Unraveling the Intoxicating and Therapeutic Effects of Cannabis Ingredients on Psychosis and Cognition
Frontiers in Psychology May 14, 2020 Marco Colizzi, Mirella Ruggeri, Sagnik Bhattacharyya 50 citations
Evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between cannabis use and psychosis risk, driven by frequent use and high-potency cannabis with high delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) concentration. Δ9-THC induces transient psychosis-like symptoms in healthy individuals, while low-potency varieties may be less harmful due to lower Δ9-THC and the presence of cannabidiol (CBD), which may mitigate Δ9-THC's detrimental effects. CBD may have protective and therapeutic properties for psychosis. Similar patterns emerge for cognition: Δ9-THC impairs cognition, while CBD prevents such effects and enhances cognition alone. Molecular evidence shows Δ9-THC acts as a partial agonist and CBD as an inverse agonist/antagonist at cannabinoid receptors, with opposite effects on brain function, explaining intoxicating and therapeutic effects.