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February 7th, 2011
05:56 PM ET
Marijuana use may speed psychosisUsing marijuana, or cannabis, may cause psychosis to develop sooner in patients already predisposed to developing it, and in other patients the drug may even cause psychosis, according to a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. "This finding is an important breakthrough in our understanding of the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis," according to the study. "It raises the question of whether those substance users would still have gone on to develop psychosis a few years later." Patients with psychosis tend to lose touch with reality and are prone to hallucinations and delusions about what is happening around them. Psychosis is frequently reported among patients with diagnosed mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. According to the study led by Australian researchers, in which data from 83 studies involving more than 20,000 patients were analyzed, marijuana users experienced psychosis about three years younger than non-users. Users of other substances (besides pot) experienced symptoms of psychosis two years sooner. Alcohol use had no influence on development of psychosis, according to the study. "Reducing the use of cannabis could be one of the few ways of altering the outcome of the illness because earlier onset of schizophrenia is associated with a worse prognosis," according to the study. "An extra two or three years of psychosis-free functioning could allow many patients to achieve the important developmental milestones of late adolescence and early adulthood that could lower the long-term disability arising from psychotic disorders." But experts say the complexity of interaction between genes and environment, and the possibility that cannabis is, in fact, a way to self-medicate when psychotic symptoms arise are not accounted for in this study. The marijuana-schizophrenia link "It is distinctly possible, in fact likely, that folks who experience initial symptoms turn to cannabis in an effort to control them, then end up having a psychotic break of some sort earlier simply because they had their first symptoms earlier," said Mitch Earleywine, an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, who is also a marijuana policy expert. "This predicament makes it look as if cannabis preceded the psychotic symptoms when, in fact...folks with worse symptoms who are more likely to have an early break might simply be more likely to turn to cannabis." Theories about an association between marijuana use and schizophrenia include several –sometimes interrelated - scenarios: The possibility that cannabis causes schizophrenia; that cannabis may cause people vulnerable to schizophrenia to develop symptoms; that cannabis may make schizophrenia symptoms worse; or that people with schizophrenia are more likely to use cannabis, according to the study. Study authors suggest that this study, "lends weight to the view that cannabis use precipitates schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders," perhaps because of some confluence of genetic and environmental factors, or because using cannabis early in life may disrupt brain development. "[This study] found that cannabis is associated with early onset of psychosis and that is most likely true but it doesn't answer the question of which way it goes," said Dr. Charles L. Raison, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Emory University, and CNNHealth's mental health expert doctor. "Does smoking cannabis early in life make you vulnerable to getting early psychosis or is the first manifestation of psychosis to do drugs and alcohol, or is it both?" Do you have diagnosed schizophrenia? How well are you managing it? Raison added that other studies suggesting a causal relationship between marijuana use and psychosis disagree with this one. Whatever the relationship between cannabis and psychosis, experts can agree that early use of cannabis is problematic. "No one wants to see young people get heavily involved with any psychoactive substances," said Earleywine. soundoff (1,357 Responses)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Next »Leave a Reply to Mark Godfrey
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In other words, this study is a fraught with uncertainty as all studies on use of Marijuana usually are. Why do a study like this if they are not going to try to get the answers to the inevitable questions these studies always bring up?
I believe the following statement in the article says it all:
But experts say the complexity of interaction between genes and environment, and the possibility that cannabis is, in fact, a way to self-medicate when psychotic symptoms arise are not accounted for in this study
Well, why was that not accounted for? This is always the burning question!! give us a study that actually attempts to answer these questions. Why don't they? because they really don't want to know the answer......that marijuana has nothing to do with the onset of psychosis. In fact, Marijuana should probably be employed to TREAT these mental diseases. (ever pay attention to the ads for anti depressants that actually CAUSE DEPRESSION? study that!! or were they actually trying to prove that only illicit drugs contribute to mental diseases? This is just one more study that tells us NOTHING!! )
Are you suggesting that because a study does not answer every possible question on a subject that it is not worth doing? No need to get worked up about it. Perhaps you didn't inhale deep enough.
I concur. Sounds like a study paid for by the pharma corps....don't smoke or ingest something naturally grown, instead use our magical pills for all your ailments. Sorry about the side effects that cause leaking anuses, blurred vision, and the urge to kill everything....it really only happens to a "few" people.
Marion, you are absolutely right. They still won't tell you why marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin, yet is less harmful and addictive than both caffeine and alcohol. In fact, if you look up marijuana on Wikipedia there is an interesting chart which illustrates this beautifully. The funny thing is how close Alcohol is to street methadone.
Its all a big game. There is more money in keeping it illegal than legalizing it. Thats the bottom line. With it illegal, they've got more bodies to shove into privatized prisons. They can justify the DEA. The pharmaceutical companies benefit in a huge way because marijuana can alleviate many things without the harmful side effects of "Legal" drugs. Even the oil industry has a stake in it being illegal. Hemp grows very fast, and can be used to make polymers. Something almost exclusive to the oil industry. The chemical companies like Dupont who spearheaded its ban almost 100 years ago has a lot to loose as well. Then there is the cotton industry. Hemp grows a lot quicker than cotton. The list goes on and on and on.
Every time these industries see legalization gaining traction you get to read a "scare" article like this to pray on people's ignorance. Pot has been around since the wheel and we still have no records of pot related deaths, but we only need to go back 5 years to find all sorts of deaths related to FDA approved drugs from the pharmaceutical companies. So what does that tell you about the governments "Concern" over our safety?
This actually wasn't a study at all....rather, it was analysis of other studies.
smokie smokieeeeee
The possible links between pyschosis and marijauna use are complex. You're not seeing conclusive results because the puzzle has not been worked out yet. Smoking marijuana exposes the user to a wide variety of chemicals, so sorting out test results is not easy. THC may be a contributor to pyschotic symptoms, and CBD appears to be an inhibitor. Google this, and read actual study information.
There is definately a correletion between marijuana use and psychosis, but that is not the same as causality.
As the article above indicated, there are many possible reasons for the correlation:
– Marijuana use may merely accelerate the onset of psychosis in people who would have experienced it eventually anyway.
– Marijuana may actually contribute to psychosis.
– There may simply be a correlation between marijuana and psychosis because people predispossed to psychosis find that using marijauna makes them better able to function (likely because CBD in marijuana is an inhibitor, and these people are unkowningly self-medicating).
I shared a house with a guy who matched that last item, though I had not heard of the CBD issue until years later. He was definately the wake'n'bake sort; got high in the morning, on his lunch break, and all through the evening. He held down a demanding job at a computer company. Getting stoned didn't seem to hold him back, but he became a real problem when he ran out of weed. I lost track of him, but heard that he eventually got fired ... not for the drug use, but because he was acting crazy. He was in his early 20s when I knew him, and late twenties when he got fired ... and psychosis often starts to become noticable in the late teens/early twenties and is full blown by mid to late 20s. Fits this guy to a T.
