Can Cannabis Cause Psychosis?

"In 2018, there was a criminal case of a young woman who smoked a bong containing a high dose of cannabis (marijuana) provided by her new boyfriend. She was unaccustomed to smoking pot. After taking a couple of hits, she went into his kitchen and brought out a handful of knives. She began stabbing her boyfriend over 100 times. He died from his wounds."

"Next, she began stabbing her service dog, who also died. Then she started to stab herself with a long-serrated knife. Her boyfriend's roommate discovered his dead body, saw her stabbing herself, and called the police. Upon arrival, they found her stabbing and cutting herself and demanded that she drop the knife. They described her as having an odd expression on her face."

"She didn't drop the knife, so she was tased multiple times without any effect. Then, one of the officers used a baton several times to strike the arm that held the knife. He had to break her arm in several places before she finally dropped the knife. When she got to the police department, she acknowledged that she had killed her boyfriend and her dog. She said she had no idea why."

A young woman unaccustomed to cannabis smoked a bong containing a high dose of high-potency cannabis and quickly became violently psychotic. She retrieved knives and stabbed her boyfriend over 100 times, killing him, then stabbed and killed her service dog and inflicted wounds on herself. Responding officers tazed her multiple times without effect; an officer struck the knife-holding arm with a baton and broke her arm before she dropped the knife. At the police department she acknowledged the killings and said she had no idea why. Forensic psychologists concluded she experienced a cannabis-induced psychosis and the bong contained only high-potency cannabis. Her charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter and a jury found her guilty; she was not imprisoned.

Read at Psychology Today