PREMIERES ON CBC TV’s “THE NATURE OF THINGS” with DAVID SUZUKI THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2010 at 8 P.M.

Is strong pot damaging young minds? That provocative question is at the heart of this new documentary about the science behind marijuana and mental illness.

Teenagers who start smoking marijuana before the age of sixteen are four times more likely to become schizophrenic. That’s the startling conclusion of some of the world’s top schizophrenia experts, whose research is featured in the new documentary THE DOWNSIDE OF HIGH, premiering on CBC TV’s “THE NATURE OF THINGS” with DAVID SUZUKI on Thursday, January 28 at 8:00 P.M. The scientists’ groundbreaking work on the connection between marijuana and mental illness also reveals that, for all young adults, smoking marijuana nearly doubles the risk of developing recurring psychosis, paranoia and hallucinations – the hallmarks of schizophrenia.