A new study has found that smoking a lot of marijuana is linked to a growing number of mental illnesses.According to research published in JAMA Psychiatry last week, a team of scientists looked at the health records of almost 7.2 million Danish citizens. They found a link between cannabis addiction disorder (defined as a heavy reliance upon marijuana to the point that it is neglecting other areas of one's life) and schizophrenia. Although there are limitations to these kinds of studies, it is alarming to discover that cannabis may not be as safe as many believe, at least when consumed at high rates.Retroactive research such as the one conducted by scientists can't prove a causal relationship between smoking marijuana and schizophrenia. Many other factors could also be involved, including an unrelated rise in the ability to diagnose schizophrenia.CNN was told by researchers that they believe there is some causation. The researchers cited trends such as the rise in cannabis use in Denmark and the increasing potency of weed over the years to support the argument that smoking marijuana poses a danger.AdvertisementAdvertisementCNN's Carsten Hjorthj, a study author at the Copenhagen Research Center for Mental Health, stated that he believes it is important to use our study as well as other studies to emphasize and highlight the fact that cannabis use is not harmful.Hjorthj said that our findings must be replicated elsewhere to draw firm conclusions. However, I am confident that similar patterns will be observed in areas where cannabis use has been more problematic or where its potency has increased. Many studies have shown that cannabis with high potency is likely to be the cause of schizophrenia.Futurism readers are invited to join the Singularity Global Community. This is our parent company's forum for futuristic science and technology discussions with other like-minded people around the globe. Sign up today to get started!
