27 July 2007 – NewScientist.com news service
Researchers say they have the strongest evidence yet that using cannabis increases the risk of later developing psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.
On average, [pot] smokers have a 41% greater chance of suffering from such disorders than those who didn’t inhale, the new study finds. And the likelihood increases with increasing cannabis use, with heavy users three times as likely as non-users to develop psychotic illnesses.
Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in the world. In the UK, for example, around 40% of young adults have used cannabis, according to research by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Now, researchers in the UK have reviewed 35 studies on the long-term effects of cannabis use in Europe, the US and Australasia and say the drug does in fact appear to be linked with an increased risk of psychosis. The original studies lasted from one to 27 years.
| They also say, “that even better evidence may come once scientists understand how cannabis actually changes the brain.” Wow! I find it hard to believe that as long as pot has been around they still have no clue as to how it affects the brain. |
| Found by Bubba Martin. |
and we have no clue how to stop cancer either. I find it not surprising at all that we have no clue about its effect on the brain. The bio-chemistry and physiology of the human body still has much research to be completed.
and we have no clue how to stop cancer either. I find it not surprising at all that we have no clue about its effect on the brain. The bio-chemistry and physiology of the human body still has much research to be completed. P.S. The show “WEEDS” is a great show though.
I’ve noticed that smoking Pot causes you to have a hard time understanding why the Patriot Act is good for America. Getting your freedom through giving it up.
And they say this too…..
Schizophrenics fall for no illusions-
The paranoia, or sense of persecution, experienced by some schizophrenics could be due to a problem they have processing contextual information, according to researchers at University College London (UCL).
Researchers at the London university found that schizophrenics are not fooled by visual illusions that easily trick non-schizophrenics.
Volunteers were shown high-contrast black and white patterned images, with sections altered so that the level of contrast is much lower. They were then asked effectively to match the contrast of the altered section to its twin in a line up of otherwise identical shapes.
Schizophrenics find this task relatively easy, because their brain takes no account of the surrounding information when judging the level of contrast in the altered section of the pattern. Non-schizophrenic brains, however, make relative judgments about the altered section, because of the surrounding higher contrast pattern.
Dr Steven Dakin, of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, commented: “We often think of people with schizophrenia as not seeing the world the way it really is – for example, during hallucinations – but we have shown that sometimes their vision can be more accurate than non-sufferers.”
He explained that people who do well at this kind of task, tend to do so for a very specific reason, while poor performance can be due to a number of different factors.
“Our findings may shed some light on the brain mechanisms involved in schizophrenia,” he added.
“Normally, contextual processes in the brain help us to focus on what’s relevant and stop our brains being overwhelmed with information. This process seems to be less effective in the schizophrenic brain, possibly due to insufficient inhibition – that is, the process by which cells in the brain switch each other off.”
He suggests that if this is part of a more general problem in dealing with information about context, it could explain why many schizophrenics misinterpret people’s actions, and can feel persecuted.
The research is reported in the journal Biology.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/27/paranoid_illusion/
Tommy Chong seemed pretty level headed last time I saw him interviewed. I hope to be that mentally fit at his age.
How do they know the causality here? Perhaps people who tend to smoke pot also have a tendency to develop psychotic illnesses. Perhaps there’s an underlying factor that produces the pot smoking and the illness, even if they exclude people from the study who already exhibit mental illness. You can’t necessarily conclude that the smoking causes the illness.
“smokers have a 41% greater chance of suffering from such disorders”
What about consuming ‘cookies’? I have asthma so I can’t smoke it, but cookies are the best!
Dude……..Reefer Madness 2: PSYCHOSIS STRIKES THE NATION!
The occurance of psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia is 1 to 2%. A 41% increase equates to 1.4 to 2.8%.
Complete BS anti-drug propaganda.
I’d say the positives are greater than the negatives.
It’s propaganda … just like the new film The Purple Brain. Just take a hit and chill people. All this hoohaw over a frak’n plant.
Which came first the chicken or the egg?What we know for sure is that all people self medicate to feel better.
Medical scientists don’t know jack sh*t about healing. They try to understand everything instead of concentrating only on the basics, cause and effect. Smart people are not healers, they are thinkers, the very opposite of healing (stress). The people that are the best at healing are the intuitive ones, and they are hard to come by these days.
