Two years after the state legalized recreational marijuana use, setting foot on a New York City street any time of day or night means being assaulted by the depressingly familiar odor of marijuana smoke — and the same is true in many US cities.
There was a policy debate on marijuana legalization, and the legalization side won.
But caution and reasoned discourse have taken a back seat to a gold rush by big-money backers reminiscent of Big Tobacco, abetted by states looking for new sources of tax revenue.
Marijuana proponents like to remind us: “The science is settled.”
But is it?
A recently released study that links heavy marijuana (or cannabis) use to schizophrenia makes some wonder if we should have second thoughts about what exactly we are doing to ourselves.
The answer is yes, we should — and not based on just one study.
The cannabis and schizophrenia study is based on an analysis of almost 7 million Danish health records from 1972 to 2021.
Researchers found a statistical correlation between those who became heavy/compulsive users of cannabis (developing so-called cannabis-use disorder) and a subsequent schizophrenia diagnosis.
In 30% of all schizophrenia diagnoses of men aged 21 to 30, the individual was a heavy pot user; of the full sample, ages 16 to 49, the correlation was 15%…
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