Two cases of "cannabis acute psychosis" following the administration of oral cannabis
Bernard Favrat, Annick Ménétrey, Marc Augsburger, Laura E Rothuizen, Monique Appenzeller, Thierry Buclin, Marie Pin, Patrice Mangin, Christian Giroud
BMC Psychiatry December 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1186/1471-244x-5-17
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTwo healthy, occasional but regular cannabis users with no psychiatric history experienced transient psychotic symptoms—depersonalization, paranoid feelings, and derealization—after taking oral cannabis under controlled experimental conditions. Unlike most case reports, blood levels and timing were documented, and all subjects tested negative for other drugs and alcohol. Although oral administration produces limited blood concentrations, it can still trigger significant psychotic reactions.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2 |
| Population | Healthy occasional but regular cannabis users with no psychiatric history |
| Intervention | Oral cannabis |
| Key finding | Oral cannabis can induce transient psychotic symptoms in occasional users even with limited blood concentrations. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug and its therapeutic aspects have a growing interest. Short-term psychotic reactions have been described but not clearly with synthetic oral THC, especially in occasional users. Case presentations We report two cases of healthy subjects who were occasional but regular cannabis users without psychiatric history who developed transient psychotic symptoms (depersonalization, paranoid feelings and derealisation) following oral administration of cannabis. In contrast to most other case reports where circumstances and blood concentrations are unknown, the two cases reported here happened under experimental conditions with all subjects negative for cannabis, opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, benzodiazepines and alcohol, and therefore the ingested dose, the time-events of effects on behavior and performance as well as the cannabinoid blood levels were documented. Conclusion While the oral route of administration achieves only limited blood concentrations, significant psychotic reactions may occur.