Cannabis and Schizophrenia

[Matt the Funk]

Anyways I found some articles suggesting that cannabis can help schizophrenia because of something called "anandamide", some type of cannaboid receptor. I'll post the article later, but just wondering what you guys think about it. Do you think it attributes to schizophrenia? Helps relieve the symptoms? A possible cure? anything you have to say. Peace.

[Matt the Funk]

Bump. Only because I want to know what you guys think. Don't be afraid to post, this thread won't bite :p

[KanMan]

Schizophrenia Society of Canada postition on cannabis:

The role and impact of drugs and alcohol on schizophrenia and other mental illnesses is an area of great interest and concern. The medical consensus has been that drugs such as cannabis do not actually cause the illness, however they can contribute to psychoses and symptoms in individuals who are vulnerable to schizophrenia due to a personal or family history of the illness.

We do have some basic information about drug abuse in our reference manual Rays of Hope. The section states: "Drugs (including alcohol and street drugs) themselves do not cause schizophrenia. However, street drugs and alcohol can make psychotic symptoms worse if a person already has schizophrenia. Some drugs (amphetamines or phencyclidine/angel dust) can temporarily create schizophrenia-like symptoms in well persons."

Our Society does not have a formal position on cannabis use. We encourage all individuals with schizophrenia to talk to their psychiatrists about any products they may be taking, whether it is other prescription medications, alternative products, alcohol or street drugs. The individual's psychiatrist should know what products the person is taking in order to be aware of potential effects.

This past June, the Canadian Psychiatric Association published an issue devoted to the topic of Cannabis and Psychosis. This may be of interest if you are looking for additional information. The link is: http://ww1.cpa-apc.org:8080/Publications/Archives/CJP/2006/august/aug2006.asp

The issue of concurrent disorders -- that is the presence of both a mental illness and a substance use/abuse problem -- is a significant concern for those living with mental illness because it seriously impacts diagnosis, treatment, functioning and quality of life. If you would like additional information on concurrent disorders, please let us know.

[Matt the Funk]

Nice link but, check out these http://www.marijuana.org/ocregister5-18-99.html and MarijuanaNews.Com, Freedom has nothing to fear from the truth (http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/australian_medical_association_e.htm) I can somewhat agree with them too. I have no idea what weed really does to my brain but I swear on my life it helps. The second link has the schizo part at the bottom.

[Trip06]

I am seriously doubting cannabis can cause some1 to be skitzo as was said in other posts. I have unorganized thoughts and shit like that for as long as I can remember and I thought weed was making it way worse. But its all in your head if you dwell on it and start convincing yourself your fucked up you are actually fucking up so stop it. weed is a tool for the right state of mind. ~my thoughts.

[Matt the Funk]

Yeah I got pretty disorganized thoughts too, but also pretty extreme paranoia and have had hallucinations. Weed seems to help if anything. It works on me kinda like the med I take but with WAYYY fewer side effects. But the fact that it is an anti-psychotic is pretty cool IMO. I would really like to see them make a med for bi-polars and schizo's out of cannibanoids.

[nightlight]

Yeah I got pretty disorganized thoughts too, but also pretty extreme paranoia and have had hallucinations. Weed seems to help if anything. It works on me kinda like the med I take but with WAYYY fewer side effects. But the fact that it is an anti-psychotic is pretty cool IMO. I would really like to see them make a med for bi-polars and schizo's out of cannibanoids.

ive been smoking pot medicinally for my bipolar disorder with acute psychosis for about two years, but after a recent trip to the hospital the doctors told me it was going to make me alot worse off in the long run. so they put me ont his medication called xyprexa and my brain was sucked dry, i felt like a zombie for three weeks and couldnt work or write. now im back to smoking and my brain is in much better condition.

[notransfer]

zyprexa has a huge lawsuit against it

i used to take it...theres this shit where theyre giving it to older people who dont need it..

i think weed can help accelerate schizo/ psychosis..but its subjective(?)

nightlight it appears to help^^

[Matt the Funk]

It helps me A LOT. Wayy beter than the meds they give. I think the drug companies pay off politicians and such to keep cannabis from being used as a medicine for schizophrenia,bi-polar, and schizoaffective. And the politicians in turn put out fake info. Anyways I stop taking most of the meds they give me because I feel like I complete zombie w/o emotions or feeling after about a week or so. I read somewhere that weed doesn't actually higher your risk of getting schizo or anything like that, but there are so many studies with results that go against each other, idk.

[Zachariah]

I have schizophrenia and haven't smoked since June 2005, but I'd like to try it again. I read that weed can make mental illness worse, especially schizophrenia. That sucks cuz I really enjoyed smoking pot. I guess I'll just stick to alcohol for the time being. My psychiatrist said alcohol is alright as long as I moderate it.

[Matt the Funk]

Alcohol is sooo much worse for you bro...

[MarzVooolta]

Id be more worried about acid and shrooms when it comes to a predisposition to schizpphrenia, it wasnt until I dropped acid that I noticed signs of schizophrenia (didnt know it ran in my family)

[Matt the Funk]

I've had signs of schizophrenia since I can remember....which is ages 4+