Pot study: Smoke chronic, risk getting psychotic

[Hawkeye-X]

Source: Associated Press

LONDON — Using marijuana seems to increase the chance of becoming psychotic, researchers report in an analysis of past research that reignites the issue of whether pot is dangerous.

The new review suggests that even infrequent use could raise the small but real risk of this serious mental illness by 40 percent.

Doctors have long suspected a connection and say the latest findings underline the need to highlight marijuana's long-term risks. The research, paid for by the British Health Department, is being published today in the medical journal The Lancet.

"The available evidence now suggests that cannabis is not as harmless as many people think," said Dr. Stanley Zammit, one of the study's authors and a lecturer in the department of psychological medicine at Cardiff University.

The researchers said they couldn't prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis, a category of several disorders with schizophrenia being the most commonly known.

Read more: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nation/article/0,...

---

I find this a lot of bunk. Anyone care to debunk it?

[flying_wahini]

1. Bunk.

n/t

[Exiled in America]

16. EDIT - nevermind. found what I needed.

[nebenaube]

2. If this were true

There would be a whole lot more homeless people in every park... The author's son is schizophrenic and he just blames it on pot.

[mikeytherat]

3. It's already been de-bunked, Hawk, by the researchers themselves:

"The researchers said they couldn't prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis, a category of several disorders with schizophrenia being the most commonly known."

Given this little tidbit in the article, it would seem the headline is a bit, um, bull-shittish. Did I spell that correctly?

"Correlation? Causation? Nah, let's go with a sensational, misleading headline!"

mikey_the_rat

[Mabus]

48. It figures.

An anecdote: a friend of a friend has a daughter who is schizophrenic. The young lady (late teens) was put on medication for her bipolar disorder but she never stayed with any of them. She would start to feel good and go off them. After trying several pharmaceutical options and never staying with them she tried pot but didn't like it. She said it heightened her "otherness" and she wasn't comfortable with it. Which makes me wonder. How many other people, who are schizophrenic, try pot because they don't like what the doctors are prescribing?

fwiw, I have a stepdaughter who is bipolar with psychotic episodes which why the story was brought up originally.

[DavidMS]

73. Found some more debunking

From Bad Science:

http://www.badscience.net/?p=476

Isn't it amazing that conservatives and other crazies like to torture the data until it confesses? Sounds like we should be studying the writers and editors at The Daily Mail to find out why they hate evidence?

[Bitwit1234]

4. Eureka

we finally found out why bush is so psychotic

[Faux pas]

28. LOL I think if bush was a pot smoker, he might be more 'normal'.

You know, more of a peacenik and less of a warmonger.

[OKthatsIT]

94. Nahh..he's on pharma cocktails 24/7

Pot can't sedate that mix.

[jdadd]

5. Heh Heh.....

I'm just gonna sit here and watch the flames....

[Warpy]

6. The worst thing I've ever seen with heavy stoners is a time lag.

When you converse with them, there's about a 2 beat count before they reply to something that's said to them, easy to deal with if you've ever been an IRC chatter.

I have never seen anyone get psychotic from pot. I have known a few people who smoked and were psychotic, but coincidence is not cause. They had extended family members with various flavors of schizophrenia, and the genetic load predated the pot and was undoubtedly of greater import in the psychotic break.

What might be at work here is that people with psychoses of various types are smoking to self medicate, much as untreated bipolars tend to drink to self medicate.

This article is a perfect example of junk science, a cursory examination of numbers without considering the other variables which can produce them.

[alfredo]

15. My thoughts exactly. Self medication is why people use tobacco, alcohol,

cocaine and other substances.

I've used pot for my arthritis when it got too much to handle. My stomach is such a mess from legal drugs that pot is the only relief. Now that I am on SSI, I can't afford that bit of relief.

[MadHound]

7. What happy horseshit. What is this, a return to "Reefer Madness" type propaganda?

The sheer simple weight of numbers would prove this hypothesis out if it were true. We would have literally millions of psychotic potheads wandering the country. Instead we have relatively few.

This is just more scaremongering to keep the populace in line, especially now that a majority of people favor legalizing dope to one degree or the other.

[Mend]

17. I totally agree... schizophrenia has remained the same, about

one per cent of the population, for the last hundred years while pot smoking has been very common in the last 25 years. Compare that to autism which has gone from 1/13,000 to 1/160...and that has nothing to do with pot.

