Scientists unpick how cannabis component may fight psychosis

Green shoots of cannabis are seen in a field overlooking a lake in Yammouneh in West of Baalbek, Lebanon August 13, 2018. [File, Reuters]

British scientists have unraveled how a non-intoxicating component of cannabis acts in key brain areas to reduce abnormal activity in patients at risk of psychosis, suggesting the ingredient could become a novel anti-psychotic medicine.

While regular use of potent forms cannabis can increase the chances of developing psychosis, the chemical cannabidiol or CBD appears to have the opposite effect.