Megan Brooks August, 2016
Adolescent boys who regularly use marijuana are at increased risk of experiencing persistent, subclinical psychotic symptoms, particularly paranoia and hallucinations, even after they stop using the drug, a new study suggests.
“Perhaps the most concerning finding is that the effect of prior weekly marijuana use persists even after adolescents have stopped using for 1 year,” lead investigator Jordan Bechtold, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania, and colleagues note.
“Given the recent proliferation of marijuana legalization across the country, it will be important to enact preventive policies and programs to keep adolescents from engaging in regular marijuana use, as chronic use seems to increase their risk of developing persistent subclinical psychotic symptoms,” they add.