New Genetics Evidence Should Help Quell " Reefer Madness " Mongering

A team of Australian and Dutch researchers (Gillespie et al), writing in the June 2019 issue of the British medical journal  The Lancet, criticized a March 2019  study by British researchers (Di Forti et al) in the same journal that suggested variations in cannabis use and potency may be responsible for variations in psychotic disorders. Opponents of cannabis legalization have used the Di Forti study as evidence to support their position. The criticism rests on the fact that the authors of the March study “assume that cannabis causes psychosis or psychotic symptoms without acknowledging compelling, alternative hypotheses.” Gillespie and colleagues point out that most studies looking at associations between cannabis and psychosis don ’t adjust for “confounding” that arises from correlated genetic and environmental individual differences. They point to their own findings as well as those of other researchers showing cannabis use may be higher among individuals with a genetic liability that predisposes them to both cannabis use and the development of psychotic disorders. To address the shortcomings of the March study, they specifically point to the results of their  recent meta-analysis of the largest genome-wide association study of lifetime cannabis use to date. The study indicated that genetic risk factors for cannabis use and schizophrenia are positively correlated. The meta-analysis applied bidirectional randomization and found a “consistent pattern of e...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 24, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs