Weed increases risk of going insane. NEW study.

[jaGerbom]

Pot Ups Risk for Mental Illness - Health News - MSN Health & Fitness

Check out that article.

I find it to be complete bullshit because their study consisted of analyzing 35 OTHER studies. Think about it, how long ago were these studies done? I bet some are from back in the reefer madness days when they said weed will make you go insane. Maybe if they did a direct study with actual people smoking marijuana i would slightly think they've got something there.

jaGerbom Reviewed by jaGerbom on 07-27-2007. Weed increases risk of going insane. NEW study. Pot Ups Risk for Mental Illness - Health News - MSN Health & Fitness Check out that article. I find it to be complete bullshit because their study consisted of analyzing 35 OTHER studies. Think about it, how long ago were these studies done? I bet some are from back in the reefer madness days when they said weed will make you go insane. Maybe if they did a direct study with actual people smoking marijuana i would slightly think they've got something there. Rating: 5

[4gan2ja0]

man, after reading that i have a sudden urge to kill...

[jaGerbom]

lol. Well shit i just realized theres another thread about this already. Not the same link but its about the same study. Gah i suck.

[ukmonkey]

Yup theres no denying it, weed fucks you in the head if you can't control yourself, just like alcohol fucks your liver if you don't stop drinking and sausages make you obese if you don't stop eating.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Same study different source. There's already at least one thread on it.

[mute]

but my marijuana high is saying hug every one. not to kill or rape them.
is there something wrong with my weed?

[Nocturnal Stoner]

Yup theres no denying it, weed fucks you in the head if you can't control yourself, just like alcohol fucks your liver if you don't stop drinking and sausages make you obese if you don't stop eating.

it's true, my mind has changed quite a bit, but as long as your in control then your fine. exact point with food, eat too much expect to get fat and have diarrhea, smoke too many fags expect to cough up black phlegm once in a while, simple logic, no study needs to be done. A fucking 4 year old could figure it out.

[Matt the Funk]

I'd like more studies about anti-depressants giving people psyhcosis since I bet that happens more often....it sickens me to watch them make weed the bad guy, but I don't really doubt that weed has this effect on some people.

[PatrickHenry]

It made me nervous at first and then I found out about the people running the study being indirectly paid by the drug companies and that the study is based on the results of 35 other studies. Lastly,
Schizophrenia is highly treatable and I doubt cannabis induced schizophrenia is severe.

Q. What is schizophrenia?

A. Schizophrenia is a serious biological brain disease that affects thinking, perception, mood and behaviour. The term covers a number of related disorders, all with overlapping symptoms. People usually develop the first symptoms of schizophrenia in adolescence or early adulthood. It can develop in older people, but this is not nearly as common. Some people may experience only one or more brief episodes in their life. For others, it may remain a life-long condition. The onset of the illness may be rapid, with acute symptoms developing over several weeks, or it may be slow, developing over months or even years. People who develop schizophrenia may experience the following symptoms:

* Hallucinations: most commonly involving 'hearing' non existant voices. Other less common experiences can include seeing, feeling, tasting or smelling things which are not actually there.
* Delusions: false beliefs or persecution, guilt or grandeur or of being under outside control. People with schizophrenia may describe plots against them or of having special powers and gifts. Sometimes, they withdraw from people or hide to avoid imagined persecution. the following abstract from: Welcome, Silence. Carol North, a psychiatrist who suffered from schizophrenia throughout her childhood and adolescence describes some of these experiences.
"I continued feeling suspicious of my classmates. They seemed to have a conspiracy. They were going to make me flunk out, simply by pooling their mental powers and willing it into my brain. In my paranoid state of mind I became hyper-vigilant, interpreting my classmates' normal conversational gestures as secret signs to each other about me. A casual glance at the ceiling by one of my classmates was really disguised a cue to someone else. I became preoccupied with trying to put together meaningful ideas from fragments of conversation I overheard, assuming they were part of the conspiracy. It was impossible for my friends to talk me out of my delusions."
* Thought Disorder: where the speech may be difficult to follow, jumping from one subject to another with no logical connection. Thoughts and speech may be so jumbled and disjointed that the person may think someone is interfering with their mind.
* Loss of drive: some people may find it very difficult or even impossible to engage in everyday activities such as washing, cooking etc. This reduced ability to do things is not laziness, it is part of the illness.
* Blunted emotions: is where the ability to express emotion is greatly reduced and is often accompanied by a lack of response or an inappropriate response to external events such as happy or sad occasions.
* Social Withdrawal: this may be caused by a number of factors including the fear that someone is going to harm them, and the fear of interaction with others which may be caused by a loss of social skills.

Q. What causes schizophrenia?

A. No single cause has been identified, but a number of different factors are believed to contribute to the onset of schizophrenia in some people:

* Genetic factors - a predisposition to schizophrenia can run in families. In the general population, only 1% of people develop it. If one parent lives with schizophrenia, the children have a 10% chance of developing the condition - and a 90% chance of not developing it.
* Biochemical factors - Certain biochemical substances in the brain are believed to be involved in this condition, especially a neurotransmitter called dopamine. One likely cause of this chemical imbalance is the person's genetic predisposition to the illness.
* Family relationships - No evidence has been found to support the suggestion that family relationships cause the illness. However, some people with schizophrenia are sensitive to any family tension which, for them, may be associated with relapses.
* Environment - It is well recognised that stressful incidents often precede the onset of schizophrenia. They often act as precipitating events in vulnerable people. People with schizophrenia often become anxious, irritable and unable to concentrate before any acute symptoms are evident.
* Cannabis - Use of street drugs such as Cannabis may cause a condition known as drug-induced psychosis. This usually passes after a few days, however, if someone is vulnerable or has a predisposition to developing a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia , these drugs may precipitate the first episode in what can be a lifelong, disabling condition.
From Surviving Schizophrenia: Straight Talk for Family and Friends by Maryellen Walsh.
"At different times in history, people's ideas about the causes of schizophrenia were tied to whatever notions were 'hot' in their particular cultures. In the Middle Ages, for example, when people couldn't think of what to say about the causes of schizophrenia they blamed it on the devil. In the 1950's and 1960s, when people couldn't think of what to say about the cause, they blamed it on the parents. Now people blame schizophrenia on stress. To each age its own scapegoat."

Q. Is schizophrenia curable?

A. Not yet. But scientific progress is being made - albeit slowly. Lack of funding is a big problem, probably our biggest. Despite the prevalence of schizophrenia and the devastation it creates for its victims and their families, funding into this little understood disease is abysmal. Whilst there is no known cure, the effects of the illness can be alleviated for most people with the careful use of medications and professional, social and societal support.

Q. What is the treatment?

A. The most effective treatment for schizophrenia involves medication, psychological & social treatment and rehabilitation in the community. The use of anti-psychotic medications has revolutionised treatment of schizophrenia. Most of these medications work to inhibit the action of dopamine (a "neurotransmitter', or chemical in the brain, that helps cells communicate with each other). Faulty dopamine action has been blamed for some forms of schizophrenia.

Some people will need to stay on medication indefinitely to prevent a relapse. Schizophrenia is an illness, like many physical illnesses. For example, insulin is a lifeline for the person with diabetes; anti-psychotic drugs are a lifeline for a person with schizophrenia.

Medication, along with society's understanding and support makes it possible for many people with schizophrenia to lead reasonably normal lives in the community.

Questions