Study Downplays Marijuana's Link To Schizophrenia

October 26, 2009 6:28 a.m. EST

Miami, FL (AHN) - A new study out of the United Kingdom downplays the role of marijuana in the development of schizophrenia.

Scientists from Bristol, Cambridge and the London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine studied how many cannabis users would need to stop their habit in order to prevent one case of schizophrenia. They said in a statement that it would be necessary to stop 2,800 heavy pot smokers in young men and more than 5,000 heavy users in young women to prevent a single case of schizophrenia.

Among light users, those numbers rise to more than 10,000 young men and almost 30,000 young women.

The authors said in a statement that preventing young people from smoking marijuana is important for reasons like curbing tobacco use and drug dependence, and improving scholastic performance, but a focus on schizophrenia is "misguided."

They also said that their study did not resolve the question of whether cannabis use causes schizophrenia.

The study is published in the journal Addiction.