There have been studies using sibling pairs to try to isolate genetics from the results, and these suggest a correlation between THC and pyschosis. There have been studies involving the levels of CBD vs. levels if THC in various strains of marijuana, and these show a link between higher THC/lower CBD and temporary pychotic symptoms, but this doesn't prove that THC causes actual clinical psychosis.
In short, the jury is still out ... but there is a lot more factual data out there than you are suggesting.
I agree with you. The only reason marijuana is illegal is because anyone can grow it. If it could only be grown in certain areas like tobacco it would be legal. Check this out to educate yourselfs http://www.globalhemp.com/Archives/History/hemp_history.html
Yep– this stuff sounds like it was pulled right out of Reefer Madness. LMAO!!! :-{D}
I love seeing real scientists analyzing medical and scientific data obtained 3rd and even 4th party on the CNN comments board. Makes me think better of the scientific community.
These studies are never science, they are always speculation. Should, Could, May, Might.... Giant leaps in logic. Small samples. Questionable practices and predetermined outcomes. They should do a study to show how PROHIBITION causes people to develop psychosis. I hear lots of delusional stuff coming from prohibitionists. Fear of things that are safe and a desire to see good freedom loving Americans exterminated from the face of the earth. Clearly psychosis.
Siobhan, Doug, John, Lenic and Anderson, you people sound YOU'RE too baked to have read the article. Look at what Mitch Earlyewine said: "It is distinctly possible, in fact likely, that folks who experience initial symptoms turn to cannabis in an effort to control them, then end up having a psychotic break of some sort earlier simply because they had their first symptoms earlier. This predicament makes it look as if cannabis preceded the psychotic symptoms when, in fact...folks with worse symptoms who are more likely to have an early break might simply be more likely to turn to cannabis."
Because in order to get perfect causal explanations for this, you would have to conduct an experiment beginning with people who have never used marijuana. Then half of them would be required to use marijuana and half would be required to avoid using marijuana. You would also have to have people who all have the same exact DNA in to offset the interaction effects between marijuana and various DNA. An experiment of such sorts would be impossible. So reseachers have to rely on correlational data, such as this.
If someone is suffering from psychosis they shouldn't be smoking weed or drinking alcohol. They should be seeking help for their illness. This shouldn't hold any weight against medicinal or recreational use of marijuana.
I know from about four decades of casual observation that whatever sort of mind problem you are prone to, pot brings it out. Many people experience depression as a "day after" symptom. Chronic bronchitis is common. One thing that nearly all pot smokers are affected by is the idea that no one notices how they are messing up, making jumps of logic when attempting to reason, and that pot smoking and THC is good for you. Unless you suffer from glaucoma or are in cancer treatment, anyone is better off with a clear head than not.
JOHN,CA , At least you have ONE thing right you ARE uninformed, and a bigot.
"Using marijuana, or cannabis, MAY cause psychosis to develop sooner in patients already predisposed to developing it, and in other patients the drug MAY even cause psychosis, according to a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry."
"It is distinctly possible, in fact likely, that folks who experience initial symptoms turn to cannabis in an effort to control them, then end up having a psychotic break of some sort earlier simply because they had their first symptoms earlier," said Mitch Earleywine, an associate professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany, who is also a marijuana policy expert."
"But experts say the complexity of interaction between genes and environment, and the possibility that cannabis is, in fact, a way to self-medicate when psychotic symptoms arise are not accounted for in this study."
"because earlier onset of schizophrenia is associated with a worse prognosis," according to the study. "
Seems to me that this is another typical anti-marijuana funded study or at least the researchers had previous biased opinions. They stress the answer they want but play down other possibilities.
@meemee – "I know from about four decades of casual observation that whatever sort of mind problem you are prone to, pot brings it out."
Again this is a very biased conclusion. First, how in the world do you know what anyone you casually observed is prone to? HOW? Secondly, if they are prone to it wouldn't they be more likely to show sign and symptoms anyway? Just because you are prone to it doesn't mean you get it, similarly, just because you smoke pot doesn't mean you develop anything. What is the rate of people prone to getting an illness who don't smoke and get it compared to people who are prone, smoke and don't get it?
smoke weed
As a therapist who works in inpatient psychiatry, I am surprised that this is news – a link between cannabis use and psychosis. We in mental health have known this for years. I cannot tell you the numbers of patients I have seen with a clear psychosis/ cannabis connection. Just another heads up then – marijuana also leads to paranoia and/or narcissistic disorders.
@Mental health therapist
"As a therapist who works in inpatient psychiatry, I am surprised that this is news – a LINK between cannabis use and psychosis. We in mental health have known this for years. I cannot tell you the numbers of patients I have seen with a clear psychosis/ cannabis CONNECTION."
"Just another heads up then – marijuana also LEADS to paranoia and/or narcissistic disorders."
Again, what studies show that marijuana, in FACT, leads to any of these. NONE. They always state MAY because they can't prove it and the only evidence is a possibility. Think about how many possibilities exist for any diagnosis.
Well Said!
Mental health therapist .... "...Just another heads up then – marijuana also leads to paranoia and/or narcissistic disorders." I appreciate your comment ... I've seen it first hand in my family. What is the standard treatment/therapy, and what type of psychiatrist /therapist is qualified to treat such a person. There are often desperate and very sad situations that arise from this disorder and its manifestations.
@John Doe – You're an idiot and a trouble maker.
I absolutely agree with the findings here as far as my specific case. When I stopped smoking so much weed, after about 4 months, I returned to normal (meaning not dealing with any psychosis). I smoked from the age of 24 to 32 HEAVILY!!! I felt like I was regressing in life. Now, I seem to be back on track in my head. The link was obvious for me. I'm sure I will enjoy a toke again one day, but not soon and only as an occasional "treat".
.
yeah cuz it ISNT a known fact pot use makes people paranoid and dumb.....
my pot head friends NEVER have paranoid attacks thinking cops etc are everywhere.... no never happened.... ever....
There is a def link between steady use of weed and "nutty" people.
I have to wonder how much different the results would be if you tried the same thing with..say,coffee drinkers,or people who eat pork products.
Talk about a generalization Caeser.. God you are dumb.
Many of the comments on the article ignore a basic principle of the scientific method...science does not seek to prove things. A basic understanding in the research science community is that all you can do is disprove, but that to prove something, a reader or observer must be willing to believe in the data, therefore the step in the scientific method involves disproving a hypothesis, not proving it. If none of the observations disproves the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is said to be true, not proven.
