The Mail on Sunday has shouted that "cannabis TRIPLES psychosis risk" and that skunk is to blame for "1 in 4 of all new serious mental disorders". Is this what the study shows? Well, no, they found that those with psychosis were much more likely to have used skunk every day, than to have never used cannabis. Conversely, people who smoked hash every day were no more likely to have psychosis than people who never tried cannabis. (See also: What media reports on the new cannabis study don't tell you | Why cannabis studies are needed | Skunk's psychosis link is only half the cannabis story)

If you believe budtender wisdom, consuming a strain called Bubba Kush should leave you ravenous and relaxed whereas dank Hippie Chicken should uplift you like a dreamy cup of coffee. But if you take pure, isolated delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC—the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana—you’ll experience “a high that has no specific character, so that seems boring,” says Mowgli Holmes, a geneticist and founder of a cannabis genetics company Phylos Bioscience. What gives cannabis “character,” in Holmes’s view, are the hundreds of other chemicals it contains. These include THC’s cousin cannabinoids such as cannabidiol, along with other compounds called terpenes and flavonoids.

Two of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations might face an uphill battle getting adopted later this year by the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). That revelation stems from an analysis of statements made by U.N.-member states at a recent two-day CND meeting. Still, many in the cannabis industry are hoping for a positive outcome at the end of the year, when a vote is planned. The reason: If the two recommendations discussed at the CND meeting in June are approved, international trade in certain CBD preparations is expected to become more free.

As more and more jurisdictions reconsider their cannabis policies, the public discourse is filled with conflicting evidence about the impacts of cannabis use and regulation. Cannabis causes schizophrenia. Cannabis is as addictive as heroin. Cannabis regulation leads to increased traffic fatalities. We hear claims like these all the time – but are they based on science? In our latest reports, the ICSDP investigates and provides comprehensive evaluations of the evidence for and against each claim.

Download the report (PDF) | Cannabis claims website

A study published in Neuropsychology attempted to determine if CBD reduces the adverse effects of THC, such as paranoia and memory loss, but found little evidence to support this theory. Study participants were observed and both pleasurable effects as well as adverse effects like paranoia and memory recall were recorded. The study, called “Does cannabidiol make cannabis safer? A randomised, double-blind, cross-over trial of cannabis with four different CBD:THC ratios” aimed to determine if increasing the amount of CBD can reduce the “harmful effects” of cannabis—notably from THC. The study also suggests that people who report better effects from CBD:THC products say so because they consume less THC rather than any buffering effects from CBD. (See also: Cannabis not made safer by increasing its CBD content)

Producing and selling hemp inflorescences (clusters of flowers on a stem) with a low THC content has been legal in Switzerland since 2017. However, this market has not proved to be the gold mine that some expected. Since 2011, hemp and its derivatives with a THC concentration of under 1% have no longer been considered drugs under Swiss law. The boom of so-called light cannabis, however, only came about in 2017, when it became possible to produce and market the unprocessed inflorescences of this plant in Switzerland, provided the THC content was below the 1% threshold. Many people saw an opportunity, a new Eldorado, and the number of registered producers jumped from five in early 2017 to 630 in 2018.

Thanks in part to the Netherlands' policy of marijuana decriminalization, there are people living in the Dutch city of Utrecht whose addiction to cannabis prevents them from getting effective treatment for mental illness. According to a September 10 statement from Utrecht Mayor Wolfsen, "There is a group of about eighty people with a chronic psychotic disorder who barely respond to their treatment. A possible explanation for this is their severe dependence [on] cannabis."

Half a century ago, Hebrew University Prof. Raphael Mechoulam isolated and synthesized THC, the main psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant. By 1963, Mechoulam and his research partners had revealed the structure of cannabidiol (CBD), a key ingredient in cannabis. By the following year they had isolated THC for the first time, established its structure and synthesized it.

Marijuana has been shown to have both anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) effects and to induce anxiety and psychosis in certain people. In schizophrenics, it can increase symptoms, and in healthy people it can increase the risk of schizophrenia. Now, new study shows that the two active ingredients in pot, ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) may have quite opposite effects on the brain – and behavior – and could explain why pot’s effects can be unpredictable.

