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marijuana encourages schizophrenia?

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by barbie, May 23, 2006.

  1. There is no hard evidence to support this claim; it is based on a study conducted by a Dr Wank (don't laugh) in Germany, and concluded a possible link between immunodeficiency and the onset of schizoid illness. STIs are just an example of what can cause the deficiency. It was a small study and therefore in no way conclusive.

    On the other hand, there is a virtually undeniable link to cannabis triggering the onset of schizoid illness. Neither cause it, but both can trigger it. To ignore this fact is foolish, I feel. You only get one brain, and you should treat it with respect. Being mentally ill is not fun; I should know.

    Younger users are at a particular risk. From Psychiatry Today:
    Many researchers now believe that using the drug while the brain is still developing boosts levels of the chemical dopamine in the brain, which can directly lead to schizophrenia.

    Remember, mental health is a very broad spectrum, and covers many, many conditions. Those with psychotic, as opposed to neurotic tendencies are seemingly more at risk.
     
  2. The fact that MJ creates the disease is total bullshit imo its either you have it or not(most commonly passes thru genes), but theres no doubt in my mind that it can trigger it as alot have said, for instance i have had mild skitzo tendacies, ive had really strong sativas set it off, but than again something as simple as a bad day or just being stressed will trigger it:rolleyes:
     
  3. Well it seems to me that the general concensus among everyone here is that it can be the triggering factor in whether or not it will occur.

    For me, I have not been diagnosed with any medical conditions, but at times I can get incredibly anxious about things going currently happening in life. I will think about something going on in my life and create or play out these scenarios in my head of what could possibly happen. I always tell my friends thats why I can never be good at anything because when I am trying to focus on one thing, like homework for class, I am thinking about 10 other things.

    Whenever I smoke, it really brings me down to earth and I can focus on one thing. I love that I can smoke a bowl or two, lay in bed and watch tv and the only thing I care about is whats on tv.
     
  4. first of all you cannot blame weed entirely on this. you dont know exactly what he went through the past few years. marijuana may have been a factor along with many other factors. its not like he smoked a bowl and started twitching retarded. many people say college changes people and by experience it does. common look at how many people commit suicide at colleges. this thread should be changed to "college encourages schizophrenia"
     
  5. I agree 100%
     

  6. This kind of stuff is just the ammo anti-marijuana lobbyists want everyone to hear

    I have a documentary about Cannabis smokers that is done from a nuetral point of view and in it a doctor of some sort quotes the figure for Marijuana related mental problems to be 1 in 10,000, he goes on to explain how low this percentage is compared to the side effects produced by other drugs and also states his opinion that a lot of the people who develop mental health problems from marijuana simply ignore the warning signs and carry on smoking regardless,
    that last bit sticks with what I've always said to people who say it makes them feel paranoid, uneasy or even slightly mad, I tell anyone who feels that marijuana messes with their brain more than it should do to stop smoking and steer well clear of drugs

    Thousands of people have an underlying mentall illness that may never affect them and it only takes something like drugs to bring the problem to the surface
     
  7. Forgive me, but did this doctor conduct an experiment to this end? Only I fail to see how any test of this nature can truly be neutral. The subjects' life histories, genetic make-up, diet, environment etc etc awould all have to be identical, too, in order to make it conclusive. To achieve total neutrality in test conditions like this would be impossible to do.

    These two assumptions represent a far more logical argument.

    I have lost count of the amount of people I have advised to see a GP on here as it is clear from their posts that they are developing a problem, and an awful lot have blown smoke up my ass (forgive the crude pun).

    And despite our best efforts, stigma is still firmly attached to mental illness' rusty bow; hence, many millions still refrain from asking for help.
     
  8. I agree, maybe he is just using an estimated figure but my main point was that he seemed to be making the point that there are a lot more legal or prescription drugs that produce side effects in higher instances and sort of saying don't single it out as the only bad drug
     
  9. My friend smoked for 9/10 months straight (the amount of time he's been with his girlfriend) and he now has schizophrenia. He took no other drugs, was happy and normal. I'm still convinced that it can worsen the case, I don't know about causing it but I feel it does something.
     
  10. I'd agree with that. Psychosis can be triggered by many things.
     
  11. he probbaly has high anxiety or is doing to many drugs. i know this one guy who all day just snorts oc and if we light up he will leave he use to smoke but says he gets to paranoid and gets fucked up so he leaves even if theres just marijuana smoke in the room:smoking:
     
  12. Schizofrenia/schyzotype/autism.
    They all belong in the same spectrum of mental 'disorders'
    These things are genetic, it runs in my family.

    God knows I was 'mentally disordered' long before I discovered the benefits of pot.

    They make you 'see' the world differently and therefore behave differently.
    e.g. : if your brain tells you you're hot you find a cold drink or some shadow. if your brain tells you your cold you crank up heat find a jacket etc.etc.

    The link between MJ and the 'disorders' as mentioned above is statistical.
    This is because the 'mentally disorderd' get high/stoned differently then 'normal people'.
    The 'mentally disorderd' simply value MJ more.
    Many schizo's & autistics feel 'more normal' or at least more comfortable with themselves with MJ.

