Cannabis and acute psychosis.
Philip Mcguire, P Jones, I Harvey, P Bebbington, B Toone, S Lewis, Robin Murray
Schizophrenia Research September 1, 1994 DOI: 10.1016/0920-9964(94)90097-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 69 |
| Population | Psychotic patients |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Psychosis in cannabis-positive patients does not differ in psychopathology, diagnosis, or onset from psychosis in drug-free controls, providing little evidence for a distinct 'cannabis psychosis' entity. |
Abstract
The Present State Examination was used to assess the psychopathology of 23 psychotic patients who were cannabis positive on urinary screening, and 46 matched drug-free controls. Cases and controls were indistinguishable in terms of psychopathology, DSMIII diagnoses, onset of recent illness, the proportion of first admissions, ethnicity, and socio-economic class, differing only in their histories of substance use. These data suggest that psychosis which develops or recurs in the context of cannabis use does not have a characteristic psychopathology or mode of onset, and is not restricted to a particular ethnic or socio-demographic group. There is thus little evidence to support the validity of 'cannabis psychosis' as a diagnostic entity.