Dr David Potter and GW Pharmaceuticals – a company that is exploring how cannabis could help treat a range of illnesses ranging from epilepsy to cancer – have turned their attention to developing a cannabis-based treatment for psychosis and related illnesses such as schizophrenia. For a drug that is widely seen as a trigger for acute psychotic illness in young users, this at first sounds preposterous. But, as Potter explains, the cannabis plant is much more than just a psychedelic weed. A cannabinoid known as CBD (or cannabidiol) appears to have almost the exact opposite effect.

While the world seemed to arrest, the cannabis industry’s pulse grew stronger. Cannabis research, though temporarily stymied as universities scrambled to get COVID-19 protocols in place, continued to plod ahead. Although the number of cannabis-related publications were down in 2020 compared to the previous year (what wasn’t, other than stock market indices?), scientists continued to unlock the mysteries of the fascinating plant. Here are some of the top stories in cannabis research in 2020. Italian scientists isolated a new cannabinoid, THCP (tetrahydrocannabiphorol), and cannabinoids may treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD or Expert Committee) released in January 2019 the outcomes of the first-ever critical review of cannabis, recommending a series of changes in the current scheduling of cannabis-related substances under the UN drug control conventions. Eagerly awaited, the ECDD recommendations contain some clearly positive points, such as acknowledging the medicinal usefulness of cannabis by removing it from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs; clarifying that cannabidiol (CBD) is not under international control; and addressing some long-standing scheduling inconsistencies.

Download the brief (PDF)

In the scientific literature, 'skunk' has come to mean something more specific: cannabis that contains a high percentage of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the intoxicating part) but little to no Cannabidiol (CBD, an antipsychotic), in contrast to other milder ‘strains’ which contain lower levels of THC and more a significant CBD component. Skunk is a deliberate creation of the illicit industry, fashioned by generations of selective breeding and advanced cultivation methods that have steadily pushed THC levels up over the last 20 years.

According to an email the CND Secretariat sent to permanent missions in Vienna, the “first topical meeting of the intersessional considerations of the WHO scheduling recommendations” is scheduled for June 24-25. During the gathering UN member countries are expected to discuss the implications of recommendations regarding extracts and tinctures as well as CBD. The WHO’s CBD recommendation, if ultimately adopted, could lead to freer international trade in the cannabinoid. The topical meetings, to be held behind closed doors, involve only UN-member countries and relevant intergovernmental organizations. Next week’s gathering will be the first of a series of topical meetings to be held before December.

According to a research study published by the University Of New Mexico and Releaf App in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine,cannabis flower may be effective in providing immediate relief for the symptoms of depression – a condition affecting roughly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S., and often leading to other ailments like cancer, substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain. “The findings suggest that, at least in the short term, the vast majority of patients that use cannabis experience antidepressant effects, although the magnitude of the effect and extent of side effect experiences vary with chemotypic properties of the plant,” the paper reads.

During its reconvened 63rd session Dec. 2-4, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) could – with a simple majority vote in a virtual meeting based in Vienna – accept a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Drugs in Schedule IV of the 1961 treaty – the current situation with cannabis or heroin – are a subset of those already in Schedule I, and Schedule I already requires the highest levels of international control. As such, a victory would be more symbolic than practical. (See also: Potential fall-out from the vote on the WHO cannabis recommendations)

El Gobierno uruguayo resolvió aumentar el porcentaje de tetrahidrocannabinol (THC) -el principal componente psicoactivo- de la marihuana con fines recreativos que se comercializa en las farmacias del país desde 2017 y pone la mira en modificar regulación para permitir el acceso a turistas. Así lo informó en rueda de prensa el secretario general de la Junta Nacional de Drogas (JND) del país, Daniel Radío, quien dijo que, si bien no cree que para esta temporada turística pueda llevarse a cabo, se está estudiando de qué manera modificar la normativa para permitir que más adelante los turistas accedan al cannabis e incluso pueda representar algún atractivo para la llegada de visitantes. (Véase también: Venta de marihuana a turistas: medida no sería para esta temporada)

Among the wave of hemp-derived cannabinoids sweeping the country—delta 8 THC, delta-O THC, and delta-10 THC among them—few have eluded public understanding more than HHC. Googling the compound brings up a host of contradictory information: about its legality, its effects on the body, and even whether it occurs naturally in the cannabis plant. Hemp-derived HHC isn’t THC, but it offers a THC-lite experience. Making sense of HHC is complicated in part because it has only recently reached the market and only a handful of retailers are selling it, mostly in the form of vape carts. The cannabinoid offers lots of potential, however; don’t be surprised if you start hearing more about it soon.