Comorbid psychosis and addiction: practical and novel approaches

Psychosis and addiction are common psychiatric disorders thatsometimes are associated with poor outcomes, especially whenboth disorders are comorbid. Cannabis use is able to trigger bothdisorders, and parameters of use (e.g. age of onset, potency, expo-sure) play a crucial role. On the other hand, persistent cannabis usemay worsen the course of both disorders. These negative effects areprobably related to disturbances of the endocannabinoid system,which has been found to be altered in several psychiatric disor-ders. The endocannabinoid system is involved in several biologicalprocesses, including brain development during the adolescence. Inaddition, this system modulates important networks (e.g. salience,reward) involved in the emergence of core symptoms of psy-chosis and addiction. This suggests that drugs targeting this systemmight be of therapeutic value. Research into different cannabinoids(e.g. cannabidiol) and medicinal cannabis have shown promisingresults. In this workshop we will discuss the most recent find-ings from studies on cannabinergic drugs for addiction, psychosisand their comorbidity. In addition, practical and future treatmentstrategies will be discussed.