    Many bums on the street have 'mental issues'.
    So next time when you see a drunk bum in the streets acting like a mental patient, you may think he's acting 'mental' because he's drunk.
    But in reality he's just being himself, while fooling you into believing its the juice that makes him act funny.
    HA!
    You should meet him when he's sober!:poke:
     
  13. nah man its bullshit 5 years smoking now and im all good well hopefully lol well if he is skitzo tell him to lay of the pill and ching !!
     
  14. I could tell you all some very controversial 'insider info' about schizophrenia, but then my book wouldn't shift so many units :D

    There is a lot more to this argument than meets the eye though, on both sides of the fence.
     
  15. if anyone thinks schizophrenia is the same as multiple personality disorder, please read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia
    the two disorders hardly have anything in common.

    then go over to harmreductionjournal.com and search for cannabis schizophrenia. three articles come up. here's some quotes:

    "It has been suggested that schizophrenics (or potential schizophrenics) fall into two categories with respect to cannabis use [131]. One group may find symptomatic relief in the use of cannabis, while the other may actually take the risk of inducing the onset of the disease. The complexities of this issue are illuminated by the unpredictable behavior of interacting complex systems such as the nervous and immune systems, as will be considered below."

    "
    These data are preliminary and need replication with larger numbers of subjects, although they do have implications for refuting the hypothesis that cannabis alone can cause a psychiatric disturbance such as schizophrenia by directly producing brain pathology."


    the link between schizophrenia and marijuana is complicated...that is to say it's difficult to actually link the two in a majority of cases. that is to say that if you have a predisposition to schizophrenia, anything might set that off.
     
  16. Before I started smoking weed I thought I might have a dormant case of schizophrenia, now that I have been smoking for a while, all I can say is "I told you so."


    Haha, get it?
     
  17. Hi, i have been diagnosed as skitzo effective disorder.. and ive smoked weed for 14 yrs... one day i had a neck and head injury.... a week later i smoke and i start halucinating.. hearing things at first... then it developed into anxiety. i also had a minor heart attack and am still undermined if it is related.. very hard to say on this matter..

    however being a 14 yr smoker(hrly) and at year 10 i suddenly start experiencing skitzophrenic symtoms after a physical injury... and large amounts of mental stress.... i am very weary to point the finger at the herb.

    i think the reson why so many people have so many different opinions is because many of them do not have the same medical conditions to begin with.. some of these things such as skitzophrenia... are said to be genetic and only brought out in later years of life..

    some sativas have been known to have temporary hallucinagenic effects.. which could be a result of LSD usage and wiring malfunction... or genetic imperfections... and marijuana gets the juices flowing in an area which is normally just chillin... for example.... sativa's i believe activate electrolites in the brain.. and though sometimes very fun.. not good to smoke hardcore psycodelic sativas if you have mental issues.. i suggest something potent but something which has been known to have narcotic like effects..

    butt to be perfectly honest.. im happy to smoke good mostly indicas... daily without halucinagenic effects.. sometimes i get some sativa... and with the help of 10mg abilify... but sometimes i have anxiety and headaches... noting a couple xannys wont cure....
    also keep in mind.. i wouldn't be smoking alot of weed out of aluminum foil and small pipes... the heat and some of the burnoff from the aluminum could do some damage.. vaporize if ya got em..

    I really hope this helps... sounds like this is a very big issue... with medical use going around maybee in some years we will be more knowlegable even on weed... i dont even really know what its medical for... i smoke for partly medical, enjoyment reasons..
     
  18. Not sure if I have posted this already, but these are the facts that everyone should know about 'schizophrenia' - an outdated, vague term, that these people are trying to have outlawed:

    http://www.asylumonline.net/

    In modern psychiatry, 'schizophrenia' means nothing, yet people continue to bandy the word around as a scare tactic for various things. All symptoms previously thought of as 'schizophrenic' in nature now have names of their own and can be treated independant of one another.

    Everyone thinks they know what is meant by 'schizophrenia', but very few actually do; a far more accurate word to use might be 'psychosis'.

    I suffer with a low level of psychosis myself, but like Dr Jonez, I can trace this back way before I started smoking, and cannabis helps ease some of my symptoms. We are all different, of course, and what helps me might hinder another. It is very similar to the whole psychiatric medication minefield...
     
  19. goddamnit YES
    the exact same thing happens to me
     
  20. skitzo.. is not quite how you make it out.. very very much like acid trip.. it is... ive heard to word psycosis... in describing the experience.. dont know for sure but delusions are created by ones own personality at peaks... and is able to bend thoughts and various logic... and create ones own reality... where one feels the way they want to feel... i think what your saying is...
    like when someone says something so interesting and profound and your on lsd or something and its like wow... and your thoughts go on and on for up to hrs and much much information is aquired in very short amount of time... it is very understandable that people have made mistakes in the thought process... and believe them.. is what it seems like... hard to say....
    but the phoneline up the ass is a bitch when i forget to take my meds for a few weeks... busy and such...

    but meds are very good about this.. keep in mind.. one is able to work and live somewhat normal lives... under these extreme mental conditions and even physical and emotional stress and anxiety.. etc.. very good meds now.. abilify..

    one idea ive been exploring is that something is wrong with the blood... as well and may even be the cause of the low dope...
    which causes the long thought processes... which suddenly get squirted.. not quite how they make it out..



    -- Hi this is Dr. Jonez Please Leave a message ---
     

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