Cannabis, Catatonia and ECT: New Case Report

Out on PubMed, from authors in Pennsylvania, is this case report:

A Case of Cannabis-Induced Catatonia and Management With Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Sharma A, Sharma V.Cureus. 2023 Aug 14;15(8):e43478. doi: 10.7759/cureus.43478. eCollection 2023 Aug. PMID: 37711932 
The abstract is copied below:

This is a case of cannabis-induced catatonia in an 18-year-old Hispanic male with no prior psychiatric history. Shortly after consuming marijuana, the patient experienced catatonic symptoms and demonstrated resistance to several medicinal therapies. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) proved to be a useful treatment choice, resulting in significant improvement in symptoms. This example emphasizes the potential dangers of cannabis usage, particularly in susceptible individuals, and underscores the importance of recognizing and treating catatonia as a possible side effect of cannabis use.

Keywords: cannabis induced catatonia; cannabis legalization; cannabis use; electroconvulsive therapy (ect); treatment-resistant catatonia.

The report is here.

And from the text:


This is a largely straightforward case report of cannabis-induced catatonia, successfully treated with ECT, but Figure 1 is egregiously mislabeled. There are no details of the ECT, other than that it was bilateral, and the patient was given also given an antipsychotic, which some authors believe is contraindicated in catatonia. 

Comments welcome, please.



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