ALL scientific studies rely on data analysis and rarely are conclusions 100%. As someone noted above, you would need to control for ALL environmental variables in order to prove a causal link between pot use and psychosis. This is impossible at the current time because it would require creating humans with the same DNA as teens or early 20's, requiring no food, controlling their environment so they could only breathe scientifically harmless air, and then giving 1/2 of them pot and the other 1/2 nothing. Since science knows this to be an impossibility, it does not seek to prove a theory, but rather disprove. We have the "laws" of physics because they have no been violated according to observation at this point. Some of these "laws" are starting to break down as our ability to measure physical reactions at ever smaller intervals becomes more precise. Even then, you would have the potheads who refuse to believe the data simply burying their head in the sand and denying the data. Like the smoker who insists cigs don't cause cancer cause he has smoked for 50 years and doesn't have any health issues. When it comes to areas like these, there will usually be exceptions to the rule and outliers in the data. A solid scientific conclusion can be drawn at a much lower standard. The proper statement for cigs would be "Data has shown with a 95% confidence interval that there is a causal relationship between smoking tobacco and the onset of some form of cancer." Yet, no one would credibly argue that cigs don't cause cancer. Potheads are simply where the tobacco industry was 30 years ago.
The people who always dispute these studies (and studies of studies count as scientific studies in and of themselves) are usually invested in denying what the preponderance of the data shows. This is why the standard in US courts is proof beyond a reasonable doubt (or preponderance in civil cases)...because I cannot prove something to someone who simply refuses to be swayed by logic and observation.
Post a reply if you are a pothead....
@Slobahn....
Yes. Exactly actually. There is no point in rehashing the same poorly constructed studies... unless you are losing a war of rhetoric and can jump start some negative publicity by doing a meta analysis of previously done studies. ...
There is nothing new here. This isn't a new study.. . its a meta analysis... and we have known for some time that NONE of these studies (except a few very recent ones) have taken the issue of causality up.
Newer studies are showing that marijuana improves cognitive performance in schizophrenics. (America and Germany I believe).
My opinion is that Cannabis causes the frequent user to begin to think differently. The user begins to see beyond the cultural influences that keep us doing what we do. The user begins to ask the big questions. This is too much to handle for many users. They become caught between what has been expected of them their whole life and what the free mind is telling them is possible. With out guidance, moderation and a great deal of effort this can lead to a complete crack up. Cannabis does not make you mentally ill but it can introduce you to a more complex understanding of life that some may find difficult to reconcile. Just my thoughts people. I don't know for sure.
That's funny. I have been smoking off and on for years. I haven't experienced anything at all. I am not saying that there is no merit to the study (since I am not a scientist), but it is funny how whenever there is something that needs to be blamed, its cannabis that becomes the first target. It's natural. Been around since the times of old. Doesn't need to have anything done to it. Best of all, if you stop smoking, there are no withdrawal symptoms like you experience with anything else. Still amazes me that they can push their own crap which has more side effects than the symptoms it is supposed to fix. PHARMA FIX!!!
Years ago I talked with a neurologist about this, being that my family is prone to schizophrenia. Marijuana use does not induce mental diseases. There is a theory that it could bring it about a few years earlier. But in more probability use picks up after developing symptoms so that the person is mellowed out and can live with what they are going through. Hearing voices and seeing hallucinations can be a traumatic experience and marijuana can make the experience easier to deal with. Seems that schizophrenia has skipped my generation, and thats with most of us smoking pot regularly. Although I quit recently. What I do disagree with most is that the article says it is addictive. Marijuana is not addictive unless you buy chronic, which has had cocain injected into the stalk as it is grown. I've quit several times. Marijuana is as addictive as snacks, but then there are alot of people that while claim that they can't stop eating doritoz and that is why they are fat.
This is the first time I have ever posted my opinion on cnn, but I must due to the content. I was an advocate of the use of marijuana for years and used it to treat my depression. All of the medications that were prescribed me never seemed to work but pot did for a long time. I am also a recovering alcoholic who used pot to stop drinking. After 20 years of abusing marijuana my depression only got worse. I have been admitted to hospital psych wards for major depressive events when I began to have suicidal ideations. My brain lacks enough of the neurotransmitter seretonin and when you smoke pot daily it depletes this neurotransmitter. So after a day of pot smoking I would wake up and have to smoke more pot just to feel normal. And this is the same biomechanism that causes addiction. I am not saying pot is bad by any stretch of the imagination, I would love to wake and bake like I did for so many years, but I cant. I believe alcohol and cigarettes are a much larger threat to community health that pot will ever be. I cant speak for anyone but myself but in my case pot exacerbated my clinical depression to the point of psychosis. The pot we smoke today is not the pot your mom and dad smoked in the 60s and 70s. THC levels of todays modern pot have gone from 2% to 22%. America make your own decision on pot use, all I know is after 20 years of abuse I can no longer smoke it due to the side effects. If you have a choice between getting drunk or smoking pot, I would go roll a big fatty and leave the alcohol alone.
This is dumb. There are too many additional factors not recognized in the article that may lead to psychosis. It mentions nothing about the possibility of factors outside of marijuana that lead to psychosis. Also, let's remember correlation does not always mean cause. Just because I open my garage door every morning and the sun also rises every morning does not mean the two are related...so also, don't eat cookies, lol
Why does everyone cite the fact that ganja is "natural" as a reason why it's healthy? Uranium is "natural" too, as is Mercury and Foxglove. Get a new argument, folks.
Alcohol causes so many more problems than weed; yet, we not only tolerate it, we advertise it on the most watched program of the year...the Super Bowl. But I'm sure nobody abuses it because there is a label on the beer bottle that tells you to be careful and use in moderation.
The news media always use these correlational "studies" in their stories because, by definition, they can't demonstrate causality. In other words, these studies can be used to support whatever conclusion one cares to draw from them.
Don't like pot? This study shows a link between pot and psychosis! We can't be sure whether pot has a causal relationship with psychosis or if it's the other way around, however. In fact, there might be factors we haven't thought of. Why? Well, because we neglect to tell you that correlational studies are not, in fact, based in scientific method at all. We just take a bunch of statistics and say, "Hmm, that's interesting!" Then we pass it off as science and let the readers draw whatever conclusions they like from our sensational headlines!
ive been smoking all my life. since the age of 7, im 26 know and i never had any problems with weed. but i do get crazy , when i dont have or not high. because of all the stuipd thing that people do in this world. plus the hate that all around us i rather be in weed land. with the rest of my peaceful and loving family than to be stuck on earth with the "evil sober humans" or the drunk one with the government stamp to get drunk and really act the fool !!!!!!
Just another scary headline that parents can point to and say to their kids "see, I told you". The problem with these types of stories, is that most people don't take the time to read the entire story and understand what it means. Those of us who grew up in the 60's & 70's and smoked pot probably think this study is a bunch of bull (I don't know anyone who wasn't psychotic to begin with who became mentally ill and only 1 person who probably was), but the pot today is supposedly much stronger than back then and has "stuff" added to it that might be the problem.
Ron B, the key word in your statement is abuse. The very root of the word implies that if you do ANYTHING too much, there are going to be consequences. Some of these comments that I'm reading about people who say they smoked all day every day for years...and then blame it on the pot...well, of course it's the pot's fault then. Everything is fine in moderation, especially marijuana. If you are using any drug, not prescribed to you, on a daily basis...all day...there's gonna be some fall out somewhere. Anyone who's abusing anything has other underlying problems, least of which is the specific thing they are abusing. It's like saying that food made you fat.
