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Weed and Schizophrenia
I have a 23 year old nephew who was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic almost ten years ago. He has been mostly in remission except in recent weeks. I know nothing of his history of illegal drug use but my impression is that it is slim to none.
In reading at schizophrenia.com I came across a page which indicates that the author(s) of that site believe that marijuana is often implicated in helping to bring that disease to expression. I have not read widely at that site but what I have read so far seems to not have a very good understanding of how to convincingly demonstrate a direction of causality. So, I'm quite in sympathy with Item 6(b) of your FAQ, i.e. Q: "Is marijuana going to make my boyfriend go psycho?" A: "...Persons who suffer from severe psychological disorders often use marijuana as a way of coping. ..."
As an American born in 1955, smack in the middle of the baby boom, who spent almost all my teen years in the Netherlands (tho I did not smoke there), I am quite sympathetic to medical marijuana, to the point of having authored a quite popular web page about that (see link in my sig., below).
But, as the mother of a teen-aged boy (age 17) who is a full cousin to the boy in my introductory sentence, I have to wonder if extreme caution might be the better part of valor. He and I have already poked around a bit at a page to which I am about to direct you.
I'm looking for your opinion of a page at the site I mentioned earlier. This will be helpful to me because I expect to hear from you a completely different point of view than that espoused by folks who are coming at the issue from the opposite direction, after witnessing or experiencing mental problems.
Will you please take a look at the following page, and as many of the links there as you can stomach?
Schizophrenia.com - Marijuana Cannabis and Schizophrenia
Thanks for any insight you can provide.
MindDancr (Tracie)
Webminder: Marijuana, Ã* la Carte: Decriminalize Pot Smoking!
Marijuana: Decriminalize Medical Marijuana
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Weed and Schizophrenia
I have heard of this thousands of times.
It can be complicated, but bare with me.
I have Bi-polar and have it very badly.
I am rather medication resistant. Nothing much seems to work.
I used to smoke pot often when in High School etc. back in the late 60's early/mid 70's.
It just used to be a party element.
Then, as I grew older, now and then at a party or something, I would imbibe.
Then just short of several years ago I had a friend who smoked all the time. I asked him how he could stand to be stoned all the time. Then he and his wife (who is a Psych nurse) told me it helped him focus because he was ADHD.
I talked to my girlfriend about this, who was also a nurse. After our discussion we decided to give it a try for my Bi-polar. You see, we often are at ends with drug companies and their policies, their role in the U.S. Goverenment and their creation of illnesses so they can market a drug toward it. The research into cannibas is mostly entirely funded by the US Drug Czar or Pharmaceudical companies. The data, through personal experience just never matched up. Not only with cannibas but psylocybian as well as some others.
Anyway, all politics aside, my entire family - girlfriend, her 3 adult children, my two adult children discovered that it was like night and day for me and it seemed to help more than any of the dozens of commercial drugs I have taken over the many years since the early 90's when I was diagnoised. And believe me... I took all different types of meds.
I take and anti-convulcent which pretty much squashes my mania but that is about it. I have never had any anti-depressent that really worked and I suffer from depression most of the time since my mania has been squashed.
But cannibas relieves the other symptoms. The only trouble with it is I have to use it several times a day. At the moment we are experiementing with tinctures and other ways to ingest this miracle plant.
I also only take St. John's Wort (an herb) for depression. Prozac, Cymbolta, Welbutren, Zoloft, just to name a few, have never, ever done any good except to give me hardend side-effects.
Now be aware that commercial drugs are refined so they hit you with a sledge hammer to try to help you. But herbs work with the body in a slow process, so it seems to take quite a bit longer for them to work (other than the cannibas which helped right away).
They say St. John's Wort is only, and then maybe possibley, works for minor depression. That is if it works at all, according to the Pharmaceudical companies studies or those "independant" studies which are funded by them.
Well I suffer from major... and I do mean major depression and St. John's Wort works better than anything else I have tried.
So with about 6 or so years under my belt of using Cannibas for my "mental disorder" I, my family, by doctor and my therapist KNOW that it works and I have ALL of their blessings! Yes, even my doctor, who has several paitents who claim it helps their Bi-Polar. My therapist thinks it is a miracle and has turned my life around.
So there you have it. Take it for what it is worth. For me and my family, medical professionals, and friends it has been the "miracle drug"...
well not perfect, but absolutely the best thing I have taken in about 18 years.
Now people can argue the point all they want. What can I say, for me and several other Bi-Polars it does work. And for most of us - quite well!
I have a friend who is schizophrenic and he claims it helps him, though I am not too sure about this. But he doesn't seem to suffer any side effects from it.
AND, don't forget, that EVERYONE's body chemistry is different and not matter what the drug is, there are people out their who it will help and those who it won't.
There has never, in the history of medicine a "drug" that works the same way for everyone. It's biologically, and at this point in history, technically impossible.
Some people claim it causes depression. Well - if cannibas works at helping depression and you suffer from it anyway, then use cannibas, then not take it, of course your going to feel depressed!!!
People on both sides of the "cannibas" coin need to put their feet on the ground and move into the real world. Cannibas is not an over all medical miracle nor is it harmful when used with common sense. (As with everything you eat or ingest). Moderation is a key to anything.
So there you have a mentally ill person's story with cannibas.
I hope this helps and gives you some insight.
Just keep your feet on the ground while researching the "drug" (which is really a simple, harmless herb) and take a look at who has funded the study you are reading. Many times you have to go deep into the study to find out who funded it. But if it is negative, the odds of the US Drug Czar (or the like in a few other countries) or the Pharmaceudical compies are behind the study.
Same can be said with other studies. Make sure the people funding the study are ligit, well documented and obviously unbias. Near impossible. But with plenty of research you can see through the clouds.
Best to you.
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Weed and Schizophrenia
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Weed and Schizophrenia
You've both been very helpful and I appreciate your openness regarding your personal situations. I have visited all of the links supplied and continue to study the question back at the schizophrenia site.
By the way, the emoticon I chose to label my original post, I'm just now realizing, appears to be a "thumbs down" symbol. I thought it was a question mark when I chose it.
