Patient’s Perceptions of the Cannabis-psychosis Link - A Systematic Review
Anna Buadze, Stefan Kaiser, Rudolf Stohler, Wulf Rössler, Erich Seifritz, Michael Liebrenz
Current Pharmaceutical Design September 12, 2012 DOI: 10.2174/138161212802884645 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 97 |
| Population | Patients with schizophrenia or a recent psychosis |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Citations | 10 |
| Key findings | Across six studies and 97 psychotic patients, the vast majority disagreed that cannabis use caused their mental illness, offering multi-factorial explanations (psychological, social, biological, esoteric, irrational) and citing temporal sequence as unclear. The authors argue these comparable findings support the review's robustness. |
Abstract
Over the past years a growing research effort has investigated the relation between cannabis use and schizophrenia at a neurobiological, epidemiological and clinical level. A number of systematic reviews and meta analyses have summarized the available evidence in the field. Conversely the patient's perception of the link between cannabis use and psychosis has been under investigation. Since patient's beliefs and attitudes strongly correlate with adherence to all forms of treatment, we conducted a systematic PUBMED database search for any English and German-language articles published until January 2012 that addressed patient's perception of a cannabis psychosis link. Six studies including psychotic subjects met inclusion criteria yielding a total sample of 97. The vast majority of patients with either schizophrenia or a recent psychosis disagreed with a causal link between cannabis use and their mental illness. We qualitatively reviewed the explanatory models underlying their views, which were multi-factorial, psychological, social, biological, esoteric and irrational factors. Most patient's believed that the temporal sequence of events did not clearly indicate a causal relationship for them. They thus discarded the hypothesis of a causal link between cannabis use and psychosis. Despite the heterogeneity of the included studies, findings are comparable and support the robustness of this review. Limitations and implications for clinicians and psychosis research are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effects of cannabis use on outcomes of psychotic disorders: systematic review People with psychotic disorders, as examined in 13 longitudinal studies | 2008 | Systematic review | |
| The Impact of Cannabis Use on Cognitive Functioning in Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis of Existing Findings and New Data in a First-Episode Sample Patients with established schizophrenia (meta-analysis: 572) and patients with... | 2010 | Meta-analysis and cross-sectional observational study | n = 700 |
| Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review | 2020 | Systematic review | |
| Neuroimaging in cannabis use: a systematic review of the literature Cannabis users and controls in neuroimaging studies | 2009 | Systematic review | |
| Human Laboratory Studies on Cannabinoids and Psychosis. Healthy human subjects and individuals with schizophrenia | 2016 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Insight into cannabis use disorder in people with psychotic disorders BJPsych Open August 25, 2026
- ‘Worthy doctors […] allow me to come forward and lecture on this matter’: Thomas De Quincey and the experiential and sociocultural components of substance use BJPsych Bulletin May 4, 2026
- Perspectives on cannabis risks and harm reduction among youth in Early Psychosis Intervention programs: a qualitative study Mental Health and Social Inclusion December 2, 2024
- Insights About Cannabis and Psychosis Using Video Games for Young People With a First Episode of Psychosis, Particularly Those From Black Racialized Communities: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study JMIR Research Protocols May 20, 2022
- Motivations for cannabis use in youth with first episode psychosis: a scoping review Psychosis November 12, 2021
and 1 more in the library