This started with someone saying 'I want to fund a study that will prove pot use causes psychosis'...and this is the result.
Having known two people personally who both suffered from a form of psychosis both bipolar and both used this particular drug Prior.
I totally agree with this study.. Totally against Marijuana use. People who use are generally insecure and unable to live in reality/truth and have to take a drugs to enjoy or experience life should buy counseling sessions instead of drugs.
I feel extremely bad for those who cannot accept and live an honest truthful life and experience the now.
some points to consider... For one, Mitch McConnell has said that among other things, he's going to "stamp out pot". One good method of that is to get into the media system with "findings" from "tests" conducted by "authorities". But, if this were an american project, people would have benched the results as slanted, due to the folks funding the experiments (read: government officials). Since this an Australian experiment, it should look more believable, and they have no real stake in it, so it should only be taken as fact, or so it's supposed. You know what causes psychosis? When you can't believe a damn thing that you read anymore. We all know media is in the hands of who pays them the most, as well as scientists, and drug dealers for that matter. When you involve some hotbed topic like marijuana and it's effects in reporting on supposed findings from doctors out only to make a buck by getting notoriety for their research, coupled with a governmental need to propagandize the "evils" of marijuana... well, you get a study like this one. Alcohol pays plenty of taxes, so they get a thumbs up meanwhile,
Medical studies are always 'fraught with ambibuity' as the human body is a very, very complex beast.
Everybody who's smoked weed should concur with the general conclusion of this article. We all know someone a little 'off' who basically went into a 'social hole' from smoking too much weed and had to find their way out of it or never did.
Weed is not well understood by the mainstream, but those defending it are out to lunch if they don't think it doesn't have dramatic effects on culture and people. And it absolutely is socially addictive, about 10% of users show strong signs of addiction. It's not addiction like alcohol or cocaine, but we all know someone who had to blunt up at least a few times a day or freak out.
Here's a study for you....ANY chemical we put in our body that isn't already there or naturally derived is illicit and could cause damage.Period!
Sounds like scientists did not perform this study.. from the reading it would seem like lawyers performed this study
Good points Marion. I'd also like to add that William Burroughs addressed this issue 60 years ago in his memoir/novel "Junkie." He pointed out that weed smokers experiencing psychosis will usually snap out of it within a few days once they've quit smoking.
Psychologists would rather give you prescription medication that they own stocks in, rather than something that works and you can grow yourself!
Reading these comments simply makes me believe that you all need to move to California where Pot is essentially legal...the 'Medical' classification is a joke...if you want to get high out here you simply need to go to one of these hack shacks and get your card. I'm tired of the argument about pot and, although I don't smoke it (did in high school and hated it), I don't care about the people that choose to smoke. You can send me all of your studies about why it is so incredibly good for you and I just don't care...don't smoke it around me. Additionally, if and or when the states actually make it legal, they need to provide a vehicle for companies that don't want to deal with people that smoke pot...ie...I don't want to hire you if you use the stuff...just keep it away from my company. This is what scares me about the 'medical' use of pot instead of making it legal...can someone claim discrimination if you chose not to hire them because they have a card saying they have back pain and are treating it with pot? I don't want drunks wasting my time and I certainly don't want pot-heads doing the same. Make it legal, tax the hell out of it, make the criminal penalties as bad as DUI laws and give companies a way to ensure that they aren't criminalized for not taking on the risk of people that smoke...now quit with this it's good for you, it's bad for you argument and let’s get on with life.
i agree with you marion. plus would like to add that i have seen plenty of alcoholics in the throes of alcoholic psychosis why not publish a poorly conducted study about that!
The real question is who is funding this study and what result do they want this study to find? I'm banking its a conservative group trying to put a wrench in the gears of legalization of pot.
Who funded this study? I am Bi-polar and clinically depressed and have been using MJ due to serious back problems. I was looking to find anything that would help my back pain and found that MJ alleviated my pain better than anything big pharma had to offer including synthetic morphine patches. Secondly, I found that MJ makes me feel "normal" by elevating my mood and I function better with it than without it.
So, it may be that marijuana is used as a self-medication measure with early onset psychosis (the most severe), as a self-medication attempt.
It may be that marijuana contributes to the onset of psychosis.
OR it may simply be Reefer Madness. A nonsensical film from 1936.
AND the study results contradict the results of several other studies...
MORE Reefer Madness.
One item in the study, is worthy of thought. We know that the brain does not reach maturity and full development until at least the age of 22 or 23. It is reasonable to assume, that the regular introduction of chemicals into the brain, before that point will have adverse affects on brain function in the future. Regardless of whether those chemicals are THC, alcohol, or others. The level of brain function defines us, both in personality, and potential. (Or lack there-of.) I am against anything that diminishes that potential.
Siobhan, Maybe it is you who needs to inhale deeply to know that Marion is absolutely spot on.
"Marijuana use may speed psychosis". No surprise there.
Call it whatever you want, I smoke a joint about the stuff some people kill themselves over...... Not to say anything negative (or unnecessarily positive) about people who commit suicide, nor to say that smoking would've changed anything either, but stuff happens.... Some people get HIGH up on a 20 story building and contemplate jumping, some people just get..... Yea, y'all know where I was headed with that....
Marion, you're dead on. First thing I noticed is that these professionals refer to Cannabis by the Mexican slang, Marijuana. Anyone actually studying Cannabis from a scientific level not only refers to it by its botanical name, but also doesn't generalize it by only mentioning smoking it. The facts are that more people are turning to infused products to really hone in on the cannabinoids that are most beneficial for why they need it. I presume these "study authors" are only referring to Delta-8 and Delta-9 which are psychoactive.
I agree with everyone, this sounds like another attack from Big Pharm who are terrified for the public to learn about all the amazing science behind the other Cannabinoids, like:
Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)
Cannabidivarin (CBDV)
Cannabidiol (CBD)
Cannabinol (CBN)
Cannabichromene (CBC)
Cannabigerol (CBG).
WHICH, btw, are already available in dosage forms include IV parental preparations, hard-gelatin capsules and pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs). Dosage forms can be prepared containing a single or combination cannabinoid.
If someone were to ask me, I'd say these study authors are a complete joke!
I hope in the future, CNN will start to apply a bit more basic journalism in qualifying their specialist they interview.
If you want to look at the real deal, visit the two UK Pharmaceutical companies that actually know what they're talking about.
http://www.gwpharm.com
http://www.stipharm.com/
Nathan
@Nathan- I see whoever wrote the article uses the word marijuana but so far I am looking at the meta-analysis and just seeing cannabis. Where do you see that the professionals used slang?
You where so close to the question. You said somthing about the ad. who pays the author, thats the best question. Good luck to you and your mind and lobying.
I would have to agree. I don't like pot, and won't defend it. However, my mother, who was a teetotaler her entire life, became a heavy drinker right around the time she began to experience the sympotoms of schitzophrenia. There is no question she was self-medicating. I am sure people do this with Marijuana. If you can't account for this, your study is so deeply flawed as to be junk science.
