Clinical Lecturer in the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London
Position:
Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
Reasoning:
"We should have more data on cannabis exposure. We should take a cannabis history in a more detailed way, like we do when we take a history of cigarettes smoking to establish risk of lung cancer. But it would be naive to say that smoking a joint is safe as we do not have enough data to reach such conclusion."
"People Who Smoke Skunk 'Are 18 Times More Likely to Develop Psychosis'," The Royal College of Psychiatrists website, July 2, 2008
Key Experts Physicians [Physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.] [Note: Key Experts definition varies by sites that have this designation.]
Involvement and Affiliations:
Clinial Lecturer, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Coordinator, Genetics and Psychosis (GAP) Study, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Honorary Clinical Specialist Registrar (SpR), Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Visiting Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Palermo Medical School (Italy)
Consultant, adult psychiatry, women only, Service Foxley Lane Inpatient Unit, South London and Maudsley National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust
"Cannabis Use in Young People: The Risk for Schizophrenia," Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Aug. 2011
"Drug-induced Psychosis: How to Avoid Star Gazing in Schizophrenia Research by Looking at More Obvious Sources of Light," Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Jan. 2011
"High-potency Cannabis and the Risk of Psychosis," The British Journal of Psychiatry, Dec. 2009
"Gene-environment Interplay Between Cannabis and Psychosis," Schizophrenia Bulletin, Nov. 2008
"What is the Mechanism Whereby Cannabis Use Increases Risk of Psychosis?" Neurotoxicity Research, Oct. 2008
"Why do Psychotic Patients Take Cannabis?" Psychological Medicine, July 2008
"Cannabis, the Mind and Society: The Hash Realities," Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Nov. 2007
"Cannabis Use and Psychiatric and Cognitive Disorders: The Chicken or the Egg?" Current Opinion in Psychiatry, May 2007
"Cannabis Consumption and Risk of Developing Schizophrenia: Myth or Reality?" Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 2005
Other:
Dr. Di Forti's research focuses on the interaction between psychosis susceptibility genes and environmental risk factors, such as cannabis, in the causation of schizophrenia.
Coordinates the Genetics and Psychosis (GAP) Study at the Institute of Psychiatry, whose goals are to "collect clinical, epidemiological, neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and substance misuse data plus DNA/biological samples from 1000 first-episode psychosis patients and 2000 matched healthy controls."
Currently enrolled as a part-time PhD student at the Institute of Psychiatry with a working PhD title of "Gene x Environment Interaction in Schizophrenia: The Example of Cannabis."