[hedgehog]

27. Hmmmm .... are you sure about that?

Prenatal exposure to marijuana and/or marijuana breakdown products stored in the mother's body; subtle changes to sperm....?

[The_Warmth]

95. I think you have the right idea but the wrong source.

Listening to NPR a few weeks ago I recall one guest saying humans are now exposed to 16,000 synthetic chemicals regularly, from what I believe was opposed to something like 30 years ago.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

98. I read a similar article on this subject a year ago or so

It said that "healthy" human babies in the US already have over 100 toxic and synthetic chemicals in their system AT BIRTH.

[Old and In the Way]

8. My 35 year study on this subject tends to refute these conclusions.

[dysfunctional press]

50. my study is only in it's 32nd year, but my results are the same as yours

[Rowdyboy]

65. My 35 year study of the same subject yielded identical results.....

1972 was quite a year wasn't it!

[ima_sinnic]

68. I am in the 40th year of my study and my results agree with yours ...

[Subdivisions]

90. Our studies all correlate. n/t

[jberryhill]

102. Well it's a good thing you are only experimenting...

...instead of smoking the killer weed habitually.

[UpInArms]

9. important part of the article - conflicts of interest

Two of the authors of the study were invited experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Cannabis Review in 2005.

Several authors reported being paid to attend drug company-sponsored meetings related to marijuana, and one received consulting fees from companies that make antipsychotic medications.

[High Plains]

20. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs...

looked at the same info in 2003 and in 2005 and found that the alleged dangers of marijuana were not sufficient to merit it being rescheduled as a Class B drug. It was downgraded to Class C in 2005. Now, the Brown government wants the ACMD to review marijuana's classification once again.

This as at least nine members of the Brown cabinet have admitted smoking marijuana.

[LeftishBrit]

30. 'at least nine members of the Brown cabinet have admitted smoking marijuana.'

Now THAT may be evidence that it affects your mental health!!!!

[Warren Stupidity]

40. oh that. don't look there. nt.

[EST]

10. We people have the annoying habit of doing whatever we do and

then blaming it on whatever is closest, especially when that "whatever is closest" is already in ill repute.
People are idiots. They will lie, steal, kill and commit any sort of other indecency to prove that they are right about whatever it is that they need to support their thesis.

[snappyturtle]

11. I am no scientist however, that study is flawed. Look at this

statement in the article:

"The scientists found a more disturbing outlook for "heavy users" of pot, those who used it daily or weekly: Their risk for psychosis jumped to a range of 50 percent to 200 percent."

W-h-a-t??????????????? That's no definition in my book. Probably more propaganda by the drug companies promoting their drugs.

[mzmolly]

12. Well, my Mom used to smoke weed like ciggies before she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

I personally believe there is a link with heavy use, I've seen it first hand.

Note the particulars:

The scientists found a more disturbing outlook for "heavy users" of pot, those who used it daily or weekly: Their risk for psychosis jumped to a range of 50 percent to 200 percent.

One doctor noted that people with a history of mental illness in their families could be at higher risk. For them, marijuana use "could unmask the underlying schizophrenia," said Dr. Deepak Cyril D'Souza, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University, who was not involved in the study.

The last time my Mother was rubber roomed, her doc told her "keep smoking pot if you like it here." That was nine years ago, and she's not smoked since, nor has she been back. She still suffers from a manageable bipolar condition however. She's the only one in the family who was ever diagnosed with schizophrenia and the only heavy pot user as well. Interesting.

[cannabis_flower]

36. Why..

Is weekly, or even daily (but not all day) smoking of marijuana considered heavy use? If I had a beer everyday after work I wouldn't necessarily be considered a heavy alcohol user. If I smoked cigarettes once a week I would be considered a light smoker. But smoke a joint after work everyday or even just on the weekend and I'm a heavy marijuana user? That's arbitrary.

[mzmolly]

42. If you sat in front of the tele drinking beer after beer all day long, you'd be considered an

alcoholic. I'd ask why there is a myth that people don't get "addicted" to the escapism provided by marijuana is perpetuated instead.

[cannabis_flower]

46. Yes, but..

I wasn't talking about sitting and watching TV all day and drinking or smoking weed. This study calls anyone who smokes weekly a heavy user, much less someone who smokes daily. I go to work. Work out at the gym and have many other things I do. Yet I would be considered a "heavy user" by these guys. I think that's arbitrary.