So did anyone bother to discuss the number of folks, out of millions who have gotten stoned, that small parameter that will suffer this disease? OH, it is the same number of folks who would suffer these effects anyway, and possibly, possibly, possibility suffer them more acutely. Why let a fatal reporting error stop the flames of of incendiary journalism.
It is time to get real and legalize POT!!!
My reply to the researchers. Duh??? You actually had to study 20,00o potheads to find out the results of this test? Didn't any doctors ever go to a rock concert? What a stupid waste of taxpayer money and high level medical talent!! Of course pot smoking leads to further mental deterioration. Maybe the doctors were smoking too.
I think Fredman may be one of the subjects of this study, as the news article made no reference to taxpayer money used for the Australian study.
Marion, please keep in mind that this article only informs us that a study was published in The Archives of General Psychiatry. I would want to read that published study and find out what it says before evaluating it.
@ Bryan
"Yet, no one would credibly argue that cigs don't cause cancer. Potheads are simply where the tobacco industry was 30 years ago."
This isn't really an apt analogy. In the case of cigarettes and cancer, the correlation was made between prolonged use of a legal substance followed by a purely physical condition that happens years afterwards. It's a fair assumption that correlation, in such a case, implies causation.
In this case, however, we're talking about a condition who's primary symptom is a gradual change in behavior, and a substance which is illegal. Just being illegal, and therefore stigmatized, can easily alter the study, because those with psychosis are less likely to follow arbitrary rules in order to remain in society's good graces.
I'd also be curious to see this data cross-referenced with other activities that might carry similar social stigma.
I'd also be interested to see just a cross-section of this data from places or cultures where there IS no social stigma or prohibitions against marijuana, but I have a hunch that such data doesn't exist...
In addition, for many people, marijuana has a calming influence, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone who feels like they're unraveling at some level would turn to it as a form of self medication. By comparison, I highly doubt that any statistically significant number of people diagnosed with lung cancer turned to tobacco as a form of medication...
Having known a lot of people who have used Marijuana (some prolonged, some having quit years ago), as well as both the reasons for using it AND the effects it's had on them, I'd be much more surprised to see it's use cause psychosis than be a result of psychosis.
I am glad this study came out. I have seen too many people with psych issues AFTER using weed. Just because most people do not encounter problems, does not mean it does not impact others in a serious way. There is definitely a connection.
This is a toatal bogus study, and with any drug there is always negative side effects. If i were to sit in a room and smoke joint after joint all day every day sure some bad things would happen to me. Just like if i stayed home and drank a 12 pack of beer a day, ofcourse alchol is legal when the damaging effects are greater than that of marijuana. Stop the hypocracy! Legalize it already
Wouldn't it make sense that a drug that increases paranoia and causes strange perceptual experiences could potentially contribute to someone that is nearing a psychotic break to become psychotic? Admittedly this is just a chicken or an egg issue at this point, however I think it is super ignorant to make this about a pro-pot or anti-pot argument. I work with people who have schizophrenia and this is a very important issue for the mental health industry...but think about it-it would be incredibly hard (if not impossible) to get anything approved by any review board, let alone get funding, to give pot to those in danger of becoming psychotic given how much we know at this point...I am sure many would argue that this is unethical. For people outside of the research world, it is hard to understand why all answers aren't answered immediately, but it has to baby steps until there is an ethical way to find the answers. and come on, I mean I agree that drug companies are big corporations making lots of money, but how many people have these drugs helped? I am not at all an anti-pot person, I just think it is important to look at all sides of the story and not just make it about a hot button issue.
Wow! What a revelation.
Agree with Marion completely... Oh yes, and I am a conservative. These "Almost" studies have so many holes from a scientific point of view,
this is like saying. There is a cloud somewhere in the sky over earth. THEREFORE It might rain here.
to say the study is bs is just showing either u r in denial, know ZERO people that smoke pot, or are too high to notice....
@ Duh, you obviously don't have a clue. I can drive after smoking, I can perform high end tasks while smoking, I can build and operate a Business while smoking. I won't however leave my house after I've had a Beer.
whoa, man, that's deep. I just torked a doob and my beagle agrees that this is all bull dropped by the man and, wait, there's a black van parked out front, govt agents!!!! I'm going to fight them off with lysol and oranges (2 things they hate) if I'm not back, avenge me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ mobrule- Good Call. I get invaded by the Black Helicopters daily. LOL
It's all about revenue. Free gov't money to fund the study (how much do you think it really cost?!) and it just helps to try and have this press out there so the gov't can receive more money for it's completely wasteful "war on drugs", which hasn't done anything since it's inception except imprison innocent citizens and provide more....*DING DING DING* revenue for the gov't. It's all about money, not health or studies or whatever. It's sickening, that's what it is, being able to publish lies or even just one person's perspective and call it a "study".
Bad logic. If you think that the government supresses weed 'for profit' you are a fool.
It's very expensive to fight the 'war on drugs' and also to keep people in prison.
I don't think it should be legalized, but it definitely should be decriminalized. There's no way that people should be going to prison for weed.
Pure B.S. Legalize it now, stop detroying the lives of productive citzens by putting them in prison. This article is unadulterated B.S.
productive citizens???? pot smokers are palin stupid cant make decisions on time, paranoid of everythign etc etc etc... thats not productive....
make pot ZERO tolerance like DUI's. 2 strikes and done. stay in jail for good.
We are losing to China in manufacturing, there aint no way we will catch up while the work force and high and stupid.
"We are losing to China in manufacturing -duh"
@duh yeah because china's is one of the worlds largest grower of hemp, which has endless uses and is a seriuos cash crop, but in the US it is banned!!! maybe it is the pot heads the one in the goverment which most admit to smoking pot.
duh, you have obviously not been around that many people who smoke pot and only know the stereotypes from television.
@Duh Agree with what Leb said. But you are the Palin Stupid one.
@duh: "pot smokers are palin stupid" ... I'll agree it doesn't get any stupider than "palin stupid", but I'd have to disagree with the statement as a whole. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked if he ever smoked pot, and he famously replied "You bet I did, and I enjoyed it". He was of the richest, most successful business men in America, and has been re-elected for an unprecedented 3rd term as mayor of NYC.
You should listen.
Us "Pot" smokers could balance the Buget if it were legal and taxed. Not gonna stop.
You’ll see that the history of marijuana’s criminalization is filled with:
Racism
Fear
Protection of Corporate Profits
Yellow Journalism
Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators
Personal Career Advancement and Greed
These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/
@ duh
1700s
Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.
