Marihuana Psychosis

To the Editor:—  The communication entitled "Marihuana Psychosis" by Drs. Talbott and Teague (210:299, 1969) is both important and timely in view of the public debate about marihuana. The authors record surprise in finding "the literature so lacking in regard to adverse reactions to smoking marihuana." In fact, the literature, both current and old contains many more references^1-6 to adverse reactions than Drs. Talbott and Teague note in their bibliography. If the medical community were more aware of the cumulative experience with acute psychotic reactions both in this country and world-wide, there might be a more informed debate about the pros and cons of this drug.A fact not sufficiently emphasized is that marihuana reactions, like those of most other drugs, are dose-related. Hence, the American experience is less impressive than that in Far Eastern areas because here the potency of the drug is less strong and less