Amotivational syndrome

Amotivational syndrome is said to be an inability or an unwillingness to participate in normal social situations and activities, a chronic, persistent state of apathy caused by an external event, situation, substance, relationship, or other cause.

Some have claimed that chronic use of cannabis causes amotivational syndrome. Others claim that there is no such thing as "amotivational syndrome", and that persons who fit the definition are normal, if introverted, humans, and that such people tend to enjoy smoking cannabis because it reinforces this behavior.

From a World Health Organization report:


 * The evidence for an "amotivational syndrome" among adults consists largely of case histories and observational reports (e.g. Kolansky and Moore, 1971; Millman and Sbriglio, 1986). The small number of controlled field and laboratory studies have not found compelling evidence for such a syndrome (Dornbush, 1974; Negrete, 1983; Hollister, 1986)... (I)t is doubtful that cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome. It may be more parsimonious to regard the symptoms of impaired motivation as symptoms of chronic cannabis intoxication rather than inventing a new psychiatric syndrome.