Among 1,034 US college students, higher weekly cannabis use was associated with more hallucinatory experiences and delusional ideation, with the hallucination link remaining significant after controlling for depression.
College health providers, psychiatrists, psychosis researchers, and young adults.
Cannabis-hallucination link remained significant even after controlling for depression
What the researchers found
Greater weekly cannabis use was associated with increased hallucinatory experiences (persisting after controlling for depression) and delusional ideation (not persisting after depression adjustment). Heavier cannabis users reported more distressing delusional ideas held with greater conviction.
Why it matters
Subclinical psychotic experiences that are severe and distressing are linked to increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder, making the cannabis-psychotic experience connection clinically relevant even in non-clinical populations.
The numbers in context
Sample: 1,034 college students. Measured: past-week cannabis use, hallucinatory experiences, delusional ideation, depression. Cannabis-hallucination link: significant after depression adjustment. Cannabis-delusion link: not significant after depression adjustment.
How the study worked
Cross-sectional survey of 1,034 US college students using validated questionnaires: Peters Delusions Inventory for delusional ideation, Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended for hallucinations, and Beck Depression Inventory for depression.
What this study cannot tell us
Cross-sectional design cannot determine direction of causation. Self-reported cannabis use. No information on cannabis potency or strain. College student sample may not generalize.
How to read the evidence
Reasonably large sample with validated instruments, but cross-sectional design limits causal interpretation.
When this study was published
Published in 2021.
The bigger picture
The fact that the hallucination association survived depression adjustment while delusions did not suggests cannabis may affect different psychotic experience types through different mechanisms.
Questions still open
- Why do hallucinations and delusions show different relationships with cannabis after controlling for depression? At what frequency does cannabis use become meaningfully linked to psychotic experiences?
Common questions
Is cannabis use linked to psychotic-like experiences in college students?
Could depression explain the cannabis-psychosis link?
Read the original research
Relationship between cannabis use and psychotic experiences in college students.
Schizophrenia research, 231, 198-204
Citation
Wright, Abigail C; Cather, Corinne; Farabaugh, Amy; Terechina, Olga; Pedrelli, Paola; Nyer, Maren; Fava, Maurizio; Holt, Daphne J. (2021). Relationship between cannabis use and psychotic experiences in college students.. Schizophrenia research, 231, 198-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2021.04.004
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