The adverse health effects of synthetic cannabinoids with emphasis on psychosis-like effects
Open accessAbstract
Cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of psychosis in vulnerable individuals. Cannabis containing high levels of the partial cannabinoid receptor subtype 1 (CB1) agonist tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is associated with the induction of psychosis in susceptible subjects and with the development of schizophrenia, whereas the use of cannabis variants with relatively high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) is associated with fewer psychotic experiences. Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are full agonists and often more potent than THC. Moreover, in contrast to natural cannabis, SCRAs preparations contain no CBD so that these drugs may have a higher psychosis-inducing potential than cannabis. This paper reviews the general toxicity profile and the adverse effects of SCRAs with special emphasis on their psychosis-inducing risk. The review shows that, compared with the use of natural cannabis, the use of SCRAs may cause more frequent and more severe unwanted negative effects, especially in younger, inexperienced users. Psychosis and psychosis-like conditions seem to occur relatively often following the use of SCRAs, presumably due to their high potency and the absence of CBD in the preparations. Studies on the relative risk of SCRAs compared with natural cannabis to induce or evoke psychosis are urgently needed.
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Effects of short-term THC use include memory and cognitive deficits, impaired motor coordination, and psychosis.
“Effects of short-term use include memory and cognitive deficits, impaired motor coordination, and psychosis.”
From Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules (2016) · cites this paper as van Amsterdam et al., 2015
The SCRA-induced acute psychosis section reports that intravenously administered THC induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in people without psychosis. The Acute adverse effects section reports short-term memory and cognitive deficits for synthetic cannabinoids, not specifically THC. Our copy does not support impaired motor coordination as an effect of short-term THC use (searched: motor coordination, motor impairment, ataxia). Page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLong-term use of THC has been associated to an increased risk of addiction, cognitive impairment, altered brain development when initial use was done early in adolescence, and an increased risk of chronic psychosis disorder including schizophrenia.
“Long-term use of THC has been associated to an increased risk of addiction, cognitive impairment, altered brain development when initial use was done early in adolescence, and an increased risk of chronic psychosis disorder including schizophrenia.”
From Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules (2016) · cites this paper as van Amsterdam et al., 2015
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThere is increasing concern about the psychotogenic effects of synthetic cannabinoids, currently from case reports of individuals experiencing psychosis after using them.
“There is also increasing concern about the psychotogenic effects of synthetic cannabinoids, currently from case reports of individuals experiencing psychosis after using them (54).”
From Association Between Cannabis and Psychosis: Epidemiologic Evidence (2016) · cites this paper as [54]
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References 125 · Cited by 244
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Auwarter V, Dargan PI and Wood DM (2013) Synthetic cannabinoid recep- tor agonists: Classification, pharmacology and toxicology. In: Dargan and Wood (eds) Novel psychoactive substances. Academic Press.
- Leweke F, Koethe D and Gerth C (2005) Cannabidiol as an anti-psy- chotic: A double-blind, controlled clinical trial of cannabidiol ver- sus amisulpiride in acute schizophrenia. 15th Annual Symposium on Cannabinoids, Clearwater Beach, FL: Cannabinoid Research Society.
- Authors
- van Amsterdam, J., Brunt, T., & van den Brink, W.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Trimbos Institute (NL)
- ORCID
- Brunt, Tibor
- Venue
- Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-01-13
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 254-263
- ISSN
- 0269-8811 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7285
- OpenAlex
- W2032506781
- Cited by
- 244
- References
- 125
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 86 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 12
- FWCI
- 3.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- pure.amsterdamumc.nl
- Locations
- Journal of Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- synthetic cannabinoids, psychosis, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, schizophrenia, cannabis, adverse effects, drug toxicity, CB1 receptor
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cannabidiol, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Humans, Psychoses, Substance-Induced, Dronabinol, Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists
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