Mdedge Psychcast

Diana M. Martinez, MD, conducts a Masterclass on marijuana’s effects on psychiatric disorders. Dr. Martinez, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, New York, specializes in addiction research. She disclosed receiving medication (cannabis) from Tilray for one study and has no other financial relationships with this company. Take-home points The use of cannabis, recreationally and medically, has been a controversial topic for ages, and the classification of cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance has made it all the more difficult to research and meaningfully understand its harms and benefits. Based on information from the National Academies of Sciences publication Health Effects of Marijuana: An Evidence Review and Research Agenda, Dr. Martinez presents a sweeping overview of the role of cannabis in two domains: Its ability to worsen psychiatric symptoms, and its role in causing psychiatric disorders. The cannabis plant has 100 cannabinoids. The two most commonly studied are tetrahydrocannabi