Study shows white matter damage caused by 'skunk-like' cannabis

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/kcl-ssw112515.php

PUBLIC RELEASE: 26-NOV-2015
Study shows white matter damage caused by 'skunk-like' cannabis
KING'S COLLEGE LONDON

Smoking high potency 'skunk-like' cannabis can damage a crucial part of the brain responsible for communication between the two brain hemispheres, according to a new study by scientists from King's College London and Sapienza University of Rome.

Researchers have known for some time that long-term cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis, and recent evidence suggests that alterations in brain function and structure may be responsible for this greater vulnerability. However, this new research, published today in Psychological Medicine, is the first to examine the effect of cannabis potency on brain structure.

Exploring the impact of cannabis potency is particularly important since today's high potency 'skunk-like'products have been shown to contain higher proportions of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than they did around a decade ago. In experimental studies THC has been shown to induce psychotic symptoms and 'skunk-like' products high in THC are now thought to be the most commonly used form of cannabis in the UK.

Dr Paola Dazzan, Reader in Neurobiology of Psychosis from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London, and senior researcher on the study, said: 'We found that frequent use of high potency cannabis significantly affects the structure of white matter fibres in the brain, whether you have psychosis or not.

'This reflects a sliding scale where the more cannabis you smoke and the higher the potency, the worse the damage will be.'

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