Emerging Adulthood
October 19, 2026
Kayla K. Giorlando, Jennifer E. Merrill, Ethan Moitra et al.
Cannabis use among emerging adults has reached historically high levels, yet there is growing evidence that cannabis use during this developmental period may exacerbate existing psychopathology and increase risk of developing schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. This qualitative study examines perceptions of how cannabis use impacts psychiatric symptoms among twenty emerging adults (ages 18–24) at...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
October 19, 2026
Kimio Shiraishi
preprint
This preprint presents a focused critical narrative review of how safety findings for Cannabis and Psilocybe preparations are transferred across products, formulations, exposures, test systems, populations, and conditions of use. The central question is not whether safety evidence can ever be extrapolated, but when such extrapolation is justified and what information is needed to support it....
Psychopharmacology
October 17, 2026
Giada Lombardi, Grace Blest‐hopley, Martina Maria Tarantini et al.
RATIONALE: Regular cannabis use has been associated with alterations in reward-related neural processes, yet findings remain inconsistent and the relationship between neural activity and behavioural performance is not fully understood. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to characterise neural and behavioural correlates of reward processing in regular cannabis users (CU) compared with matched...
Journal of Molecular Neuroscience
October 12, 2026
Meitar Grad, Hadas Volkov, Noam Shomron
Abstract Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent psychiatric disorder, and is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Current treatments for MDD entail many side effects, and include a lag until the onset of therapeutic effects. The current hypotheses as for the etiology of MDD revolve around the monoamine hypothesis and the plasticity and neurodegeneration hypothesis. According to the...
Psychopharmacology
October 5, 2026
Jingqi Xu, Adrien Nette, Christina Zakala et al.
Cannabis and tobacco are widely used substances with addiction potential, which have opposing effects on cognition and subjective experience and are often co-used in a single occasion. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize evidence of the acute effects of same-occasion co-use of cannabis and tobacco. Databases Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched...
Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth
October 1, 2026
Nikhar Satyapal, Parisha Kelkar, Abhimanyu Sinha et al.
A BSTRACT Cannabis is the most widely used illicit psychoactive substance worldwide. While cannabis-related psychosis is well documented, cannabis-associated mania is a relatively under-recognized clinical entity that poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We describe three young adult males who presented with first-episode mania following a recent escalation of cannabis consumption. All...
Journal of Addictive Diseases
September 30, 2026
Rocco Miazzi, Clara Cestonaro, Claudio Terranova
BACKGROUND Adolescence represents a vulnerable developmental period during which cannabis exposure may be associated with psychological, neuropsychological, and neurobiological alterations. OBJECTIVE This structured review examines the psychological and neuropsychological effects associated with cannabis use during adolescence, focusing exclusively on human studies. METHODS A structured...
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
September 28, 2026
Justine Perino, Amélie Daveluy, Anna Truong-Bastos et al.
Objective: Psychiatric disorders are frequently associated with drug use and substance use disorders (SUDs). This study aimed to (1) assess the risk of psychiatric readmission associated with cannabis use in young adults (18-29 years) with bipolar or psychotic disorders and (2) describe drug use and SUD recorded in their medical files. Methods: This historical cohort included 200 adults aged...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
September 22, 2026
Paul Michael Hallelujah
preprint
This preprint explores the hypothesis that a significant proportion of modern schizophrenia diagnoses among youth may be a diagnostic artifact resulting from prohibition era policies and the consumption of highly potent adulterated cannabis. By synthesizing historical psychiatric literature, epidemiological data from Denmark and Canada, and neurobiological research on the endocannabinoid...
Journal of Forensic Sciences
September 16, 2026
Laura A. Ciolino, Tracy L. Ranieri
Abstract: Synthetically derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products, including vaping liquids and edibles, are widely available in the US. Serious adverse events associated with the use of THC products are reported in large‐scale studies for both adults and children and include intoxication, psychosis, encephalopathy, CNS depression, respiratory failure, and acute cardiovascular emergencies....