Take schizophrenia for example, it is caused by over activity in certain regions of the brain, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. But the pills that are given to schizophrenic patients main goal is to reduce the amount of activity when what they should be doing is diverting that energy. It is a lot easier to divert energy than to completely erase it (which may be impossible but I’m not sure) and of course diet, exercise and your inner dialog play a huge role.
And you can call me crazy for saying this if you want; I mean really, that is what you are suppose to do.
The article is obviously blatent bullshit, I’m with #9.
The second paragraph makes if very clear that it is BS.
41% greater chance…. 3 times more likely….
The math, the math, oh the inaccuracy…
“On average, smokers have a 41% greater chance of suffering from such disorders than those who didn’t inhale, the new study finds. And the likelihood increases with increasing cannabis use, with heavy users three times as likely as non-users to develop psychotic illnesses.”
BAD sci…
There is no way they could have done Full Psych Evaluations BEFORE these folks started Smoking…
This is a ‘Meta study’ (i.e. very unreliable) and the results have been disputed by several researchers. The killer fact that they point out is that although cannabis use has increased exponentially since the 1950s, the rate of schizophrenia has remained level in spite of improved diagnosis.
It has also been pointed out that schizophrenics smoke tobacco at a far higher rate than the norm yet that has not been blamed.
The UK (and US) governments keep saying they must do more research into cannabis yet they never do.
Don’t you think it’s about time we were told exactly how dangerous all drugs were compared to each other. Personally I would put the dangers of cannabis well below those of tobacco and alcohol.
Slatts
Reefer Madness was right!!!!!
Now I agree that the causality probably isn’t proven by this study. BUT I’d be willing to bet that if the word “increases” was replaced by “decreases” in the same study most of the folks here would be calling for immediate repeal of the anti-pot laws.
More and/or louder than they already are that is.
Dudes like what’s the story about…
Spicolli
#15 – Personally I would put the dangers of cannabis well below those of tobacco and alcohol.
So would all credible studies, which puts you in good company.
As soon as I saw “41%” I knew it was BS.
There’s lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Actually as soon as I saw it was an MJ
negative article my BS screens were up.
OK now yell at me for being a delusional
hippy dippy new age pansy theist.
#7: I think you’re got the causality thing down. Maybe the reason that people who have a tendency to psychosis are more likely to smoke pot is that it helps them cope with mild psychosis. People who don’t have psychotic tendencies are less likely to smoke the stuff.
For instance, similar correlations have been found with ADD/ADHD people and caffeine (usually as coffee), which helps them concentrate.
Im gonna keep smoking & take my chances
President Bush has said many times before that he has a personal relationship with God. How many BILLIONS of people pray to a supreme being? I think we have to make a distinction between normal schizophrenia (the religious crowd) and creative schizophrenia (artists, mystics, visionaries) and unhealthy schizophrenia (dreams that have no support from physical reality and many times cause paranoia).
No WONDER the Pot Smoking Liberal Left has
become such a bunch of Psychotic Paranoids!
No WONDER they all believe Michael Moore.
No WONDER they think Hillary Clinton will save them.
It all makes sense to me now!
27,
2-3 billion….
the rest just want OTHERS to leave them alone…
they work, go home, eat, go to bed…..
yeah well ive got a personal relationship with a god and you dont hear me bragging about it
Who paid for the study. The DEA ?
#7, I agree…I think the study didn’t take into account the people “self medicating” who may have had an underlying psychological problem. Seems that of all the long-term pot heads I’ve known, there was always a reason….they stopped being recreational and more medicinal (needed a regular dosing). Maybe it stopped the voices or blotted out some of the overwhelming thoughts and other ailments that would have been diagnosed as a mental disorder. Kids on ritalin sure do like meth, though. It’s amazing. But then again, kids who’s moms were on methadone when they were pregnant (considered safer all through the 80’s) all seem to be predisposed to heroin addiction. I can’t believe there is a hereditary link to it…but maybe. Drunks do breed drunks, more often than not.
Likewise, I find that the really hard core chain tobacco smokers would all be candidates for depression, and more shy people do cocaine. There hasn’t been a good study to conclude why certain personality types chose one drug over another.
How can this study be considered accurate on any level without a control group? Meaning that since the use, possession or manufacture (growing) of the substance has been against the law since 1937 you need a group of individuals who have NOT been exposed to the hype of the Drug War.
How much of the parinoia and other psychosis was created by the society in which the “test subjects” reside in? Even if all of the test subjects were chosen from Amsterdam of Jamaica they would still have been influenced from early on by the crazed beliefs of those who oppose it’s use.