Medicine has found that there is no relationship between cannabis use and suicidal behavior in people with psychiatric disorders.
McMaster University researchers have made this important study that contrasts with previous reports that show the drug is related to an increased suicidal behavior in the general population. However, it has been observed that men who use cannabis are more prone to suicide than women. Obviously we are talking about people who shouldn’t smoke at all. Cannabis is a substance for sane people.
The study was published online in the journal Biology of Sex Differences. This is what it is says:
“In what we believe to be a first, this study seeks to understand how cannabis use impacts suicide attempts in men and women with psychiatric disorders who are already at a heightened risk of attempting suicide,” said Zainab Samaan, lead author and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster.
“We know there is a high rate of cannabis use among this population and wanted to better understand any potential correlation to suicidal behavior.”
Therefore, the study has been made with people who previously had suicidal behavior. Data was studied from a total of 909 psychiatric patients, including 465 men and 444 women. Among this group, 112 men and 158 women had already attempted suicide. The average age was 40 years. This is how the research continues:
“While there was no clear link between cannabis and suicide attempts, our findings did show that among participants with psychiatric disorders, having a mood disorder or being a woman correlates with an increased risk of suicide attempt. Meanwhile, having a job is protective against suicide attempts.” – said Leen Naji, the study’s first author.
Naji also said that more research is necessary, considering Canada’s changing laws on cannabis use, and the Mental Health Action Plan of the World Health Organization which wants to reduce the rate of suicide by 10 per cent by 2020.
“Our study is both timely and relevant, especially in light of the impeding legalization of recreational cannabis with an expected increase in access in Canada, and there remains uncertainty about the full effect of cannabis on those living with psychiatric disorders,” – she said.
As we told, the research has been made with people who already had mental disorders and suicidal tendencies. But even in these cases there was not significant association between cannabis use and more suicide attempts. Anyway, this research is not for common people without mental disorderes.