I know this study is true, because I was once a heavy pot smoker in my teens and experienced things close to this - hearing voices, seeing things not there. Luckily, I got help and stopped smoking before a full blown psychosis kicked in. There was even a moment when I felt my mind might fragment - that's when I stopped for good.
ok, but were you smoking like most teens? As in way too much a day? Most full grown adults I know who smoke weed only take a few puffs at a time, usually a day. Nearly all teenagers I have known (and through my own teenage use) smoke way too much and get those scary symptoms. Its like downing a whole fifth of whiskey then blacking out and puking. You just don't do that unless your too dumb to know better. As most teenagers are. This is a reason why it should be legal for THOSE OVER 21.
If you are smoking every day, you have a problem of some sort (just as drinking everyday). Overall though, there are a million things worse than smoking pot.
If you actually experience true psychosis, you would still have it. No where in any study I've ever read does it suggest that cannabis use in the sole cause of psychosis, it's only shown a link to early onset. There is no cure for schizophrenia just treatment.
While I'm pro marijuana legalization, this guys a good example of how week minded people shouldn't use drugs, alcohol included.
You probably have other issues you aern't telling us about and you are just trying to blame it on weed.
IF you are now psychotic then YES , IF you are NOT now psychotic then the story is BS. And if you are psychotic why should we listen to you ?
What Jen and Someoneelse said.
Agree with Jen. us older people can handle it better. We have control.
I'm Coo-Coo for Co-Co Puffs
Complete bunk science. They write such dribble because they can't sell it for 20 bucks a pill like Prozac.
Replace [marijuana] in the article with [anti-depressant] and all of a sudden the study becomes pretty accurate. D'oh!
prozac is NOT $20/pill. it's about $1.00/pill cash price (no insurance) u r a m0ron.
Jim D – I think you missed the point entirely.
As a mental health therapist, ....Schizophrenia's onset is between 16/18 and 28/32. Usually 18-30. Brain scans can determine if a person will get this. If we did brain scans of every entry level private entering the military at recruiting stations we could determine that traumatic events will trigger the schizophrenia. This would only be useful in not paying claims for schizophrenia. None the less, ...my point is that schizophrenia will occur if a person is predisposed to it. How many of us heard about a person in high school who took LSD and then became "crazy!" Bottom line: a traumatic event will trigger the predisposition. If there are no single major traumatic event....then emotional/relational/financial/stress/continued drug use can turn the light switch on. LSD, financial problems, pot, bad parenting, end of relationship, chronic pain do not cause schizophrenia. Psychosis is another and can be used in many contexts .
Thank you for your post. It was more insightful then their own faulty study.
Bob, you didn't mention if powerful prescription medications given to children starting at young ages should be on the list of things that won't cause schizophrenia. A LOT more likely than Marijuana use.
60's kid. TBI at 15yrs, old. Tried LSD at 19. Freaked out. It took years to get back to normal. I was lucky.
Smoking pot along the way was okay, if I didn't make it a routine. Booze was the last thing I discarded.
It took decades, but now I'm against any mind scrambling whatever. Let the brain heal-don't get in the way.
Happier than ever.
I once did a study....I concluded smoking cigerettes causes huge risks for lung cancer. This leads to sever pain and sickness which might even Kill You!! I also did another study...I concluded drinking too much alcohol can become extrememly addictive. This can lead to liver failure, cancer, also Death!! I've vomited and have felt days worth of hangovers from booz, but never once has marijuana made me sick, or feel sick for an extended period of time. One time in highschool I smoked a malboro red...I puked everywhere after about 20min. Never heard of marijuanana causing these type of side effects.....
Maybe the study should focus on how people predisposed to mental illness will turn to anything in the hopes of making the voices stop, the anxiety lessen ect. even if it is just for a short time. NEWSFLASH – there are people out there that smoke pot ALL day long as there are people who gorge themselves with food (a drug) ALL day long. People have many ways to "deal" with their mental illness' and many times, due to various reasons, they choose not to follow conventional treatment. I am not sure if the reluctance to treatment can be considered any different than the person with hypertension who doesn't take his medicine or the diabetic who binges on cake. Hey, is there anyone out there who is not mentally ill? There is no cure, only treatment 🙂
Get educated American Public
What? Drugs mess you up? Who'd have thought that? Stupid potheads....
Wow, you really need to mellow out. Seriously.
U mad brah?
Exactly Marion! 99% of phycotropic drugs carry EXTREME side effects to include audio and visual hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, depression, anxiety!! To fix that, MD's will then add some muscle relaxers, anti-depressents, sleeping pills, and on, and on, and on! By the time they got their patient doped up to the point of comatose, ya, chances are, the problem is fixed, right? NOT! What a joke! And childhood vaccinations cause Autism too. There will never be e legitimate study published on the medicinal benefits of marijuana until the Pharmaceutical companies no longer run the government!
Great, now why not legalize it!! The last thing this country should consider doing is putting the general public at a risk such as that. A can of gasoline does no harm until you toss a match in it so operate the pot issue under the same principle. It's like many other things, for some it can be helpful and for others it can be harmful in more ways than one. It's not worth the risk.
Yet we don't see the FDA trying to BAN gasoline now do we?
That was a retarded comparison and literally made you look like a fool.
Not worth the risk? I know 100 people personally who would disagree with you on that and all of them chronic pain medical users.
Think before you speak.
Yeah, Pot is STILL safer than aspirin and less addictive than cafine. The world would be a better place is pot was availablefor a recrational drug rather than alcohol and tobacco! Tobacco is the REAL gateway drug and more people are dead or in prision from alcohol than pot. Tobacco and alcohol combined count for more deaths in the world than any illegal drug...look it up. How many families have been destroyed by one or more parents who abuse alcohol?
Legalize pot, it's God's gift to humans!
Wow someone who can see the bigger picture. It's not about what baggage you carry around and your preconceived notions of how "dangerous" marijuana is. Its about the facts states above. You can OD on WATER yet you cannot on weed. Give me a brake. Stop trying to save my life and worry about your own (you probly drink and/or smoke and eat too much sugar too don't ya?)!
Just because someone MAY abuse something is not a good reason to make it illegal. Don't believe me? Try making forks illegal and watch in amazement as there becomes an underground market for them and people kill each other to supply them.
Sounds stupid huh? So is growhibition.
Freedom to choose means you should have the right to make personal decisions without the government having a say. It's funny when I watch the uproar over taking away McD's toys in happymeals and the commercials for taxing sugary drinks yet nobody cares about the rights of the "pothead" and the millions of them who have been put in jail for something that was made illegal to keep a few rich guys rich back in the day. (Research the decorticator around 1935 to learn more... this invention caused dupont/hurst/anslinger/et al behind closed doors for 2 years drafting the Marihuana Tax act of 1937).
You have the right to CHOOSE an abortion, but not to CHOOSE to smoke a joint friday night after work... sad sad world.
This is news???? Most people have figured this out without a scientific study!!!! These are the same scientists that have said in the past that it is okay to do Marijuana????? Thus, California was looking to legalize Marijuana because there is nothing wrong with it and the State needs to make money somehow, right?????
It's obvious that it doesn't take Marijuana use to acquire excessive ?? syndrome.
good to know for those who might have psychological problems. Warrants further studies.