[roody]

62. I would say from my 32 year experiment

that mj is habituating, if that is a word. Many with the habit go on a trip or run out or have company and spend a time away from mj with no bad affects or even thinking about pot. This is pure anecdote.

[DemExpat]

41. I smoked heavily in the late 60s and early 70's and have no doubt

that it contributed to my developing serious mental health problems that were probably inherent in my biology, but were triggered by long-term use of this substance.
I warned my 2 kids not to mess with it, which they listened to.

I do think that for some people it is not a safe drug to take.

DemEx

[mzmolly]

43. Indeed, it's likely a combination of biology and usage.

Much like alcohol addiction I suppose? Glad you warned your kids, we were turned off just witnessing what it did to our Mother. But, we did experiement with it.

[olddad56]

59. neither is TV a safe drug to take.

[DemExpat]

72. Yeah, 'anything' can be used as a drug,

but pot messed with my nervous system more than any of the other recreational drugs I used like tobacco and television.

DemEx

[Raine]

80. Pot brought about my anxiety attacks

and even though I haven't use the stuff or probably 20 years I still get the attacks periodically. I'm sorry I ever used that crap.

[DemExpat]

81. I am convinced it isn't as safe as many would like to believe it is

for a perhaps small but substantial group of people.
Yeah, my good highs were outweighed by the paranoia and anxiety attacks that developed, and for me, it was not an innocent drug to take.

DemEx

[Raksha]

85. Well it had NO effect on my anxiety attacks one way or the other.

I've suffered from panic disorder intermittantly since I was nineteen. Smoking a joint (something I did very rarely even in the Sixties) would not make them either better or worse. I had the exact same degree of anxiety whether I was high or not.

[Zhade]

87. Believe what you want, but you're wrong. Correlation is not causation.

There is no evidence to support your biased assertions.

[acmavm]

13. I know a bunch of life-long pot smokers. Some are pretty strange

but they're not psychotic. Can't find anything, don't remember yesterday, but not psychotic.

Just joking about their memories. Sort of.

[colorado_ufo]

19. "Sort of." I know what you mean.

Very good friend of mine (25+ years) is a many-years pot user. "Friend" used to be freaking brilliant (also used to be gorgeous, artistically talented, and an athlete) but now can't remember our conversations from one day to the next. She also stubbornly refuses to look at anything that could be the least bit construed as negative about "W," keeps his 8X10 picture on her fridge, etc. Listens to talk radio (Rush et al.) endlessly and LOUDLY - it is hard to carry on a phone conversation, as the volume in the background is so high. There are other issues at work here (such as alcohol), but "friend" is at her worst with lapses right after a "harvest."

[acmavm]

26. Don't get me wrong, back in the day I was like a forest fire.

At least my friends are just 'spacy'. They DO NOT support this bunch of criminals.

[alfredo]

14. Could this be a chicken/egg type of finding? Could the ill person

be self medicating? How many psychotics know something is "wrong" well before the symptoms become apparent to others.

[noel adamson]

18. Not sufficient to make illegal even if true

Considering the long struggle to find anything at all detrimental to health including all sorts of bogus claims that have been later proven untrue, the extreme restrictions on those seeking to do scientific research on pot, the evident bias of the researchers it seems a more than little suspect.

In addition, even if this study concerned subjects who did not also use other "substances", smoke pot to alleviate initial symptoms of psychosis etc., and the minuscule increase in psychosis is due to pot use the old argument stands stronger than ever; why are not tobacco and alcohol, with well known and proven detrimental effects socially and to health judged by these standards? Alcohol use actually shrinks one's brain, especially the frontal lobe, leaving one permanently impaired in a manner familiar to us as so many people have this impairment including, notably, (and seriously), Mr. Bush. In addition to these over the counter "substances" the large array of pharmaceuticals that have been pushed onto the market and later been shown to have serious consequences should be taken into account in gaining perspective and possibly the drug producers, distribution and sales people locked up.

I don't smoke pot or advocate it's use for recreation other than as a good substitute for booze but do value freedom to make our own choices on such matters and feel that, with America's prisons and jails already bursting at the seams with by far the largest prison population on earth and about 800,000 pot arrests a year this is another major left handed assault on our tiny remaining liberty and should be viewed in this light.

[WindRavenX]

21. I'd love to know how they got these numbers

Coz I highly suspect they just, you know, pulled them out of their ass.

