cannabis study on adolscents

Essay text:

It all depends on how cannabis fits into our personal, complex, mental chemistry. Van Os & Verdoux (2002) A research report entitled "Early adolescent cannabis exposure and positive and negative dimensions of psychosis" was designed to investigate the effect of cannabis use early in adolescence on sub-clinical symptoms of psychosis both positive and negative. This study was used in the context of an ongoing general population cohort study. (page 323) The thesis and questions this study is aimed at to provide evidence for are as followed: Are individuals with pre-existing vulnerability for psychosis more susceptible to the psychosis-inducing effects of cannabis than those without? Van Os & Verdoux (2002) Does cannabis increases the risk for incident psychotic disorder in those with established personality traits and early symptoms of a psychotic mental state? (page 319-327) Does the use of cannabis in early adolescence have a more powerful effect to the onset of the disorder, rather than cannabis use later on in adolescence? Can cannabis trigger a psychotic disorder as severe as schizophrenia? Johns (2001) Is there a positive association between cannabis and states of anxiety/ depression? (pages 1125-1141) This particular study used the Greek Birth Cohort which is a collection based on the National Perinatal Survey to find its participants...