This is the same scare tactics started with re-election strategies started by Richard Nixon (god bless he started funding for NPR and EPA), but that the "boogie man" is outside your door. Goes back much further to beginning of 20th century with blaming Chinese and saying that marijauna will make you an axe murderer.
Get educated people. The science is out there and has been for awhile that drugs do not cause schizophrenia. These stories like this one are as old as ones in the 1970's and beyond. Sad that CNN posts them in a way. In another way, it gives the people a chance to respond and maybe some educated folks to weigh in.
Wasn't this the original argument / tactic they used back when they first started trying to ban it in the 20s-30s- and 40s? I love these 'studies' where it is littered with statement like "could', "maybe" etc... it is a bunch of bunk.. probably paid for by the drug companies because they fear its legalization.. and negate the need for 'their' antidepressants... I think antidepressants do FAR more harm to society than pot has ever done! We are becoming a nation of 'prozac zombies'.....
Yup, I agree Bob62.
Dragnet (tv show) was a huge proponent of the anti-marijuana culture in the 60's. Refer madness style scare tactics are to keep you buying pharmaceuticals, tobacco and alcohol; both businesses are tied to huge group lobbyist who speak and rally to our law makers against it. Oil companies, chemical companies and fabric will take a huge hit if we legalize as well. This is all about the dollar.Hemp grows so fast and you can run a car on hemp oil plus its clean and green. Before WWII we americans grew hemp for many uses including running our big military machines and farm equipment. Read The Emperor of Hemp by Jack Herer.
Smoking it is used to help critically ill people with no where near the side effects of other drugs. You guys think everyone just wants to get stoned and thats not the case. Its a matter of choice and no should effect an-others personal choice. The benefits greatly out weigh the bad. It would be under regulation if it were legalized just like cigarettes and booze which create more harm than any joint could. That article is propaganda cause the legalization issue has been hitting Washington. Bet if you looked into it the group that paid for the study is one of the businesses I mentioned above. Really people get smart and stop believing everything you read and are told, always get both sides of the story.
mmm, a man made of boogies
This is the same scare tactics started with re-election strategies started by Richard Nixon (god bless he started funding for NPR and EPA), but that the "boogie man" is outside your door. Goes back much further to beginning of 20th century with blaming Chinese and saying that marijauna will make you an axe murderer.
The science is out there and has been for awhile that drugs do not cause schizophrenia. These stories like this one are as old as ones in the 1970's and beyond. Sad that CNN posts them in a way. In another way, it gives the people a chance to respond and maybe some educated folks to weigh in.
But it doesn't bother me...bother me...bother me....bother me...bother me...
isnt there benefits from weed for certain types of lung cancer?
that's what the potheads will tell you...there is nothing better for helping your lung cancer than to smoke some more
SMOKE! THC is ingested via the stomach too. The issue is not about smoking the stuff. It is a consumption thing! It tastes good too when mixed with olive oil and put in salads and cornbread and fried chicken and and and... People would feel much better about this subject if they came to my house to eat!!
Google Donald Tashkin, UCLA smoking and Cannabis studies.
There are several benefits. For those who don't think so – youtube 'Interview with Greg Cooper'..
Ya know, we always hear in the media this arguement about a supposed link between pot and schizophrenia, and then a month later there's another study that refutes it.
Bottom line is this though. Over the years the use of pot has SKYROCKETED and yet schizophrenia has not. If there were ANY truth to this, the incress in schizophrenia would match the increase in Cannabis use. It has not.
That's an excellent point. By the same logic, if second-hand cigarette smoke were as deadly as they tell us, wouldn't more than half of the baby boomer generation be sick or dead? ALL of our parents smoked!
Nice try Deni... If weed causes these issues; and its use goes up 4000% in a population you would expect some increase that scales likewise in the % of schizophrenic poeple. However if you look at the % of schizophrenic people it has not increased at all.
Rates of cancer from second hand smoke is established by looking at the difference in cancer rates in households that smoked compared to those that did not. You can get valid data this way by contrasting these two groups. They are not looking at overall rates for a population for this because not all households smoke. Whereas you can make that assosiation, I would argue, with pot/schizophrenia because they are stating there is a direct link between usage and schizophrenia.
This is apples and oranges as far methodologies go so your point is not valid imho.
Grew up in the middle of the cali weed scene, hold my club card, smoke only the best, etc. To anyone worried about this, my experience is that I've seen the psychosis happen to many of my friends. The ones who smoke the dank many times a day usually slowly do go paranoid and a bit schizo, especially the ones who were introverted to begin with and have other stoner problems too like bad diet and no sunlight. The ones who regularly take a break and let their body detox a bit are not hit. My weed doctor said to take a 2 week break every 2 months, so I do, which is tough, but come on not that tough. Worked for me so far, stickin to it.
Rubbish. 40 years without taking a break. Wait, I have to go! I think I hear voices... They're coming to get me. Can you see me through the screen???? AHHHHHHHH
In EVERY school shooting the shooter was on or coming off of from psyco-active drugs!
Jared Loughner was a heavy pot smoker too....the potheads don't want to talk about that inconvenient truth though...
I think if marijuana made you go on shooting spree's we would have a big problem on our hands. It's something like 1 in 3 people to admit to have tried it or current are using it. That's 100 million potential spree killers? Let's be serious.
Woops, typos galore.
uh, no they weren't
Jared Loughner was smoking salvia divinorum constantly
he wasnt just a pothead, he was a salvia head
and salvia will make you a crazy fool
I agree with the oil companies and the government. Ban Marijuana!!!!! Use unnatural toxic prescription drugs! besides I have seen way to many deaths from marijuana overdose.
Two words: Junk science.
This will never happen to me because of the tinfoil hat I wear 24/7.
Funny!
But Legal tobacco and alcohol cure schizophrenia! pot is as benign as a glass of milk, these are the usual scare tactic and propaganda that our government spews daily, there hasn't been any scientific research done by the government coz .............POT IS ILLEGAL! haha.. remember americans, one does not HAVE to smoke pot to ingest it, you can drink it , eat it, or vaporize it........... I will take my chances on shizo , better than the fact that Alcohol causes domestic violence!
great now im twice as paranoid and I cant even be sure why
Just another smeer campaign to keep the miserably failed drug war going. Psychosis, really? This sounds like the same 1950's Reiffer Madness propaganda that demonized cannibiis (marijuana is a negative term coined by the government, the scientific name is cannibis sativa, indica, or africanus) in the first place. Do your research properly people, that's not just for the ones who ran this study, that goes for those of you who like to air your empty opinions and call people names without any facts to back up your position. Besides, psychiatry isn't real science anyway. Much of Psciatric studies don't even follow the scientific method. I'll bet you couldn't run this study any come up with the same results twice. Not even close.
And keep your laws off my body!
I tend to think that pot causes a lot of problems, but the voices in my head tell me otherwise.
"Marijuana use may speed psychosis..."
...or, It may not.
