For what may be the first time, specific genes associated with marijuana addiction have been identified— and some of them are also linked to increased risk for depression and schizophrenia. The findings could help explain why 90% of people with marijuana addictions also suffer from another psychiatric condition or addiction.
“We were surprised to find a genetic risk overlap between cannabis dependence and major depression,” said senior author Yale psychiatrist Joel Gelernter, MD, in a statement.
In the new research, which was published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers studied the genes of nearly 15,000 people from three different groups, who were being followed to try to work out the genetics of various types of addiction. Among these groups, between 18% and 36% had cannabis addiction, depending on what the focus of the research was.
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