An international study with the participation of professionals from the Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus has unveiled 16 new genetic loci that predispose to the consumption of cannabis throughout life. The work, published by the journal https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-018-0206-1 Nature Neuroscience, also shows that 24% of the genetic basis that predisposes to the consumption of cannabis is shared with the genetic basis of schizophrenia. This work increases five times the number of participants with regard to the previous largest study carried out on the relationship between cannabis use and mental disorders such as schizophrenia. This international research work has analysed samples of 184,765 patients. As explained by Dr. Marta Ribasés, principal investigator of the http://en.vhir.org/portal1/fitxa-personal.asp?p=ribases-haro-marta&id=52436 Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions group at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), "this study has unveiled 16 new genetic loci involved in the vulnerability to consume cannabis, a very important fact in order to know the genetic bases of the use of this substance. Therefore, the work confirms that there is a genetic component involved in consuming cannabis throughout life." So far, only two genetic loci related to the consumption of cannabis were known. "The fact that this new work brings 16 new loci is a very important step forward", emphasises Dr. Ribasés. Consumption of cannabis and schizophrenia Another important fact derived from the study is that the experts have studied the correlation between the genetic load that predisposes to the consumption of cannabis throughout life and schizophrenia. The main conclusion, adds Dr. Ribasés, "is that it confirms that the relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia is partly determined by a shared genetic basis. A 24% of the genetic basis that predisposes to consume cannabis is shared with the genetic basis of schizophrenia. The study indicates that people suffering from schizophrenia are more likely to consume cannabis." On the other hand, the study also shows a genetic correlation between the vulnerability to the consumption of cannabis throughout life and the consumption of alcohol or tobacco and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). These findings, as indicated by Dr. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga, head of the Psychiatry Department at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and principal investigator of the http://en.vhir.org/portal1/fitxa-personal.asp?p=ramos-quiroga-jose-antonio&id=51737 Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addictions group at VHIR, "will help us to better understand the relationship between cannabis and mental disorders as severe as schizophrenia, and, therefore, to develop individualised treatments."