European Journal of Pharmacology
September 15, 2026
Anna Brancato, Martina Cicero, Valentina Castelli et al.
Stress is a major determinant of psychopathology, with coping and cognitive impairment arising from abnormal glucocorticoid activity and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-dependent neuroplasticity in the hippocampus. The endocannabinoid system modulates stress and hippocampal functioning since early development, thus its early-life disruption may program vulnerability to stress-related...
Neuropsychopharmacology
September 15, 2026
Alexandra Gaillard, Daniel J Fehring, Philip J Sumner et al.
Chronic cannabis use drives neuroadaptations in reward and stress-related circuits that condition the brain to the drug and its associated cues. These changes underlie craving and heighten its sensitivity to cue- and stress-induced triggers, sustaining drug intake and promoting relapse. Task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging of drug cue reactivity paradigms has shown the dorsolateral...
Journal of Cognitive Enhancement
September 14, 2026
Katherine Harrison, Jessica Halverson, Tina Ozbeki et al.
Abstract Despite substantial efforts to understand the impact of cannabis use on cognition, the potential effects remain debated. More research focusing on how cannabis is used, specifically around the quantity used and cannabis co-use with other substances, is needed to better understand the outcomes of cannabis use. Current cannabis users were asked to report all substance use history and...
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
September 11, 2026
James Mirabelli, James MacKillop, David Streiner et al.
Background Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently use cannabis, often for self-medication. However, cannabis use has also been linked to BPD symptom severity, suggesting heterogeneity in its effects. Individuals with BPD frequently experience psychotic-like symptoms and may demonstrate elevated psychosis vulnerability, which is associated with greater symptom severity...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
September 9, 2026
Marta Di Forti, Isabelle Austin-Zimmerman, Edoardo Spinazzola et al.
Abstract Background Epidemiological data have consistently shown an association between heavy cannabis use and increased risk of psychotic disorders. Nevertheless, not all cannabis users develop the illness. Evidence from other substance of abuse such as Alcohol suggest how genetic differences in enzymes involved in its metabolism influence individual response to the drug. No studies to data...
Harm Reduction Journal
September 7, 2026
Konstantinos Farsalinos
Background: The contemporary landscape of psychoactive substance regulation is characterized by a striking policy paradox. On one hand there is the gradual liberalization and mainstreaming of the cannabis market (the "Green Wave"), propelled by principles such as human rights, harm reduction, criminal justice reform, social equity, and economic efficiency. This coincides with a...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
September 7, 2026
Christian Alexander Brown
preprint
This research essay/article argues that cannabis can reasonably be described as psychedelic in a phenomenological sense, even though it is not pharmacologically classified as a classic serotonergic psychedelic such as LSD or psilocybin. The central distinction is between pharmacology and phenomenology: THC acts primarily through the endocannabinoid system, especially CB1 receptor signaling, yet...
Nature Communications
September 3, 2026
Eun-Kyung Hwang, Deborah Daphne, Charlie J Maddox et al.
The lateral habenula (LHb) integrates cortical and basal forebrain (BF) input and is implicated in negative affective states, but its involvement in negative affect associated with cannabis withdrawal is unknown. Here, effects of withdrawal from the psychoactive cannabis constituent, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), on fear conditioning (FC) and LHb function were measured in rats using calcium...
Clinical Therapeutics
September 2026
Jonathon K. Lisano, Luiza Rosa, Greg Giordano et al.
Emerging research indicates that the use of cannabis products, particularly those higher in cannabidiol (CBD), may be anxiolytic. Physical activity is another modality observed to have anxiolytic effects. Despite evidence of cannabis and physical activity being paired together, there is limited research on the possible synergistic effects of physical activity and cannabis use on reductions in...
Journal of Neurochemistry
September 2026
Igor F Rangel, Melissa Chaves, Iohanna Pagnoncelli et al.
Adolescent cannabis exposure has been associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia; however, how genetic vulnerability shapes the long-term consequences of adolescent cannabinoid exposure remains poorly understood. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and the predominant cannabinoid in the THC-rich cannabis extract used here, primarily...