And no, the study doesn't "prove" anything, as it's just looking at the habits of psychotic people--in other words, they don't know if it's causative.

FWIW, I smoke weed and I'm bi-polar. But I've been bi-polar a lot longer than I have been a pot head...

[Bruce McAuley]

22. We're talking very small percentages here...

To me the study says that of the people who might be psychotic or schizophrenic anyway, say 1 out of 100 for example, maybe your chances might get up to 1.4 chances in 100 of becoming psychotic or schizophrenic if you smoked pot.
I'm willing to chance it, it's the only safe drug to use, from a statistical viewpoint of health, not counting the prison industry which thrives because of the money/law enforcement aspect, which is just wrong.
I have seen psychotic people get worse when they smoke pot, however, which tend to confirm the findings somewhat.
Real life observations and opinions are mine only, though.

Bruce

[Marnieworld]

23. I'd be psychotic by now

Any drug that can wear off if you eat cannot be a danger.

[jaysunb]

24. I'm in my 47th year of study...

and so far all seems to be well. I know my name & where I live. Most people think I'm pretty normal, although I've been known to snack/munch a lot, the only side effects seem to be this spare-tire around my middle--of course I know people that are not part of the study that suffer from this malady.

I'll report back in a few years, just to let everyone know how it's going....

[clixtox]

39. Forty-Three years plus of personal daily research...

And I mean daily research with the best herb available in/from the "Emerald Triangle" of Northern California and I am sharp as a tack, capable and organized, in great shape for being 60, with a loving, beautiful 27 year old girlfriend (I've never been married) and happy to be out of the USA most of the time.

While this facile propaganda is a product of the yellow press of England it mirrors the sort of junk science used in the USA to create and perpetuate ignorance.

As was said before, if there was a grain of truth in this there would be hordes of mentally ill pot smokers wondering about. There are certainly plenty of crazy folks out and about in our society but there are numerous readily apparent causes, and cannabis isn't seriously listed among them.

Cannabis is probably the safest "drug" that is out there. No one in all of the historical record has ever died or been more than temporarily impaired using/smoking cannabis.

Cannabis is turning out to have many therapeutic applications medically, and as more studies are done around the world, many more positive attributes are being discovered or rediscovered.

[stressfulreality]

25. "there is no proof"

The researchers said they couldn't prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis, a category of several disorders with schizophrenia being the most commonly known.

[LeftishBrit]

29. I don't know this particular study, but the evidence so far is:

Frequent marijuana use under the age of 18, and especially under the age of 15, is associated with a somewhat increased risk of schizophrenia. This is particularly true for people who are already at some genetic risk for the condition.

The increased risk is not huge. One per cent of all people get schizophrenia. The highest estimate of increased risk for early cannabis users is that the risk gets increased from 1 per cent to 1.4 per cent.

It is very difficult to tell how much of this is due to cannabis use increasing the risk of schizophrenia, and how much is due to youngsters with a pre-existing tendency to mental instability being more likely to 'self-medicate' with cannabis.

Personally, I would advise people against smoking pot before 18, especially if there is schizophrenia in their family. For that matter, I would also advise people not to use alcohol or tobacco before 18. Alcohol probably does drastic damage to mental health, more frequently than cannabis.

[kineneb]

31. drink lots of alcohol, develop cirrhosis, smoke tobacco, develop cancer

eat too much food, develop obesity, etc. Nothing is safe if overdone.

Buddha right...seek middle path, no excesses.

[sarcasmo]

32. Who paid for this study Nancy Raygun?

[NoodleyAppendage]

33. Reefer Madness - Devil's Weed - blah, blah, blah...

Maybe those who became psychotic were predisposed to a psychiatric break and ANY psychoactive substance would have put them over the edge. Yet, again, another poorly planned study that is biased to find the "EVIL" of pot.

If there is a direct connection, then these clowns need to set-up a Lucy-style Psychiatrist booth outside the coffeeshops of Amsterdam. There must be an explosion of psychotics in the Netherlands. Oh, the terror!

J

[JNelson6563]

34. It's not like it's easy to find "the chronic"

aka: "the bomb", "the shit", "skunk", "the shit that killed Elvis", etc. Seems so often all that's available ain't worth buyin'.



