Quote Originally Posted by birdgirl73
My question for you, Staurm, is this: Where was anyone, here or anyplace else, attributing the blame for most insanity to cannabis? Certainly not in any of the links here or subsequent conversations. And certainly not in any external sources I've read, either. What the original BBC article and the research reported above said was that THC isolates given to those test groups at King's College and Yale University provoked increased rates of schizophrenia and/or delusional reactions, particularly in people who were prone to those problems to begin with. And the study at the University of Cologne reported that the other active ingredient in cannabis, CBD (cannabadiol), seemed to suppress those reactions in its test subjects. That's it.
Hmmm I finished that post off rather quickly so I didn't express myself entirely accurately. I am not saying anyone is saying that, only that one would think that considering the amount of propaganda being bandied around based on tenuous scientific evidence linking cannabis with schitzophrenia.

I'm possibly in agreement with this research, and yourself, but only in the context of the bigger picture. This article provides some evidence to suggest that the reason, one of the reasons - diet and circumstances being two other important factors - people develop mental illness from using cannabis is down to poor quality of cannabis available on the streets - a direct result of the prohibition laws. Unfortunately most people reading this will not come to the same conclusion as myself, being already brainwashed somewhat by the general concensus of opinion.

I'm also suggesting that perhaps some of these distressing mental side effects, paranoia and delusions, could also be considered part of the healing process, an important part that perhaps people ought to go through and try to understand so that they can become more at one with themselves and the universe. It's medicine from a holistic, shamanic perspective, one that has parallels new and old. I not in any way suggesting that this new age old age treatment can work on everyone though, but certainly that it ought to be given more credit by the medical institutions.

I have experienced mild paranoia, delusions as a result of smoking cannabis in the past. But now I have a firm hold on it, I am an experienced smoker, and I understand myself and the universe better for it and I am more at peace with myself. I beleive that cannabis helped me go through a bad phase in my life, and possibly without it I might now be clinically depressed.

I'm possibly suggesting here that people who develop paranoia and delusions from smoking it may already be incubating deep mental issue within them that may or may not surface at some later time in their life anyway, possibly in a more ugly form. These issues ought to be addressed sooner rather than later, and to deny people the right to nurture their madness, something I beleive to be an important process of life and evolution, is more harmful than just allowing people the freedom to experiment with cannabis, self medicate, even if it does not work out for them in the long run it's better for society.