Even while many states have passed legislation pertaining to “medical marijuana” and others have decriminalized or even legalized recreational use, a debate continues within society as to whether marijuana is simply a harmless substance that should be fully legalized, a possibly beneficial treatment for patients with certain illnesses, or a drug with the potential to worsen addiction and cause mental health problems. The controversy persists in the medical community as well, where accumulating evidence implicates marijuana use, especially in adolescence, as a risk factor for poor educational achievement and substance use disorders, as well as schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders – all of which complicates the heated discourse on legalization.

Although other books have explored the medical marijuana and the neuroscience behind marijuana, no single source of comprehensive information on marijuana and mental health in modern American society has existed to date. Balanced, focused, and highly readable, Marijuana and Mental Health fills this void. It provides an academic foundation for further study while also informing clinical mental health practice as well as policy decisions by articulating the connection between marijuana and mental health, particularly in the United States.

Chapters offer a concise compilation of research in this area, discussing topics such as:

• The effects of marijuana on the brain and mind
• Marijuana-related legislation
• Medical marijuana
• Comorbidities between marijuana misuse and mood and anxiety disorders
• The complex link between marijuana use and psychotic disorders
• Synthetic cannabinoids
• Treatment and prevention of marijuana misuse Relatable clinical vignettes that contextualize these issues and illustrate the clinical applicability of the content, as well as key chapter points that emphasize major takeaways, make Marijuana and Mental Health the authoritative reference for clinical and research psychiatrists, psychiatric residents and fellows, clinical psychologists, and psychiatric nurses.

Contents:

• An Introduction to Marijuana and Mental Health.
• Marijuana’s Effects on the Mind: Intoxication, Effects on Cognition and Motivation, and Addiction.
• Medical and Recreational Marijuana Policy: From Prohibition to the Rise of Legalization.
• Medical Marijuana: Indications, Formulations, Efficacy, and Adverse Effects.
• Marijuana Use and Comorbidity: Risk for Substance Use Disorders and Associations with Mood, Anxiety, and other Behavioral Health Disorders.
• Marijuana Use and Psychosis: From “Reefer Madness” to “Marijuana Use as a Component Cause”.
• Synthetic Cannabinoids: Emergence, Epidemiology, and Clinical Effects and Management.
• Treatment of Marijuana Addiction: Clinical Assessment and Psychosocial and Pharmacological Interventions.
• Prevention of Marijuana Misuse: School-, Family-, and Community-Based Approaches.
• Index.

Author Bio:

Michael T. Compton, M.D., M.P.H., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, and Professor of Psychiatry at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead, New York.