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New podcast examines link between cannabis, gut health and psychosis

Cannabis link to psychosis

With the calendar turning to 2025, many people are giving more thought to what they consume, not just for their physical health, but for their brain health as well.

And as we start thinking more about our behaviours and habits, it should come as no surprise that what you consume affects the health of your body and brain.

Contemporary research is shedding light on the connection between cannabis and psychosis, and the BC Schizophrenia Society is closely monitoring the interactions between our minds and our gut health.

In a recent episode of Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined, host and BCSS CEO Faydra Aldridge interviews Dr. André McDonald, an epidemiologist and the lead author of a groundbreaking study on cannabis use and psychotic disorders.

Entitled Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: What Every Parent Needs to Know, the episode explores the alarming connection between cannabis use in teens and the risk of developing psychosis. McDonald breaks down key findings, including the heightened risk for teens, why early cannabis use is especially dangerous and how public health messaging needs to evolve in the era of legalization.

The biggest takeaway? There’s even more reason for increasing awareness about the potential risks associated with cannabis use and for parents to caution their teens about delaying consuming cannabis for as long as possible.

“Some of the estimates in the 1980s was three per cent THC potency on average for flower cannabis. Today it’s over 20 per cent,” Dr. McDonald says. “I’m hoping all levels of government will listen to this information, especially in this era of legalization.”

Established in 2021 and now in its fifth season, Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined is one of the few evidence-based and ongoing podcasts about schizophrenia and its effects. It aims to dispel myths about the illness and humanize the journey through interviews with people with lived experience and experts who discuss the latest medical information.

Schizophrenia is a severe and persistent mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. It is classified as a psychotic disorder, meaning it involves a significant distortion of reality. The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known, but it is believed to result from a combination of genetic, environmental and neurochemical factors.

And while these conversations may be distressing to some, the need to have these discussions is ever-present since untreated schizophrenia and psychosis creates more social challenges than any other medical condition. It is linked to higher incarceration rates, substance use and suicide rates.

According to statistics provided by BCSS:

• More than 100,000 people in B.C. will be affected by schizophrenia at some point in their lives, based on the 1.8% prevalence rate.
• Patients with schizophrenia occupy one in every 12 hospital beds in Canada—more than any other ailment, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.
• Approximately 50% of individuals with schizophrenia will attempt suicide.
• The annual national cost of schizophrenia was estimated to be $10 billion in 2022.

Released Jan. 8, the most recent episode delves into the gut-brain connection of mental illness. The episode’s guest, Dr. Amedeo Minichino, a clinical academic psychiatrist at the University of Oxford, studies how the trillions of bacteria in our gut microbiome can influence brain function and potentially play a key role in conditions like schizophrenia.

Aldridge notes that Minichino’s research is still in its early days and that no dietary gold standard has been found—but progress is being made.

“Dr. Minichino discusses emerging research on how gut health might inform personalized treatments for individuals, the potential for early intervention in psychosis and how diet could be a powerful factor in mental health care,” Aldridge says.

Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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