To Our Good Mental Health

NH 2024 Legislative Session

During the 2024 legislative session, there are numerous bills being heard around substance misuse and mental health.

Deryn has called the following pending legislative bills to our attention:

Senate Bill 335 aims to reduce the attractiveness of advertising towards children and teenagers, and adds labeling restrictions to current alcohol advertising laws that will prohibit cartoons, toys, and characters in labels and advertisements.

House Bill 1633 is relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis, which would mean that cannabis would be commercialized in the state of NH.

Senate Bill 419 limits the amount of THC that can be in cannabis.

House Bill 470 removes drug checking equipment or materials from the definition of drug paraphernalia.

Senate Bill 411 allows for insurance coverage for youth mental health services.

It you care to offer testimony, or voice your support or opposition to a bill, simply logon by clicking here.

Cannabis and Psychosis

Matthew Squires, MD

Chief Medical Officer

As New Hampshire legislators once again consider some form of legalizing cannabis consumption in the setting of successful efforts in neighboring states (and continued prohibition at the federal level), it is worth reviewing the evidence of the connection between cannabis use and psychosis. It is already well established that THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, transiently increases psychotic symptoms like those seen in schizophrenia.

However, the available evidence on whether cannabis use causes

 (or increases the risk of) diseases like schizophrenia is scant.

Numerous studies in the US and other countries support an association between cannabis use and psychosis. Heavy cannabis use is seen more often in new cases of schizophrenia than in the general population. Other studies have found a dose-dependent relationship between cannabis and psychosis (e.g., heavier cannabis use is seen in people with worse psychotic symptoms). This correlation does not imply causation though. It is entirely possible that sufferers of schizophreniform disorders are simply self-medicating with cannabis, believing they derive some benefit from its use. Efforts to tease out a causal relationship have been mixed.

Given the limited data and limited evidence, at West Central we do not support or encourage cannabis use, especially among clients who have a history of temporary or chronic psychotic symptoms.