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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2007 | Volume
: 49
| Issue : 4 | Page : 256-261 |
Cannabis-related psychosis: Presentation and effect of abstinence
Vani Kulhalli1, Mohan Isaac2, Pratima Murthy1
1 Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bangalore - 560 029, India
2 Community, Culture and Mental Health Unit, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Freemantle, WA 6160, Australia
Correspondence Address:
Vani Kulhalli
502 Ashish Society, Tilak Mandir Road, Vile Parle East, Mumbai - 400 057
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0019-5545.37665
Background: The correlation between cannabis and negative mental health outcomes has been unequivocally established. Nevertheless, there is still a great need to research different dimensions of cannabis-related disorders, among which the study of cannabis-related psychosis is very important. There is a dearth of research regarding phenomenology and effect of abstinence, particularly from India. This study attempts to research the clinical presentation of cannabis-related psychosis and effect of abstinence.
Aim: The aim of the present study was to document the clinical presentation of cannabis-related psychosis at presentation and after 7 days' abstinence from cannabis.
Materials and Methods: Subjects with psychosis following cannabis use without any other prior or concurrent psychiatric disorder presenting to the outpatient department of a large tertiary care hospital were consecutively recruited for study. They were observed in a drug-free, protected environment for 7 days, during which clinical features were recorded using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).
Results: Twenty male subjects were recruited and phenomenology was evaluated on the BPRS. Items with highest frequencies were unusual thought content (100%), excitement (75%), grandiosity (75%), hallucinatory behavior (70%) and uncooperativeness (65%). The least common symptoms were anxiety (5%), guilt feeling (5%), depressive mood (10%), motor retardation (10%) and blunted affect (30%). Nine subjects (45%) presented with cognitive dysfunction. Affective psychosis was the predominant diagnosis. At the end of 1 week of abstinence from cannabis, there was a significant decrease in scores. Significant improvement was observed in cognitive dysfunction, conceptual disorganization, grandiosity, tension, hostility, hallucinatory behavior and excitement.
Conclusions: Cannabis-related psychosis presented with a predominantly affective psychosis and prominent thought disorder, excitement and violence. All subjects showed improvement in symptoms with abstinence from cannabis. A small heterogeneous sample and short duration of observation were the important limitations of this study.
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