Some Cannabis Users at Risk of Psychosis due to Genetics

The Daily Mail UK reported that scientists have identified a gene that could predict how susceptible cannabis smokers are to mental illness.
According to the article:

The research, carried out by scientists at the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL), also revealed female cannabis smokers are potentially more susceptible to short-term memory loss than men.

Previous studies have looked at people who already have psychosis, but this is the first to look at healthy people and how the drug affects their minds.

Professor Celia Morgan, professor of psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter, said:

These findings are the first to demonstrate that people with this AKT1 genotype are far more likely to experience strong effects from smoking cannabis, even if they are otherwise healthy. To find that having this gene variant means that you are more prone to mind-altering effects of cannabis when you don’t have psychosis gives us a clue as to how it increases risk in healthy people.

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