Cannabis use in psychotic patients is linked to worse outcomes

Cannabis use among patients with first episode psychosis is associated with substantially worse clinical outcomes, a large study published in BMJ Open has found.1

Psychotic patients with a history of cannabis use were more likely to be admitted to hospital, to require compulsory admission, and to spend an extra 35 days in hospital in the five years after their first episode, the study found. Cannabis use was also linked to prescription of several different antipsychotic drugs during the follow-up period, suggesting treatment failure.

The five year …