Author, former Colorado journalist links marijuana to mental illness

The Gazette ^ | Mar 20, 2019 | Joey Bunch

[george76]

Alex Berenson .. people who think marijuana is medicine and a safe alternative to alcohol are fooling themselves...

The industry’s money and political influence, along with the media’s acquiescence, have obscured the scientific links between marijuana and mental illness...

“The problems are real and right in front of people,” he told a crowd at the History Colorado Center in Denver on Wednesday. It was his third Colorado talk in two days to discuss his new book, “Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence.”

“It’s like we all need glasses. ... The connection to psychosis is real.”

...

Berenson cited a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal that found people who use cannabis daily are three times more likely than non-users to eventually have a psychotic episode. Those who use high-potency pot are four times more likely, and those who starting getting high before age 15 carry even more risk, the study found.

“This is more evidence that the link between cannabis and psychosis matters,” Krista M. Lisdahl, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, told National Public Radio.

Berenson’s book makes the case that not enough has been done scientifically to explore whether pot poses serious mental health risks for its users, especially younger ones.

The author, a father of two and husband of a forensic psychiatrist, said the data tells him that pot could lead to psychosis and schizophrenia for heavy users.

...

“I was a pretty good investigative reporter, because I often saw the way companies would deceive, especially when there’s money on the line,” he said. “I mention that because I think this story of cannabis legalization is a story of deception, but it’s also sort of self-deception.”

[ifinnegan]

It makes people liberals leftists and socialists, too.

[TigersEye]

Berenson cited a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal that found people who use cannabis daily are three times more likely than non-users to eventually have a psychotic episode. Those who use high-potency pot are four times more likely, and those who starting getting high before age 15 carry even more risk, the study found.

I've known quite a few people over the last 47 years who fit all three of those parameters but I've never known anyone at all who had a psychotic episode.

[Valpal1]

Cannabis Users Have 500% Increased Risk for Schizophrenia, Increased Risk from Alcohol and Other illegal Drugs Too

http://schizophrenia.com/?p=793

Increased Risk of Schizophrenia from Alcohol and drugs:

Cannabis: 5.2 times
Alcohol: 3.4 times
Hallucinogenic drugs: 1.9 times
Sedatives: 1.7 times
Amphetamines: 1.24 times
Other substances: 2.8 times

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

Amen. Watched it last night. A well spent hour indeed.

[Gator113]

I agree. I also think that many of them had already started to dumb down.

[kaehurowing]

You must not get out much. I see them all the time, outside of my building.

[The_Media_never_lie]

I've known quite a few people over the last 47 years who fit all three of those parameters but I've never known anyone at all who had a psychotic episode.

---

As a college freshman, I was long ago exposed to mj users. The better adjusted were just slowed down socially and academically. The borderline personalities (there were only several) did indeed have psychotic episodes in which the lost much of their contact with reality. Too high a price to pay, IMHO.

[ssaftler]

Goes a long way to explaining how Colorado elected a nutjob for Goober last November.

[Fungi]

Never let the truth get in the way of the agenda. The left never stops until its goal is achieved—a breakdown of morals, society and Christianity. This information was available long ago but no one wanted to listen.

[TigersEye]

Having psychotic episodes? Yeah, right!
That’s about as realistic as my not getting out much in 47 years.

Brilliant remark! LOL

[monkeyshine]

Of course. It is a mind altering substance. Abuse/over-use is going to alter brain chemistry like all mind-altering (alcohol included) substances do. I don’t want to pass myself off as an expert, just an informed observer but alcohol and THC from pot easily pass the blood-brain barrier. Just for reference, this is one of the criteria the US FDA uses to decide whether to approve a drug - they are less likely to approve a drug that does. (Whether it matters in all cases is a different question but the impact on the brain is a major concern).

[TigersEye]

I guess I somehow missed knowing a single “borderline personality” in the last half century. Oh, well, no one has identical experiences in life.

[kaehurowing]

Having psychotic episodes? Yeah, right!
That’s about as realistic as my not getting out much in 47 years.

---

Here are a few dozen videos you can watch about marijuana psychosis:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=marijuana+user+psychotic+episode

[TigersEye]

Thanks!

[publana]

I’ve known one that definitely did as he had to be hospitalized. Extreme stupidity and/or psychosis is not an appealing trait to me. Definitely no desire to socialize with such, but that’s just me. Want me to leave? Fire up a joint, then run your head. The idiotic babble will have me exiting stage left in a hurry.

[TigersEye]

I usually just light a cigarette when I want someone to leave my presence. :)

It doesn’t work on other tobacco smokers though.

[Seruzawa]

All the potheads I know are SJWs. That’s proof enough for me.

[alexander_busek]

Berenson cited a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal that found people who use cannabis daily are three times more likely than non-users to eventually have a psychotic episode. Those who use high-potency pot are four times more likely, and those who starting getting high before age 15 carry even more risk, the study found.

And people who inject insulin are far more likely to one day suffer and even die of diabetes-related issues.

And people with driver's licenses are far more likely to die in automobile accidents.

Correlation does not equal causation.

Regards,

[Valpal1]

Schizophrenia and bi polar disorder both have strong genetic components so messing about with brain altering substances is risky at best if you have a family history of mental illness.

It’s also true that this could be a chicken/egg issue. Is it the drugs/alcohol that caused the psychosis or do people sliding into mental illness gravitate to drugs/alcohol to self medicate.

Having worked in the mental health system, I have met a lot of dope loving mentally ill people that quickly stop taking their anti-psychotics in favor of pot. The problem is that pot isn’t an anti-psychotic and eventually they go batshit again.

Of course, nowadays, we just let them live on the streets of Portland and Seattle instead of locking them up and getting them back on their meds.

[Slyfox]

One of my brothers had a genius IQ as a kid. He liked science and I thought he would make a good medical doctor. He got into pot in the 10th grade. He never went to college. He worked in a machine shop. He is now retired at 63. Last year he had a psychotic episode and was hospitalized for it. He sits with his pothead friends and they discuss things like the earth is flat while toking. His entire life has been wrapped up around pot. Really, really sad.