Cannabis Use and Psychosis – Modern Views on the Problem. Narrative Synthesis

Cannabis continues to be the most widely used drug worldwide. Recently, there has been two trends in the field: a liberalization of cannabis-related legislation in a number of countries, as well as an increase in the content of the psychoactive component in cannabis plant – tetrahydrocannabinol. The review covers a topic that has been little studied in Russian addiction science – cannabis use and associated psychotic disorders. Research materials: publications in the Pubmed and RSCI databases. Topics addressed include: cannabis use and psychotic disorders; alternative views on the causal relationship between cannabis use and psychotic disorders; gender specifics in the development of psychotic disorders; genetic predisposition to the development of psychotic disorders in cannabis users; problems with cannabis use in adolescence; possible reasons for using cannabis; suicidal behavior of cannabis users; relationship between cannabis and tobacco use; clinical aspects of treating cannabis users with psychotic disorders; promising areas of future studies. In the absence of domestic research on these topics, such a brief review may help addiction doctors to get a general idea of the modern state of the problem.