Cannabis Conundrum

A sweeping new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry has reignited a long-running debate about medical cannabis for mental health conditions. The findings make for uncomfortable reading for a fast-growing private prescribing sector that has largely outpaced the science behind it. Researchers described this as the largest and most comprehensive review of its kind. They analysed

On 25 March 2026, the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC) hosted a presentation by Dr Ragy R. Girgis, M.D., M.S., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. His subject was cannabis and mass shootings, and the findings come from

A major new study has found that cannabis memory loss goes further than most people expect. Smoking cannabis does not simply blur memories. It can actively distort them, creating false recollections of things that never happened. Washington State University (WSU) researchers say THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, disrupts the brain’s ability to store, retrieve,

For years, the conversation about cannabis has centred on mental health, dependency, and the gateway drug debate. Those are serious concerns. But scientific research is now pointing to something far less discussed: the relationship between cannabis exposure and cancer, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), one of the most aggressive blood cancers in existence. The risk

Alarming new research shows marijuana academic performance links are far more serious than previously thought. Columbia University scientists have uncovered how cannabis damages young people’s school grades, with even occasional use causing significant educational struggles. The groundbreaking study analysed data from over 160,000 American students. Researchers found that adolescents using marijuana near-daily were almost four

The argument surfaces repeatedly in public debates: if society tolerates alcohol, why not cannabis? It’s a question that sounds reasonable until you examine what science actually tells us about marijuana vs alcohol. According to Harvard Medical School professor Dr Bertha K. Madras, a psychobiologist with decades of research into addiction and neurobiology, this comparison rests

The conversation around cannabis has shifted dramatically over the past decade. As legalisation sweeps across nations and the substance becomes increasingly normalised, a troubling pattern has emerged in medical research that demands urgent attention. The link between cannabis and heart attack risk has become undeniable, with young, seemingly healthy adults experiencing cardiac events at rates

A groundbreaking study from the University of California San Diego has identified cannabis as a significant gateway to tobacco use among American youth and young adults. The research reveals that cannabis may be responsible for roughly 13% of new regular tobacco cases in the United States. The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, challenges