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Cannabis Pen-Induced Psychosis in a First-Time Adolescent User

Patrick J Beck, Abhishek Reddy

Psychopharmacology Bulletin August 12, 2025 DOI: 10.64719/pb.4468 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Case study Case report Peer reviewed
Sample size 1
Population Adolescent female
Topics Cannabis
Key findings Cannabis-induced psychosis secondary to cannabis pen use can be self-limited and resolve without significant intervention.

Abstract

Cannabis is a widely used illicit substance that is historically consumed via smoking, but alternative methods of cannabis consumption have been growing in popularity over the past several decades. One such modality is vaporization, which can appeal specifically to adolescent consumers given these pen devices’ ease of concealment, lack of characteristic odor, and marketability. Cannabis products designed for vaping often have higher concentrations of the psychoactive component of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), when compared with traditional cannabis leaf smoking. This can increase the intensity of cannabis-related effects such as analgesia, relaxation, appetite stimulation, and reduced nausea and emesis, but also potentially increases the risk for adverse effects such as dysphoria, and more severely, cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP). Here, we present the case of an adolescent female who was brought after school to our emergency department presenting with symptoms of acute psychosis. Her subsequent workup was effectively normal apart from a urine drug screen positive for THC, which the patient confirmed was due to use of a cannabis pen prior to leaving school that day. This prompted the diagnosis of CIP, which was self-limited and resolved without significant intervention. We use this case to provide the symptomatology and treatment of CIP secondary to cannabis pen use, as well as more broadly discuss the potential implications of cannabis vaping on adolescent neurodevelopment, substance use, and psychiatric comorbidities.

Comparable studies

Other case reports and case series on cannabis, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Psychotic Reactions Following Cannabis Use in East Indians Patients at an Indian drug addiction clinic who developed acute cannabis-related psychosis 1974 Descriptive report (case series of clinical observations) n = 200
Psychiatric effects of cannabis use Swedish cases of cannabis psychosis 1985 Case series n = 70
Forty-Six Cases of Psychosis in Cannabis Abusers Gunila Bernhardson Habitual cannabis users treated for psychosis at Swedish psychiatric clinics and mental... 1972 Case series (retrospective survey of psychiatric records) n = 46
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication 2005 Case study n = 1
Cannabis‐induced Koro in Americans American men aged 22-26 with years of cannabis experience who reported negative... 2001 Case series n = 3

Citations in the library

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