VANCOUVER—It took years for doctors to figure out why she was hearing voices in her head. It started innocently at first. The voices were distant. Sometimes they came from her television. In this alternate reality, she was the belle of Hollywood’s A-list, sought after by the directors and actors of Beverly Hills.Before age 25, Anita Smith had never touched marijuana. She had an otherwise unremarkable, sheltered upbringing with no family history of mental illnesses. Following high school, she spent three years in the Canadian Forces before deciding to enrol in film school. Her group of friends in college introduced her to pot.That was back in the mid ’90s, when the psychoactive component in cannabis, THC, was mild compared to today’s standards. For more than two years, Smith was a daily user. So was everyone else in her peer group. But only she heard the voices.As Canada is poised to legalize recreational marijuana in October this year, with federal legislation making the drug legal to possess in limited amounts for anyone 21 or older, experts are attempting to figure out how best to educate Canadians on the mental health risks for using the drug.In particular, research in Denmark has discovered heavy cannabis users are substantially associated with the development of schizophrenia and bipolarism. In fact, of those who were hospitalized with a pot-related mental condition, almost 50 per cent were diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolarism later on in life. The risks increase the younger a person starts using. Experts have not yet determined whether cannabis causes schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder, or whether it simply triggers a first psychotic episode. Read more:We need more help with cannabis rollout, provinces tell OttawaOpinion | An aching thumb sent me to the cannabis counter. It was one part 1970s LCBO and one part Holt RenfrewHow much pot is consumed in your Toronto neighbourhood? Check our interactive map“I had my own world ...
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