Julie

[Alexander]

35. Yeah, because pot smokers are a bunch of violent crazy psychos.

The only violent, crazy psycho I've ever known who smoked weed was a total hypocrite on top of that and would chastise people for...smoking weed.

He was also a creationist and threatened to kill people. Thankfully he got kicked out and no longer lives with my friends.

[JNelson6563]

93. Yeah, no shit. Got any cookies?

[Forkboy]

37. Live in America,risk being psychotic.

The last line you quoted says it all.They're just spouting off and in that line admit it.

[walldude]

38. Maybe if pot were legal

pot smokers wouldn't be all paranoid and shit. I don't buy any of this, millions upon millions of people smoke all their lives without a problem, while it may exacerbate a previous condition it does not "cause" psychosis.

[PittPoliSci]

44. that just screams bullshit.

[MissMillie]

45. Given what the actually statements are regarding the findings

debunking could be difficult

This study doesn't say that marijuana CAUSES anything. It merely finds and increased risk among marijuana users.

The article also states "There could be something else about marijuana users, 'like their tendency to use other drugs or certain personality traits, that could be causing the psychoses,' Zammit said."


These scientists have found a correlation. If the studied followed scientific guidelines (peer reviewed, etc) then it would be pretty difficult to debunk.

[ProudDad]

47. The problem is not with the research

it's with the "conclusions"...

"The researchers said they couldn't prove that marijuana use itself increases the risk of psychosis, a category of several disorders with schizophrenia being the most commonly known.

"There could be something else about marijuana users, "like their tendency to use other drugs or certain personality traits, that could be causing the psychoses," Zammit said.

"Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal substance in many countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States."


Big whoop...

All drug abusers, especially alcohol and prescription drug abusers (the legal abusers) have underlying personality and psychological problems.

That's why AA seldom works for hard core drug abusers...it doesn't deal with the underlying problems it just tries to con the addict into turning over their power to some mythical "higher power"...and their sponsor...


That's why a well designed treatment program voluntarily attended with a holistic, inter-modal approach has the best chance of working.


Crap like this just blows smoke obscuring the real problems and the real solutions.

It also buttresses the phony "war on drugs" which is one of the CAUSES of addiction. That phony "war" is NOT a cure for addiction.

For that reason alone I cry "bullshit!"

[sarcasmo]

61. The real problem is the Government hasn't figured out how to make a $$ off

The ever popular Mary Jane.

[outofbounds]

77. Exactly

Exactly
Until the Government figures out a way to replace the billions they get from the War on Drugs they will continue to steal from us. Take cigarettes for example 3$ a pack includes taxes where I live. Manufacture of mj ciggs cost would be the same. But the product would sell for 20$ a pack 24/7. There is a lot of room for a lot of taxes. The govt thinks every one would grow their own but who wants to go thought all of that? No one or a very miniscule percent. Americans don’t want to wait for it to grow tend to it dry it out when the can buy it now. The same ol lies the govt wants the people to fall for have been exposed by people smoking the stuff for 40 years and still living healthy lives.

[ProudDad]

82. After quitting the ugly weed 22+ years ago

I would say that I wasn't leading a "healthy life" when I was smoking tobacco for 27 years.

When I quit, I found that I had spent decades short of breath, unable to smell the fresh air or good food and a slave to a stupid, stinky, dirty, filthy ritual that filled the bank accounts of the corporate capitalist masters at Phillip Morris from my pockets...

Cigarettes are the biggest killer by far... There is NO doubt about that. Just because a few escape the death that many experience from them doesn't lessen their evil power.

It's never to late to quit...

[outofbounds]

88. Good for you

We still should not be thrown in jail for smoking pot. The lies our government feeds us kills us faster than anything else.

[sarcasmo]

92. That's cheap it's Five bucks a pack here in Michigan for the name brands.

[roody]

49. Now I know what is wrong with me!!!!

[rockedthevoteinMA]

51. I think this is a bunch of crap. What about Alcohol?

The people who I have know with mental health issues have all had psychotic breaks while under the influence of alcohol.

A friend of mine was diagnosed as bipolar, and she was prescribed massive amounts of pharmaceuticals. After two years of meds being adjusted, she detoxed herself off of them. She had side effects, (not sleeping well, not eating much, racing thoughts...etc.) So after six months of no big pharma, she tried smoking a little. One hit every day. No more, no less. She is doing excellent now, after two years.

