Crazy, man. (Photo: Dana Ocker/Flickr CC)
Here’s your alarmist marijuana headline for the week (from Businessweek): “Marijuana Use Can Up Psychosis Risk”
What researchers found, actually, was an association between tokers who start blazing heavily at a young age, and an increased likelihood they will develop a serious mental illness.
And, of course, we’ve known about the comorbidity of substance abuse and psychoses for many years.
But you can’t blame the media for going overboard, this time: The Australian scientists who found the association between heavy, early use of pot and psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations), themselves suggest a causal link:
“‘This demonstrates the complexity of the relationship: those individuals who were vulnerable to psychosis [i.e., those who had isolated psychotic symptoms] were more likely to commence cannabis use, which could then subsequently contribute to an increased risk of conversion to a non-affective psychotic disorder,’” wrote the study authors.
Another possibility, of course, is that young people, experiencing early psychotic symptoms, might be engaging in drug-seeking behavior to self-medicate, period.
via Marijuana Use Can Up Psychosis Risk – BusinessWeek.
Plug: Check out my Boston Globe personal technology column, User Friendly.
Gee. I recall that lie 35 years ago. Took a few courses in psychology in college, and the psychosis was never mentioned as a cause. But in this country, people will believe what the media tells them.
Is that Lady Gaga tokin’ ?
As usual, this psychosis risk is attached to hardcore bongheads, banging down 20 to 40 or more cones a day. What about the 200,000 or more Australians who smoke or share a joint once a week, once a month, a few times a year? They are never, never mentioned, particularly in farcical stories like that shown on Channel 7′s Sunday Night program this evening. For Sunday Night, the incredible story of tens of thousands of sick, injured or terminally ill Australians moving from side-effect heavy pharmaceuticals to cannabis also do not exist. You have to be suspicious of their agenda.
Yeah, man. Uh, what did he say? Oh, oh, something about smoking pot. Heh, heh, yeah, I smoke it too. Far out, man.
I smoked every day for over 20 years and at the same time had a successful career in engineering and have been retired for 3 years. I received awards and accolades at an above average rate and my employer never had a clue. Among the friends that I socialized and smoked with (marijuana is a social drug better enjoyed in social settings) most were high (no pun intended) achievers. I have never witnessed psychosis from a pot smoker but have seen psychotics that could have benefitted from smoking a little pot. It’s absurd that pot is illegal and that most people have been brain washed to believe it is harmful. It has nowhere near the damaging effects of alcohol or cigarettes and has never killed or even injured anyone. If you don’t know what you’re talking about when you discuss pot, you just need to keep your opinion to yourself.
In agreement here fiftysomething. I’m 40 and a business owner for over 15 years, and one of the best in the business I might add. I also am one of the top coaches of my sport in my state, with currently the number one boys team of their age. And I smoke every day. What I don’t do is ever touch a single pharmaceutical drug or other drug besides cannabis. It calms me and keeps me balanced and all the horror stories about it are pure propaganda bullshit. This country would be so much healthier if we flushed all the pills and picked up a joints instead.
Hey, I smoke at home and it is a great way to relax after a day’s work. I don’t need a social setting to enjoy a bowl.
I’m 50 something and still smoke. Lastest polls show more and more folks in their 50s smoke weed. Back in the 1970s we use to joke about the Stones pouring out of the nursing homes when we got old, but we didn’t think about us still smoking weed. I never stopped and have had 2 successful careers. It’s a matter of keeping it in perspective. Just like drinking it can be abused to the point of where the person fails to become productive. Many of us though smoke it as a reward when the day is done. Peace.
I was waiting for this article to come out. For every positive Pot article, another anti pot article comes out. They’ve run out of things to discuss, cause this issue has been used for the past year or two. Canada released a Pot is healthy for humans study. Yes, it can be smoked, when it is used with the vapor system. No it isn’t harmful, or full of carcinogens. That news was released less than a week ago.
Business weekly, eh. They’re well known for their Medical Studies aren’t they? Considering the state of the American financial sector, one would think they’d have better things to do with their time. Trust me, there are bigger fish to fry in that batter, than this harmless weed.
Who should I believe a brief clinical study of dubious (wink) intent, or my 35+ years of extensive field research?
brilliant comment
Okay, that settles it! Let’s lock up everyone for using, selling, growing, sniffing, touching that evil weed that MIGHT cause you to go a little crazy if you start using at a young age. Hell, let’s just abort the fetuses that may even think of using cannabis!
Prohibition is at fault for allowing young people to control the cannabis market for their own use and profit. Most people can score pot from a high school kid easier than anyone wants to admit. You shouldn’t be drinking or using other “get high” drugs at an early age either but kids can’t make money off of alcohol or the few prescription drugs they can steal.
Yet the legal intoxicants can kill your ass but here they’re worried about something that isn’t fact. It’s just a little scare tactic to take your mind off our legal poisons and to justify the criminalization of a natural benign substance that is based on bigotry and fear.
No wonder! It makes me crazy too!
The ultimate list of studies:
——————————–
Granny Storm Crow’s MMJ Reference List
“If the truth won’t do, then something is wrong!”
http://www.greenpassion.org/showthread.php?t=13858
It’s amazing how every time a new “study” comes out that says anything negative about cannabis, it’s from Australia. They must have a DEA like ours, and someone who has a vested interest in keeping it illegal. Follow the money.
I smoked for 25 years, daily, and never had any kind of psychotic episode while doing so. Drinking, now that’s a different story. Lots of times that I don’t remember, lots of things I regret doing. I don’t do prescription drugs, those things will kill you, like they do to 200,000 Americans every year.
Look at who is profiting from keeping cannabis illegal, and you will find the REAL issue: MONEY. In this country is partly big pharma, the politicians, and partly the prison guards and law enforcement. I don’t know who it is in Australia, but I suspect the same folks.
There is no way she is going to smoke that whole thing. She’ll be raping and killing in no time.
There is a fairly well respected science/media figure in Canada named David Suzuki.
Often featured on their CBC, he has betrayed science and the Canadian people by running a 1 hour long “documentary” on how weed makes people crazy. The fear mongering and lies in that 1 hour show were off the chart.
Suzuki is a snake for selling out his integrity to help the fascist Harper government continue its war on people.
This appears to be a world wide effort.
I don’t smoke pot, but my husband does. I believe he is addicted to it. He has recently been using it on a daily basis 4-5 times a day. He tells me what would you rather me do drink a bunch of beer, take a bunch of pills, or smoke marijuana? I think it’s a stupid question he is asking which addiction would I prefer him to have? Four weeks ago he had psychosis: hallucinations delusions paranoia. It was scary to see my husband change. I have two kids 2 and 4 to take care of. I had to stop working. I’m still trying to deal with it. He does not want to stop smoking.