temporary anxiety, disorganization, paranoia, agitation, confusion, tachycardia (increased heart rate) and hypokalemia (low potassium levels) as psychosis symptoms, whereas many psychologists, doctors and therapists disagree with this notion, as these symptoms are neither severe nor do they last more than a few hours after consumption. They are very common and do not cause psychosis, yet these studies seem to affirm that they can.To date, there has only been a single case of psychosis emerging from the use of medical marijuana reported in literature. A 24-year-old man with mild, transient psychotic symptoms switched from “street cannabis” (cannabis from a drug dealer) to medical marijuana for its increased potency and to conform with the law. He obtained a physician’s recommendation based on diagnoses of PTSD and pain. After several months of increased medical marijuana use, he developed florid and persistent psychotic symptoms necessitating antipsychotic medication, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.Thus far, the most agreed-upon conclusion is that cannabis worsens existing psychotic disorders, as there is little evidence that it is the ultimate cause of psychotic disorders. Even this, however, has been called into question as THC improves many symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. It should also be noted that the seven studies regarded as trustworthy relied on self-reported cannabis use before psychosis onset and did not control factors such as other drug use, demographic, social and other psychological variables.The meta-analyses of these studies concluded an increased risk of psychosis in association with cannabis use, with an odds ratio of 1.4 to 2.9, meaning the risk is up to threefold higher than non-cannabis users. As stated prior, there is no firm evidence that cannabis is the cause, and may rather be a component cause, meaning that although neither necessary nor sufficient, cannabis use can play a part in increasing the risk of developing psychosis.To be ultimately clear in this information, as the links between psychosis and cannabis have long been a fear-mongering method of condemning its use; cannabis is not a cause of psychosis, but it may worsen pre-existing symptoms of emergent psychosis in teens and young adults. The vast majority of cannabis users do not develop psychosis, and if you have no pre-existing symptoms of psychosis, you are extremely unlikely to develop it. The issue with studies refuting this conclusion is that many cases of psychosis aren’t diagnosed until people are adults, usually long after they’ve begun consuming cannabis, so some studies claim cannabis caused the psychosis because they didn’t know it existed before.Andreasson S, Allebeck P, Engstrom A, et al. Cannabis and Schizophrenia. A Longitudinal Study of Swedish Conscripts. Lancet. (1987)Zammit S, Allebeck P, Andreasson S, et al. Self Reported Cannabis Use as a Risk Factor for Schizophrenia in Swedish Conscripts of 1969: Historical Cohort Study. BMJ. (2002)Arseneault L, Cannon M, Poulton R, et al. Cannabis Use in Adolescence and Risk for Adult Psychosis: Longitudinal Prospective Study. BMJ. (2002)Van Os J, Bak M, Hanssen M, et al. Cannabis Use and Psychosis: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study. Am J Epidemiol. (2002)Phillips LJ, Curry C, Yung AR, et al. Cannabis Use is not Associated with the Development of Psychosis in an “Ultra” High-Risk Group. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. (2002)Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Swain-Campbell NR. Cannabis Dependence and Psychotic Symptoms in Young People. Psychol Med. (2003)D’Souza DC, Perry E, MacDougall L, et al. The Psychotomimetic Effects of Intravenous Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Healthy Individuals: Implications for Psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology. (2004)Macleod J, Oakes R, Copello A, et al. Psychological and social sequelae of cannabis and other illicit drug use by young people: a systematic review of longitudinal, general population studies. Lancet Lond Engl. (2004)Arseneault L, Cannon M, Witton J, et al. Causal Association Between Cannabis and Psychosis: Examination of the Evidence. Br J Psychiatry. (2004)Henquet C, Krabbendam L, Spauwen J, et al. Prospective Cohort Study of Cannabis Use, Predisposition for Psychosis, and Psychotic Symptoms in Young People. BMJ. (2005)Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Cannon M, et al. Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction. Biol Psychiatry. (2005)Favrat B, Menetrey A, Augsburger M, et al. Two Cases of “Cannabis Acute Psychosis” Following the Administration of Oral Cannabis. BMC Psychiatry. (2005)Henquet C, Murray R, Linszen D, et al. The Environment and Schizophrenia: The Role of Cannabis Use. Schizophr Bull. (2005)Semple DM, McIntosh AM, Lawrie SM. Cannabis as a Risk Factor for Psychosis: Systematic Review. J Psychopharmacol. (2005)D’Souza DC, Abi-Saab WM, Madonick S, et al. Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Effects in Schizophrenia: Implications for Cognition, Psychosis, and Addiction. Biol Psychiatry. (2005)Zuardi AW, Hallak JE, Dursun SM, et al. Cannabidiol Monotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol. (2006)Diamond G, Panichelli-Mindel SM, Shera D, Dennis M, Tims F, Ungemack J. Psychiatric Syndromes in Adolescents with Marijuana Abuse and Dependency in Outpatient Treatment. J Child Adolesc Subst Abuse. (2006)Degenhardt L, Tennant C, Gilmour S, et al. The Temporal Dynamics of Relationships between Cannabis, Psychosis and Depression among Young Adults with Psychotic Disorders: Findings from a 10-Month Prospective Study. Psychol Med. (2007)Moore TH, Zammit S, Lingford-Hughes A, et al. Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychotic or Affective Mental Health Outcomes: a Systematic Review. Lancet. (2007)Kristensen K, Cadenhead KS. Cannabis Abuse and Risk for Psychosis in a Prodromal Sample. Psychiatry Res. (2007)Tandon R, Keshavan MS, Nasrallah HA. Schizophrenia “Just The Facts” What We Know in 2008. Epidemiology and Etiology. Schizophr Res. (2008)Zammit S, Moore TH, Lingford-Hughes A, et al. Effects of Cannabis Use on Outcomes of Psychotic Disorders: Systematic Review. Br J Psychiatry. (2008)Schweinsburg AD, Brown SA, Tapert SF. The influence of marijuana use on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. (2008)Morgan CJ, Curran HV. Effects of Cannabidiol on Schizophrenia-like Symptoms in People who use Cannabis. Br J Psychiatry. (2008)Fusar-Poli et al. Distinct Effects of D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing. Arch Gen Psychiatry. (2009)Morrison PD, Zois V, McKeown DA, et al. The Acute Effects of Synthetic Intravenous Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Psychosis, Mood and Cognitive Functioning. Psychol Med. (2009)Rubino T, Realini N, Braida D, et al. Changes in hippocampal morphology and neuroplasticity induced by adolescent THC treatment are associated with cognitive impairment in adulthood. Hippocampus. (2009)Schwarcz G, Karajgi B, McCarthy R. Synthetic Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol(Dronabinol) can Improve the Symptoms of Schizophrenia. J Clin Psychopharmacol. (2009)Di Forti M, Morgan C, Dazzan P, et al. High-Potency Cannabis and the Risk of Psychosis. Br J Psychiatry. (2009)Schwarcz G, Karajgi B. Improvement in Refractory Psychosis with Dronabinol: Four Case Reports. J Clin Psychiatry. (2010)Pierre JM. Psychosis Associated with Medical Marijuana: Risk vs. Benefits of Medicinal Cannabis Use. Am J Psychiatry. (2010)Lemos et al. Involvement of the Prelimbic Prefrontal Cortex on Cannabidiol-Induced Attentuation of Contextual Conditioned Fear in Rats. Behav Brain Res. (2010)Minozzi S, Davoli M, Bargagli AM, et al. An Overview of Systematic Reviews on Cannabis and Psychosis: Discussing Apparently Conflicting Results. Drug Alcohol Rev. (2010)Hurst D, Loeffler G, McLay R. Synthetic Cannabinoid Agonist Induced Psychosis: A Case Series. American Psychiatric Association. (2011)Large M, Sharma S, Compton MT, et al. Cannabis Use and Earlier Onset of Psychosis: A Systematic Meta-Analysis. Arch Gen Psychiatry. (2011)Kuepper R, Van Os J, Lieb R, et al. Continued Cannabis Use and Risk of Incidence and Persistence of Psychotic Symptoms: 10 Year Follow-Up Cohort Study. BMJ. (2011)Winton-Brown et al. Modulation of Auditory and Visual Processing by Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol; an fMRI Study. Neuropsychopharmacology. (2011)Leweke FM, et al. Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. (2012)Di Forti M, Iyegbe C, Sallis H, et al. Confirmation that the AKT1 (rs2494732) genotype influences the risk of psychosis in cannabis users. Biol Psychiatry. (2012)Lynskey MT, Agrawal A, Henders A, Nelson EC, Madden PAF, Martin NG. An Australian Twin Study of Cannabis and Other Illicit Drug Use and Misuse, and Other Psychopathology. Twin Res Hum Genet. (2012)Gleason KA, Birnbaum SG, Shukla A, Ghose S. Susceptibility of the adolescent brain to cannabinoids: long-term hippocampal effects and relevance to schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. (2012)Rubino T, Zamberletti E, Parolaro D. Adolescent exposure to cannabis as a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. J Psychopharmacol Oxf Engl. (2012)Borgelt et al. The Pharmacologic and Clinical Effects of Medical Cannabis. Pharmacotherapy (Review). (2013)Morgan CJA, Page E, Schaefer C, et al. Cerebrospinal fluid anandamide levels, cannabis use and psychotic-like symptoms. Br J Psychiatry J Ment Sci. (2013)Batalla A, Bhattacharyya S, Yücel M, et al. Structural and functional imaging studies in chronic cannabis users: a systematic review of adolescent and adult findings. PloS One. (2013)Filbey FM, Aslan S, Calhoun VD, et al. Long-term effects of marijuana use on the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2014)Verrico CD, Gu H, Peterson ML, Sampson AR, Lewis DA. Repeated Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure in adolescent monkeys: persistent effects selective for spatial working memory. Am J Psychiatry. (2014)Radhakrishnan R, Wilkinson ST, D’Souza DC. Gone to Pot - A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis. Front Psychiatry. (2014)Silins E, Horwood LJ, Patton GC, et al. Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. (2014)Wilkinson et al. Impact of Cannabis Use on the Development of Psychotic Disorders. Curr Addict Rep. (2014)Delforterie MJ, Lynskey MT, Huizink AC, et al. The relationship between cannabis involvement and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Drug Alcohol Depend. (2015)Iseger and Bossong. A Systematic Review of the Antipsychotic Properties of Cannabidiol in humans. Schizophr Res. (2015)Blanco C, Hasin DS, Wall MM, et al. Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders: Prospective Evidence From a US National Longitudinal Study. JAMA Psychiatry. (2016)Borges G, Bagge CL, Orozco R. A literature review and meta-analyses of cannabis use and suicidality. J Affect Disord. (2016)Jackson NJ, Isen JD, Khoddam R, et al. Impact of adolescent marijuana use on intelligence: Results from two longitudinal twin studies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. (2016)Volkow ND, Swanson JM, Evins AE, et al. Effects of cannabis use on human behavior, including cognition, motivation, and psychosis: a review. JAMA Psychiatry. (2016)Auer R, Vittinghoff E, Yaffe K, et al. Association between lifetime marijuana use and cognitive function in middle age: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. JAMA Intern Med. (2016)Pasman, J. Verweij, K. Vink, J. GWAS of Lifetime Cannabis Use Reveals New Risk Loci, Genetic Overlap with Psychiatric Traits, and a Causal Influence of Schizophrenia. Nat Neuroscience. (2018)

Probably not. Two neighboring countries have peace treaties with Israel, so in the unlikely event that they were to attack us, the world wouldn’t support their aggression. Syria is years away from being any kind of credible threat to Israel, and Bashar al-Assad understands that every time Syria went to war against Israel, it lost. Whatever else he might be, he’s not stupid.That leaves Lebanon. While Hizballah may be able to inflict some damage on Israel (Iron Dome, et al won’t stop ALL the missiles Hizballah can fire off), even Hassan Nasrallah knows that at best, he could achieve a Pyrrhic victory, with Lebanon in ruins. Neither the non-Hizballah affiliated Lebanese not any friend of Lebanon would accept that, so Hizballah could easily sign its own death warrant by attacking.The only question is if Hizballah’s Iranian masters care a fig about Lebanese deaths.