While I can completely understand it having a negative effect on some, the therapeutic benefits for millions seem to be overlooked. I think big pharma has so much to do with it being illegal, and keeping it illegal, because who would they sell their magic (dysfunctional) products to?

Here's a website that attests to the positive medicinal benefits of marijuana. There are some really amazing personal stories shared here. The Doctor who created the site is associated with Harvard, I believe.
http://www.rxmarihuana.com/comments_and_observations.ht...

[TuathaDaDanaan]

52. Pure B.S.

I have to disagree with the newest "findings"...I am an avid smoker, quite enjoy it and I have an I.Q. of 167, I raise 6 children (some may call that crazy), I work, look after my home and still find time to play! I do this all off a pittance that minimum wage allows and still I have me brain working in a totally functioning way! They probably got their test subjects from an asylum or some such, folks with already a history of psychotic behaviour!! Want to see someone with psychotic behaviour, give them a bottle of Jack Daniels and watch their irrationality soar!! But yet, we still allow liquor to be sold on our shelves...freaking hypocrites!! Peace!

[devilgrrl]

53. Actually, it's ridiculous "studies" like this that cause psychosis.

What heaping pile of crap!

[Decruiter]

54. Eggs cause high cholesterol.

Or do they lower cholesterol?

Nobody knows for sure.

In the end, we choose our poison. Live and let live.

[hedgehog]

56. Some years ago a neighbor of mine who is a farmer gave me a long

cock-and-bull story that the government indictment of eggs as causing high cholesterol was done as revenge by LBJ on the farmers for failing to support him on a critical measure. Various facts that have emerged in the years since I first heard this story make me wonder if it isn't true after all. makes

[askeptic]

55. Acetaminophen linked to 141 deaths in one year! (1999) How many for POT?

So why don't the headlines or the story ever compare the dangers of commonly used things like Tylenol with the "dangers" of Pot? I'd like to see anyone directly link pot to 141 deaths TOTAL.

But this is available over the counter. So why is pot illegal?



Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is a pain reliever ingredient found in many different over the counter medications and prescription medications. The number one choice of painkiller in the U.S. is Tylenol, a brand name for acetaminophen. Generally considered a safe and effective pain reliever option, acetaminophen still has very serious dangers that were worrisome enough to lead the Public Citizen consumer group to make a statement in front of the FDA Non-Prescription Drugs Advisory Committee in September 2002.

The FDA’s own advisory panel first recommended safety warnings for acetaminophen-containing products in 1977. The use of acetaminophen in excess or for an extended period of more than 10 days was shown to cause risk of severe liver damage according to the advisory panel. The FDA chose to go against the advisory panel’s recommendation and did not warn of the link between acetaminophen use and severe liver damage.

Considered the most common cause of drug-induced liver failure, acetaminophen is found in over 200 over the counter products. Since acetaminophen is a common remedy for symptoms such as pain, fever, colds, and coughs, a statement on behalf of The American Liver Foundation provided to the FDA’s advisory committee was worried that present marketing practices of acetaminophen containing products makes it difficult to determine the standard dose. In the January-February 2003 FDA Consumer magazine, the FDA included an article entitled “Use Caution With Pain Relievers” to warn of acetaminophen adverse effects.

Acetaminophen has also been linked to 141 deaths in 1999 and many of the cases were determined to be intentional overdoses.

http://www.onlinelawyersource.com/acetaminophen/index.h...

[chknltl]

57. Not every person is affected the same way by pot.

From my own observations, most folks have a similar reaction to pot smoking. Some folks have reactions which are different though. For instance a few develop almost a mild paranoia reaction, (I am one of those...I absolutely HATE being in public or interacting with others when high or drunk for that matter). I have also witnessed 3 people who have become "Potaholics". These people spent an abnormal amount of their day planning out acquiring their next "fix" almost like a heroin addict so perhaps a better name here would be "pot-addict".

It is my observation that these two reactions are out on the edge of the bell shaped curve and do not apply to the average heavy pot smoker and even less to the casual user. I would bet that there are milder and stronger versions of these adverse affects, and quite likely other odd adverse reactions like the psychosis suggested in the OP but again I stress: These are FAR from the norm.

