Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1 The cannabinoid system: from the point of view of a chemist -- Cannabis and mental illness -- Understanding cannabinoid chemistry -- Cannabidiol -- The endocannabinoids -- Anandamide -- Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) -- Additional endocannabinoids -- Biosynthesis and inactivation of the endocannabinoids -- Synthetic cannabinoids -- Quo vadimus? -- REFERENCES -- 2 How cannabis works in the brain -- Cannabinoid receptors -- Neuroanatomical distribution of CB1 receptors in brain -- Effects of cannabinoids on synaptic function -- Inhibition of neurotransmitter release -- Endogenous cannabinoids act as retrograde signal molecules at synapses -- Effects of cannabinoids on CNS function and psychomotor control -- Cannabinoid mechanisms in the hippocampus and effects on memory -- Cannabinoids and the neocortex -- Effects of cannabinoids on hypothalamic control of appetite -- Cannabis as an intoxicant and drug of dependence -- Cannabis intoxication -- Tolerance and dependence -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 3 Acute and subacute psychomimetic effects of cannabis in humans -- Historical accounts -- Surveys of cannabis users -- Human experiments on psychomimetic effects of cannabis -- Euphoria and laughter -- Anxiety symptoms with cannabis intoxication -- Immediate effects on cognition and psychomotor functioning -- The 'amotivational' syndrome -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 4 The association between cannabis use and depression: a review of the evidence -- Introduction -- Comorbidity between cannabis use and depression -- Clinical samples -- Convenience samples -- Representative samples of the general population -- Summary -- What explains the association between cannabis use and depression? -- Cannabis use causes depression.

Depression causes cannabis use -- Common factors increase the risk of both depression and cannabis use -- A review of relevant evidence -- Studies of the effects of cannabis use upon mood -- Cross-sectional surveys of the general population -- The use of longitudinal research to examine questions about causality -- Does cannabis use predict later depression? -- Does depression predict later cannabis use? -- Summary -- Implications for future research -- Measurement of cannabis use -- Measurement of depression -- Study designs -- Longitudinal studies -- The use of genetically informative designs to examine causality -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 5 Cannabis and psychosis proneness -- Psychosis proneness in cannabis users -- Is there a cross-sectional association between cannabis use and psychosis proneness? -- Methodological considerations -- Implications -- Does cannabis induce the occurrence of psychotic experiences in non-clinical subjects? -- Is the risk of acute psychotic experiences induced by cannabis increased in subjects with a pre-existing psychosis vulnerability? -- Is there an interaction between cannabis use and psychosis vulnerability in their effects on psychotic experiences in daily life? -- Is there an interaction between cannabis use and psychosis vulnerability in their effects on increased incidence of psychotic disorder? -- Implications -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 6 Is there a specific 'cannabis psychosis'? -- Making causal inferences -- Studies of 'cannabis psychosis' -- Case reports -- Controlled clinical studies -- Controlled studies of 'cannabis psychosis' -- Controlled studies of psychosis in users and non-users of cannabis -- Epidemiological studies -- Time trends in the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia -- Biological plausibility of the association between cannabis use and psychosis -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES.

7 Cannabis as a potential causal factor in schizophrenia -- What is a cause? -- What are the defining criteria of a cause? -- Evidence for association -- Evidence for temporal priority and direction -- Retrospective studies -- Prospective studies -- The Swedish conscript cohort -- The Dutch NEMESIS sample -- The Dunedin birth cohort -- Methodological issues -- Alternative explanations -- Is cannabis a cause for schizophrenia? -- What kind of cause is it? -- What might the other component causes be? -- High-risk studies -- How strong is the causal effect? -- Conclusion -- REFERENCES -- 8 Cannabis abuse and the course of schizophrenia -- Cross-sectional and retrospective studies -- Short-term prospective studies -- Longer-term prospective studies -- Conclusions -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- REFERENCES -- 9 The endogenous cannabinoid system in schizophrenia -- The human endogenous cannabinoid system -- The cannabinoid CB1 receptor in the brain -- Endogenous cannabinoid receptor ligands -- Investigations of the human endogenous cannabinoid system in schizophrenia -- Perceptual disturbances in patients with schizophrenia, compared to non-psychiatric controls under the influence of cannabis -- Human CSF studies -- Postmortem human brain studies -- CB1 receptor gene polymorphisms in schizophrenia -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 10 Cannabinoid 'model' psychosis, dopamine-cannabinoid interactions and implications for schizophrenia -- Review of published studies -- The current study -- A cannabinoid 'model' psychosis -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 11 Motives that maintain cannabis use among individuals with psychotic disorders -- Reasons for substance use -- Hypotheses generated -- The self-medication hypothesis -- Motivational models of substance use -- Studies supporting a motivational model of cannabis use among individuals with psychotic disorders.

Motivational models of cannabis use in psychosis -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 12 Addressing cannabis abuse in people with psychosis -- Screening -- Assessment -- Assessing cannabis use -- Reasons for use -- Readiness to change -- Models of service delivery -- Treatment approaches -- Treatment programmes -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- 13 Residual cognitive effects of long-term cannabis use -- Introduction -- Current knowledge -- Short-term residual effects -- Long-term residual effects -- Residual effects and lifetime duration of cannabis use -- Residual effects and age of onset of cannabis use -- Conclusions -- REFERENCES -- Index.