VANCOUVER (CUP) — It’s been found that 55 per cent of Canadians think marijuana should be legalized. Despite its illegality, it's deeply incorporated into Canadian culture, and numerous cities have cafes and lounges dedicated to the drug.

Partially responsible for this popularity is marijuana's image as a fairly harmless drug, though emerging scientific studies are contesting this belief, mostly due to the selective breeding of plant strains to yield more fruit, or buds.

Cannabis has two notable active chemicals, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD). As the cannabis plant has been selectively bred, the THC quantity has increased in order to increase its potency. In the 1960s, the THC content of marijuana was estimated to be around 1 per cent, but according to the American Council for Drug Education, marijuana currently runs a THC content of around 7.5-24 per cent and rising.

A study by the Trimbos Institute for Mental Health and Addiction was carried out to determine the THC quantity of cannabis available for sale in Dutch coffee shops. The study started in 2000 and observed the THC content double by 2004, compared to the relatively unchanged levels of imported strains. You've probably heard someone's parents mention that weed is different now than when they were growing up, often to rationalize their own experimentation with cannabis and to attack your own, but they're not so far off. There are some negative consequences to this THC-strengthening process.

The Trimbos study concluded that as THC content rises in marijuana, the CBD content stays the same, as CBD doesn't have the desired psychotropic qualities of THC. CBD is responsible, however, for many positive side effects, most notably as an equalizing agent. Not only has it been found to inhibit invasive cancer growth, it also helps to negate the psychogenic effects of THC. CBD is believed to help metabolize THC, balancing the high, and is even effective in treating psychoses. By ignoring this naturally-occurring chemical while drastically upping THC content, we may make cannabis more of a risk to users.

With these effects in mind, we can see how stronger marijuana strains have a similarity to LSD, which has been found to catalyze schizophrenia in individuals who are genetically predisposed. This new information on THC, the prominent psychoactive content of marijuana, has exposed similar consequences. Studies have demonstrated that THC can bring forth symptoms of short-term psychosis, and carries the possibility of early-onset schizophrenia. Picked up by the media, modern strains of street cannabis are now under the microscope.

A statistic put forward by the Beckley Foundation claims that 40 to 50 percent of healthy people who consume cannabis experience a state of transient psychoses, though when CBD is introduced these symptoms are minimized. However, “transient psychosis” just sounds like a scientific description of what it is to be “totally baked,” and it may not be enough to make somebody think twice before twisting one up.

Evidence also shows that THC can worsen mental illnesses, but it is inconclusive whether smoking marijuana, while your brain is still in development or otherwise, can actually cause schizophrenia. As well, the consumption of alcohol carries four times the risks described, and some people look to THC consumption for therapeutic effects.