Another phenomenon which I have observed and it appears quite common among the heavy users, ( 1 gram of bud or more every day) is a withdrawal. This generally manifests as being uncharacteristically cranky and easily agitated, sort of like a caffeine withdrawal without the intense headaches. It rarely lasts longer than a day and disappears entirely if the affected person smokes some pot. It is no joke, heavy users going through withdrawal may look funny to those who know what is going on but these poor guys are actually physically suffering! Those of you reading this who are heavy users know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

It is my belief that those who would demonize pot, latch on to the rare adverse reaction and use it to "prove" that pot is bad by suggesting that the reaction is to be expected in all who would smoke pot. These folks are either misguided or deliberately attempting to misguide others.

[booley]

58. Don't "they" say the same thing about cats?

That owning a cat increases your chances of schizophrenia?

They will get my cats when they pry them from cold dead hands.



Anyway, it seems they have come up with different, even contradictory negatives to doing pot. while smoking pot is probably not a good idea while pregnant, i think there are much bigger threats.

Liek how commonly used plastics mimic estrogen in the human body.

[olddad56]

64. It's true, if cats smoke too much pot it makes them psychotic also.

[slackmaster]

84. Uh-oh, I have three cats

One is in the hospital at the moment and we may be about to lose him. I live the furry little killers.

I have a dog too. And a tortoise, and a turtle.

[olddad56]

60. It causes the inability to believe propaganda...

And that is dangerous for the government. Pot is a catalyst for social change. All you have to do is look back the Vietnam era. The anti war movement was fueled by pot. Pot and music brought people together. Not only on the campuses, but in the war zone. The guys in the fields got high and talked with each other about how it felt inside to kill and how it felt to be afraid of dying. The government would prefer that you watched Faux news, drank beer, and numbed up.

[NinetySix]

63. Not an attempt to debunk it, but the correlation is likely meaningless.

The correlation drawn is between those who are psychotic and those who smoke marijuana. To consider this indicative of a causal relationship is to draw a false conclusion. Another possibility, for example, is that people predisposed to psychosis find the use of marijuana beneficial to their condition, as nicotine has been shown to be with bipolar disorder. I just have to wonder whether those researchers studying this correlation also considered the correlation between psychosis and other chemical agents, since it doesn't say in the text of the story....

Perhaps next they'll discover a correlation between those with macular degeneration and those with above-average masturbatory habits.

[killbotfactory]

66. When did sloppy science ever stop the anti-Pot crusaders?

Sloppy misleading science is the keystone of marijuana criminalization.

[MatrixEscape]

67. Propagandistic Bullshit ...

I just wanted to chime in on that side of the discussion.

I have known people who have blazed for 20-30 years, (daily). They are functional, (and even exceptional) members of society and efficient, and also above-average workers on the job.

In fact, you could not single these kinds of people out by using a stereo-typical frame of reference. You would only know about their use if they told you. So far, no psychosis, but rather, a sort of peaceful lucidity.

On the other hand, if someone is already having mental problems or illness to the point where it is evident, then any psychotropic substance, licit or illicit, has the potential to exacerbate their problem. There are currently clear connections between anti-depressants and disturbing results like suicide and violent rage.

[MatrixEscape]

70. Read up on the whole situation and free your mind a bit:

An older resource that opened the eyes and minds of many for years was the book, The The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana, by Jack Herer.

Mr. Herer can be considered a real pioneer in the hemp movement and he has provided important information, both about the true profit-driven motive behind demonizing the weed, as well as its benign nature. The book, (originally published in 1977) has sold over 600,000 copies to date and is it its 11th edition.

The book provides a very solid, and well-researched, foundation for any clear understanding of the reasons and facts behind the devastating, long-term “war” on this particular plant. It is a war that takes a far greater toll by damage to its causalities, (and society) than any of the proposed, false benefits for the waging of the “war” provides. The price we pay for any support of the false doctrines imposed upon the population for ulterior motives is staggering and, when clearly understood, both shocking and appalling. The information has yet to be refuted by opponents and propaganda.

It is highly recommended, for those who have interest in this subject, that swing over to his site and read the rather generously given, free parts of the book online:

http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html

This is the kind of a primer that people who are interested in the real history and incredible value of hemp as an important, across-the-board resource, would defnitely benefit from reading. It is also just as crucial those who are curious or concerned about the majro assault on consciousness and health that its prohibition viciously attacks in the process.

