UW ADAI - Symposium - 2024 - Opening Remarks
(September 19, 2024)

Here are some observations from the Thursday September 19th University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI) Symposium titled, “Cannabis, Schizophrenia, and Other Psychotic Disorders: Moving Away from Reefer Madness Toward Science."

My top 3 takeaways:

• Susan Ferguson, the Director of the University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI), welcomed attendees to the group’s 5th symposium on cannabis research and introduced the topics and speakers for the day's event (audio - 6m, video - UW ADAI).
  • Ferguson noted that as of that morning, there were 577 people registered, with more than half attending from Washington State. The local interest was particularly encouraging, as she observed the symposium was "sponsored by the cannabis dedicated funds from the state, given to the University of Washington and to ADAI.” She welcomed the participation of Representatives Shelley Kloba and Lauren Davis.
    • Both Davis and Kloba offered remarks during the prior UW ADAI cannabis symposium in September 2022. At the 2024 event, no time was allotted for elected officials to offer remarks. 
  • Ferguson described the symposium as particularly timely due to recently released data from the University of Michigan Monitoring the Future survey. Referring to young adults aged 19 to 30, she said the survey had highlighted that "cannabis vaping, as well as daily cannabis use, are also at the highest they have ever been among this group.”
  • Ferguson explained that the 2024 symposium would feature a few changes, with most speakers presenting remotely, allowing participants to "benefit from the wisdom of people all over the world that might otherwise not have the capacity to travel to the US.”
  • She mentioned another first for the symposium: the inclusion of pre-recorded testimonials from young people impacted by cannabis use, thanking the advocacy groups Every Brain Matters and Johnny’s Ambassadors for sharing the stories.
  • Ferguson concluded her remarks by recognizing the contributions of individuals and organizations that made the symposium possible, including:
    • Washington State agencies
      • Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB)
      • Washington State Health Care Authority (WA HCA)
      • Washington Department of Health (DOH)
    • UW ADAI Cannabis Education and Research Program (CERP) staff
      • Director and Symposium Chair Dr. Beatriz Carlini
      • Research Scientists Sharon Garrett and Lyndsey Kellum
      • Graduate Research Assistant Lexi Nims
    • UW ADAI staff
      • Director of Information Services Meg Bruner 
      • Public Information Specialist Erin McGraw

• Beatriz Carlini, the UW ADAI Cannabis Education and Research Program (CERP) Director and Symposium Chair, acknowledged the complicated history surrounding the topic of cannabis and psychosis and expressed her hopes for the 2024 symposium (audio - 3m, video - UW ADAI).
  • Carlini described feeling “somewhat nervous” about the day’s event, arguing that “for many decades now, the idea that cannabis use could somewhat play a role in the development of psychosis [and] in psychosis disorders has been seen with profound distrust, some suspicion even, and sometimes even the reaction is a big laugh.”
  • She posited public skepticism was rooted in the history of how the topic had been presented, specifically to “the idea that cannabis can make people, quote, unquote, insane.” Carlini cited a 1925 The New York Times article headline: “Kills Six in a Hospital. Mexican, Crazed by Marijuana, Runs Amok With a Butcher Knife,” as an early example of the way cannabis has been discussed in relation to mental health.
    • Further research on how cannabis has been portrayed in the media examined racist and sensational historical reporting, and changes in recent decades in how cannabis policy has been portrayed primarily as a law enforcement issue with increasing partisan differences. Additional studies on cannabis and media framing include:
      • Recreational Marijuana and Traffic Fatalities: Sensationalism or New Safety Concern (2018)
      • The marijuana user in US news media: an examination of visual stereotypes of race, culture, criminality and normification (2019)
      • Racism and Its Effect on Cannabis Research (2020)
      • A qualitative review of cannabis stigmas at the twilight of prohibition (2020)
      • Themes and tones of cannabis news reports and legalization outcomes (2020)
  • These “over simplistic accounts of events were further reinforced in 1936 with the…infamous Reefer Madness movie,” Carlini explained. While the story centered White characters, “with a little less racial bias, they picture high school students committing homicides and robbery, descending into quote, unquote insanity because of their cannabis use,” she said. “As you probably know, the term ‘Reefer Madness’ is synonymous of exaggerated and…stereotypical portray[al] of cannabis use consequences to mental health.” Carlini described the legacy of Reefer Madness as “harmful”, stating that “as scientific research advances the knowledge of the strong connection between cannabis use and development of psychotic disorders, some sectors of society still tend to dismiss these findings as a modern take of reefer madness propaganda.”
    • Originally titled, ‘Tell Your Children,’ Reefer Madness opens with a disclaimer professing to the accuracy of the themes, if not the specific people and events, which are relayed by an educator, who encourages a group of parents and teachers to address youth substance abuse concerns by supporting cannabis criminalization. It was screened around the U.S. for more than a decade, spawning other anti-drug morality tales before emerging as a midnight film and cult classic by the 1970s.
    • Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), was part of the push to preserve and promote the film as part of the group’s criticism of cannabis prohibition policies.
  • Carlini expressed hope that the symposium’s speakers would help attendees to “better understand the role of cannabis use [in] cannabis psychosis” and that the information presented would “help educate those that are most at risk, and encourage our state to take action where action is due.”
    • Carlini had been a regular supporter of Davis’ legislation to restrict or further tax high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis products, offering ideas on how to achieve passage in 2023. In January 2024, she authored a research article on opposition to some policy changes which called for giving health official input priority over that of businesses and consumers when it came to policymaking on cannabis.
  • Carlini remarked how “cannabis use is considered by many scientists as the most important preventable risk factor, factor for the develop[ment] of lifelong psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.” She asserted, “Yes, we cannot prevent genetics, but we can prevent behaviors.”
  • Carlini closed by imploring the attendees not to “dismiss this finding as a modern take [on] reefer madness propaganda, but rather as opportunity to learn and reflect.”

• The symposium centered around a keynote presentation on cannabis use and psychosis, along with researcher panels reviewing recent studies around the correlation; intervention approaches which research suggested was effective for youth and young adults; and policy changes states might implement to reduce cannabis use by those under 21.
  • King's College London Department of Social, Developmental, and Genetic Research Clinical Reader in Psychosis Research Marta Di Forti gave a keynote address, "Cannabis use and psychosis: Past, present, and future."
  • The symposium was arranged into several multi-speaker panels:
    • Reviewing the evidence: Cannabis use, schizophrenia, and psychotic disorders
    • Promising clinical interventions to reduce cannabis use among at-risk consumers
    • Promising policies to reduce onset and progression of psychotic disorders in U.S. states with legal cannabis markets