Psychosis Triggered by Smoking Pot?

CBS News ^ | February 8, 2011 | David W. Freeman

[SoCal SoCon]

CBS) Advocates of medical marijuana say pot has all sorts of health benefits. Maybe so, but a new study from Australia suggests that smoking pot can drive some people crazy - or at least make them go crazy sooner than they would have if they had never picked up the pipe.

The study, published online in "Archives of General Psychiatry," shows that potheads develop severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia about 2.7 years earlier than people who don't use marijuana.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I could see how it might accelerate a slide into crazy that was going to happen anyhow. Wouldn’t alcohol carry a similar risk?

[Pontiac]

"I'm not a marketing expert," Large said, "but we have to find a way to tell young kids to hold off."

Good luck with that, teens today are so indoctrinated with ‘parents are stupid’ propaganda from Hollyweird you have about as much chance of persuading a lion that gazelles are hazardous to their health.

[South Dakota]

Maybe it’s the screen in the bottom of the bowl that heats up.

[LibWhacker]

develop severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia about 2.7 years earlier than people who don't use

Interesting... Didn't know schizophrenia was related to age in any way. Always thought you were born with it or weren't and that that was that. Just goes to show what I know.

[wastedyears]

with ‘parents are stupid’ propaganda

That's true in far too many cases.

[Lancey Howard]

Just because I’m not paranoid doesn’t mean everybody isn’t coming after me.

[NurdlyPeon]

People should be sticking with ‘safe’ drugs produce by big pharma. The ones they pump the kids full of with the approval of the state. We all know there is virtually NO chance that these drugs could cause mental problem.

[Marie]

I really wonder if it’s a chicken-or-the egg situation. Maybe these kids are feeling wrong and are self-medicating to calm their anxiety in the early stages.

At lease one person agrees that this might be a possibility:

“Michael Rice, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, told HealthDay that people who are predisposed to schizophrenia might gravitate to smoking pot because it has a beneficial anti-inflammatory effect.”

I know that there’s a link between smoking tobacco and mental illness. I don’t remember where I read it (it’s been years), but in that study scientists did think that it was caused by mentally ill people self-medicating themselves with tobacco - not the tobacco making them ill. They also found that cigarettes lessened the effects of psychosis and depression.

[Vaquero]

I could see how it might accelerate a slide into crazy that was going to happen anyhow. Wouldn’t alcohol carry a similar risk?

Alcohol dulls the senses

Maryjane gives you an Insight into how FU you may or may not be (paranoia where no actual threat exists). It can then help you to work things out. Or could send you into a downward spiral that can end extremely badly.

[rawcatslyentist]

So it’s a diagnostic tool for detecting latent mental illness.

[Smokin' Joe]

Maybe it’s the screen in the bottom of the bowl that heats up.

Could be (some sort of metals toxicity), or it could be any of the countless adulterants (intentional or otherwise) which could be present, from other drugs to agricultural chemicals.

[wita]

I’m with you on this one. Two point seven years over a lifetime, is not statistically significant IMHO. There is as much myth and distortion on the subject of MJ as there is on global warming, excuse me, global climate change.

[wita]

I’m with you on this one. Two point seven years over a lifetime, is not statistically significant IMHO. There is as much myth and distortion on the subject of MJ as there is on global warming, excuse me, global climate change.

[pkmaine]

We have experienced this issue in our family-—a neice.

While 2.7 years may not be much - for her it would have made the difference between the appearance of the illness while in college versus after college.

College is a really tough time to manage an illness - such as being bi-polar. (family history as well)

Of course, her parents were these permissive, indulgent liberals who simply accepted here high school and early college drug use.

[FR_addict]

From my understanding, schizophrenia usually begins to exhibit itself in early adulthood, so it's not really 2.7 years over the lifetime of a person, but rather how early you start exhibiting symptoms as a young adult or late teen.

There are many reports of people experiencing psychotic episodes with this drug. It's always put down by the pot smokers as made up.

[MAexile]

a new study from Australia suggests that smoking pot can drive some people crazy

You know, back in the 30's there was this movie. It was called "Reefer Madness"...

[FreeAtlanta]

I have known several people who gave up reefer. Some became more reasonable and clearheaded while others angry and agitated. It isnt a harmless drug.

[LoveUSA]

Hope that the FR dopers are still sleeping off their Christmas light-up.

Otherwise you'll be attacked by users who claim that they smoke regularly and still function as rocket scientists and loving spouses.

[driftless2]

Although you might not be able to prove weed causes liberalism/leftism, I'd say it's undeniably true that a much larger percentage of lib-leftists use dope than conservatives. I knew a very liberal (he's a truther) co-worker who confessed to smoking large amounts of dope when in college but quit when he said he started becoming paranoid.

Certainly not all heavy dope smokers become paranoid or experience other manifestations of psychosis, but weed had been linked with these illnesses by numerous studies. I'm not for banning the stuff, but it's time for the weed advocates to quit their denial of dope's adverse effects.