When people feel incredulous about information that counters the bulk of agitprop presented as totally factual, altruistic information provided to socially engineer public opinion and behavior, (under a loud and authoritative veneer of assumed veracity) seeing into the historical success of campaigns that have effectively pulling the wool over their eyes and glued them shut has a sobering and dramatic impact. It is the kind of impact that can shake the fetid ground of commonly accepted supposition. That kind of shaking, in sufficient and persistent quantities can also shake the foundations of postiche empires.

Obviously, the most important byproduct of this kind of knowledge, (and it should be more pervasive and common) is that it illustrates just how far expert and blatant propaganda can go to transform a non-theoretical, conspiratorial agenda of deception into an accepted belief-as-fact for millions of people without as much as a stir or prevailing exposure on the skin of superficial media that pretends to be presenting, without special interest or bias, facts and important information for the benefit of the public.

Free your mind if you think you have one! That is the only true place, position, or perspective that real freedom can ever exist. The rest is commentary.

Also see:
http://www.thehia.org/faqs/faq1.htm

Americans have a LOT to learn in order to rouse themselves from the dreamy sleep they have been existing in for so long.

[truthisfreedom]

69. Yawn.

[MatrixEscape]

71. America chimes in there!

Go back to sleep! This has nothing to do with your inculcated delusions at all! Sleep! Sleep! There is no relationship between the history of hemp and marijuana and your current situation. None whatsoever! This is not the 'droid you were looking for!

Oh, look: NFL/Al CIAda/American Idol/terra!/more terra!/strong economy/go shopping/gay marriage/abortion/Paris Hilton/some more terra!/comforting commercial/beer equals girls/entertainment/good Americans work three jobs/vote for corporatocracy!/we do it all for you!/Ask your doctor about (fill in the blank) drug/commercial with perfect solution to your problem(s)/why ask why?

Sweet dreams are made of these and you have to be asleep to see the American Dream, as we all know.

Would you like a government-sanctioned lullaby or would some more TV help?

Go to sleepy little citizen!
Go to sleepy little citizen!
And when you wake, you'll paddy, paddy-cake!
And ride a shiny new distra-act-tion!

Wheee!

[leaninglib]

74. If you don't like it, don't smoke it.

[Doctor_J]

75. That's not true, and I'll kill anyone who says it is!

:-;

[MiniMe]

76. They could use Bush as the poster boy

[dipsydoodle]

78. And the moral is

don't smoke pots.

[Kip Humphrey]

79. The ability to shift one's perspective is not a precursor to schizophrenia,

its a precursor to enlightenment. Unless, that is, you happen to be Republican.

[slackmaster]

83. Post hoc ergo propter hoc?

You'd have to be psychotic to smoke that stuff.

[Zhade]

86. ....

SUCH bullshit.

CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION.

[Subdivisions]

89. So far, so good. n/t

[ovidsen]

91. Okay, everyone who's see or read about schizoid potheads

going on killing sprees, wasting their families or other random acts of violence where medical tests showed nothing but THC in their systems, raise your hands.

None.

Thought so.

This study is nothing but a waste of trees and electrons by people who could use some psychiatric help themselves.

I smoked pot and hashish almost daily for decades (stopped years ago) and all it did was make me lazy, make the most obvious thought seem profound and give a terrible case of the munhies.

This so called study is baloney.

[PBass]

96. The study is probably alarmist baloney, but my own personal feeling is that

people with emotional or psychological problems (or a family history of the same) should probably avoid doing recreational drugs.

Just my opinion.

[woo me with science]

97. Does this explain the posts about chemtrails? nt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

99. I'd be willing to bet that pot is used by psychotics to self-medicate...

...and THAT'S what these "researchers" have really found.

I've had several bipolar friends who would use pot when they were manic and cocaine when they were depressed...with devastating results on a couple of occasions.

[Bread and Circus]

100. This very thing happened to my brother. If actually true, I wouldn't be surprised.

He's smoked pot alot throughout his life and a few years back suffered a psychotic break, much after typical schizophrenia appears in males. I wondered then, and still do, if Marijuana was the culprit.

[irislake]

101. Not true

half of the Canadian population if not three quarters would be psychotic by now. Percentage of people who are psychotic 3%. Percentage of pot smokers? WAY more than three percent. Put THAT in your pipe (or whatever) and smoke it. Absolutely ridiculous!

[jberryhill]

103. Duh

Aren't psychotics more likely than the general population to do *anything* that is illegal?

That alone would account for over-representation of psychos among pot smokers but, seriously, the craziest people I've ever known have never touched the stuff.