Researchers have previously linked the use of high-potency, “skunk-like” cannabis to increased risk for psychosis – an effect that has been attributed to alterations in brain structure. Now, a new study finds frequent use of the drug damages a key part of the brain that aids communication between the right and left hemispheres, independent of psychosis.

Share on Pinterest Researchers found the use of high-potency cannabis damaged the corpus callosum of the brain – a structure that aids communication between the right and left hemispheres.

Senior researcher Dr. Paola Dazzan, of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London in the UK, and colleagues publish their findings in the journal Psychological Science.

In the US, cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug. Skunk is a more potent form of cannabis, typically stronger in smell and containing higher levels of the main active ingredient delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Studies have increasingly associated the use of skunk cannabis with increased risk of psychosis – a term used to describe hallucinations and delusions that arise from some mental disorders, such as schizophrenia. Another study by King’s College published earlier this year, for example, linked high-potency skunk use to a fivefold greater psychosis risk.

For this latest study, Dr. Dazzan and colleagues investigated how the high-potency drug affects brain structure. They note that gaining a better understanding of this association is important, particularly since levels of THC in skunk-like cannabis have been increasing in recent years, and this ingredient itself has been linked to increased psychosis risk.