Suzy, you just HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
This study has nothing to do with legalizing/non-legalizing marijuana. It has to do with health care. Marijuana is NOT medicine.
It is in california, Oregon, Waashington, New Mexico, Aizona and Michigan. Did I miss anyone?
Actually, Snookums, the CBD compound in marijauna may actually *supress* psychotic symptoms. So ... it may be a medicine after all. Wouldn't that make you feel silly?
Snookums! You idiot! Go read a medical journal dummy!
Niether is aspirin, tylenol, and any other pain killer but that doesn't stop the government from allowing huge corporations telling us these drugs are medicine. I agree with drugs are not medicine but some have helpful applications that make living a little easier. As for health it really has as much to do with mental health as eating chocolate cake wich may just as likely cause psycosis.
Anthony, you missed Colorado.
What do you mean marijuana isn't medicine? Never had a hangover?
Buffalloooo Soldierrrrrrrrrrrrr
It certainly is medicine to the people who are in chronic pain and perfer to not get adicted to narcotics. Pot is mildy phychologically addictive, but not physically addictive like codine, oxycodine, soma, vicodin, darvon, darvosette, morphine etc.
"Marijuana is NOT Medicine"
Although It has been used as such, and much more over the last 5,000 plus years...
...before pharmaceutical giants and their well-paid shamen
...before petro chemical giants and their well-paid shamen
...before synthetic "everything you touch" giants and their well-paid shamen
The biggest difference in all the previous centuries was that there never was a big pile of cash involved which nurtured, empowered and fed these latter century-born giants, wise men and men of reknown.
It certainly appears as a very new and large problem in relation to the past centuries and history of mankind.
All studies prior to this show a propensity for psychologically ill people to treat themselves with all kinds of medicines including alcohol, cocaine, speed, and yes..marijuana. The only thing this study shows is that some marijuana users, like car drivers, or doctors can in fact be schizophrenic. The outcomes are dubious in that they amount to saying in effect alcoholics are less educated in general than the general population. Does this mean that alcohol made them less educated? Or does it just show alcoholism is more prevalent amongst the less educated? Exactly, number 2. Did this study use control groups and a double-blind method? It states it is a compilation of 83 studies, were they all using the same methodology? There seems to be more questions than answers.
Mind altering substances alter the mind? Really? Who would of thought... Next they'll say alcohol pickles your liver..
So I am suppose to believe a study that hails alcohol as having no affect on psychosis, yet the big bad wolf (marijuana) will cause psychosis? What a BS study this sounds like. It sounds like they rounded up a group of young mentally ill people and asked them if they have ever used marijuana, then when most of them said yes (because 1/3 of the nation has used the drug in their lifetime) the "scientists" made the leap to a conclusion that favors the drug that kills millions of people every year. How convenient.
Wait, wasn't there a study done just like this a few years ago?... Then, a few months ago, another study was published that disproved that study... So confused. How do I get a job like that? I bet it pays more than mine! 😉
@Snookums Who are you to claim it's not medicine? Some people are ADHD and Bipolar and extremely hyper and agitated and thc is the perfect remedy to the problem. Sounds like the textbook definition of medicine to me. Then again you could just go get some Oxycodone "medicine" that is synthetic heroin but I'm sure that kind of "medicine" is just fine for you because the Government tells you it's ok.
Fox News does more harm to the human brain than pot. What a bunch of quakes.
They can probably prove that TV in general is more damaging than pot.
I have hundreds of freind that smoke the bud as well as I. None of have gone crazy or see things that don't exist, period. And again there is no conclusive evidence. Here is the important part of the article; Using marijuana, or cannabis, MAY cause psychosis to develop sooner in patients already predisposed to developing it, and in other patients the drug MAY even cause psychosis. Saying that it may is the same thing as saying I have no idea why people are psychotic.
What a surprise, young people shouldn't smoke pot.
Every pro-legalization person except a few nutcases agrees that the "pot smoking" age should be the same as the drinking age. I tried pot once when I was fifteen, and did it a couple of times when I was 17. I didn't start smoking it heavily until college. While I do have minor psychological issues (ADHD/Asperger's), those existed BEFORE I started smoking pot, and may have actually been why I started.
Me and all of my stoner friends have psychosis. We're so crazy!
OMFG...slap the mother for raising such a person to write something like this. Obviously it was written for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of the grant funding. People beg for grants so they can exist. Stuff like this is a money game....The science is in...pot does not cause death due to overdose or cause any problems more severe then aspirin...and aspirin is very dangerous, but aspirin is a wonder drug itself and has been for 100 years.
They hand picked and sorted through 60 years of data, choosing which studies to include and not include by hand! Not very scientific. Here is a link to their methodology: http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archgenpsychiatry.2011.5v1/YMA05005F1
A lot like how the bible was compiled from the writings of many people. Around 400AD, give or take a few decades, a bunch of men got together and decided which writings, or "gospels," would be included, and that became "the word of God."
Two other words: REEFER MADNESS
It has been proven that marijuana has no effect on your health other than the fact that you are inhaling smoke into your lungs. Marijuana has been proven to help with many illnesses such as Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, and even helps patients with HIV. There have been no recorded deaths from the use of marijuana, its been proven that marijuana does not kill your brain cells. So i ask the question why is it frowned upon to use the substance? Why are 450,000 people this year going to die because of long term cigarette or alcohol use, but that not one will die from cannabis use. IT IS PROVEN THAT ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES, AND PILLS HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON YOUR HEALTH, but for some reason they are ok to sell to our people. Just let us smoke out weed please...... and yes i am a pot head before anyone says anything. I have a respectable job and can perform exceptionally while under the influence of pot. so whats the problem
right on!
Right on, again!
Left on! Woot!
Said very well!!!!!
You speak the truth.
Look at the photo. Typical BS. Why do they always show pot being rolled in the street. It is rolled in government facilities! The article is bias based on the photo which leads idiots to believe that it is only done on the streets or by criminals or by politicians...same thing.
I "heart" my psychosis.
The VERY first question we need to ask is WHO FUNDED THE STUDY? I'm sure it was big pharma, and I'm sure it was manipulated to get the results they wanted, just like Monsanto's "studies" of GMO's...total, complete, absolute junk science that wouldn't stand up to peer-reviewed scientific scrutiny. Requests for independent scientific studies of cannabis have been denied for decades by the Feds...they're too afraid of the truth.
@Snookums, it's been medicine for thousands of years whether you believe it or not.
One more false study to scare people away from using a drug that is safer than fried chicken.
I have found marijuana is a direct link to eating lots of fried chicken. I have conducted this experiment several times.
Well I got my giggle for the day!!! Thank you for the entertainment. Cute......
This article about the bs findings of the AGP is the biggest piece of fecal matter ever pushed by electricity. Which government put them up to this and how much are these liars getting paid off? This article is complete nonsense.
I agree!!! I don't smoke anymore but I did and have known many ppl who did and still do. This is more BS similar to the warnings sent out at the end of prohibition by the alchol distillers regarding weed.