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"weed causes schizophrenia"

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by Dimebag_Dave, Aug 15, 2016.

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  1. #1 Dimebag_Dave, Aug 15, 2016
    I, for one, think this is a misnomer. Granted, schizophrenia affects a couple people in my family, but i have yet to reach a point where i have the "psychotic break" i keep hearing about. I'm 22 and definitely having an existential crisis between young man / man, but that's just fuckin' growing up IMO.

    What i think is that cannabinoids bring back mental patterns, sensitivities and ways of thinking that are more present in childhood, stick around in adolescence for awhile and normally fade as you develop "adult" psychology (cough cough). Well, so much for that. I still feel 12-17. According to some people i still look 12-17 but the increasing baldness and facial hair i am sporting beg to differ.

    As a musician i think it behooves us to remain eternal children, because without that innocent, playful mindset that explores possibilities, is quick to laughter, anger and crying, we make crap art. All becoming a man seems to be doing is meaning that i have even more determination to accomplish what i want, that i can buy alcohol, and that i need to pay bills and rent and bla bla bla.

    If there is something schizophrenic about me it's just that split personality between man and eternal boy that desire to resist wearing a suit and tie and sitting a cubicle, who still wants to wear skinny jeans, stay up late and go to raves. Peter pan complex, if you will. But i am Gemini cusp (main sign is Taurus), for you astrology nerds, so perhaps the split personality and eternal child is explainable.

    Discuss!
     
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  2. #2 comradesnarky, Aug 15, 2016
    So, there have been a lot of studies about the association between psychosis (some specifically about schizophrenia, some about psychotic episodes in general) and cannabis.

    You're right to say that the implication that cannabis causes schizophrenia is a terrible misrepresentation. There is no reliable evidence for that. But there is some evidence that it can increase the incidence of psychotic symptoms in those who are predisposed.

    So how can one avoid the risks? Well, if you have a history of psychosis, you probably shouldn't use cannabis, or at the very least, you should be very, very careful. Your family history personally might put you at risk, and you're right around the age when conditions like schizophrenia are diagnosed. I'm not your doctor, so I'm not going to tell you whether to stop using cannabis, but you should probably make yourself aware of the symptoms of psychosis and watch out for anything out of the ordinary (while I know the "split personality" comment you made was metaphorical, schizophrenia is a distinct disorder from dissociative identity disorder, the disorder that causes what is frequently referred to as multiple personalities).

    Just a note on cannabis studies in general-- it is very hard for researchers to study cannabis. Since it is a schedule one drug in the U.S., it cannot be administered to patients so studies are done on a strictly anecdotal basis with patients dosing themselves and reporting results to researchers, and these studies cannot be placebo-controlled or blinded, which are standard procedures for studying most substances. One of the reasons why it is so important to promote the rescheduling of marijuana!

    Having said that, here are a few good studies on cannabis and psychosis. Most people won't be able to read the full articles because they are from scholarly journals. I'm sorry about that. You should be able to read the abstracts and I'm happy to email pdfs to anyone who is interested in the full article.

    Cannabis-Associated Psychosis
    Psychiatric effects of cannabis | The British Journal of Psychiatry
    San Jose State University Library
     
  3. #3 THCMikey, Aug 16, 2016
    I agree. It won't generate this in people who otherwise wouldn't have it. It might increase or become more apparent, but that's like saying alcohol should be illegal because some people react poorly to it.
     
  4. #4 Techno mechanical fox, Aug 20, 2016
    I remember feeling this way after trying marijuana for a few times.

    As someone with schizoaffective disorder, and who was ill before even puffing cannabis, I can give you a couple of tips. (That you probably know.)

    1. Do reality testing using other people. Just do it occasionally.
    2. Do not continue with marijuana if classic symptoms of psychosis persist. (Other people reading your thoughts, hearing voices, delusions, etc.)
     
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  5. #5 Gizzle, Aug 22, 2016
    What if marijuana causes people like me who naturally hang on to tension 24/7 to relax parts of their body and calm the mind to the point of it actually triggering something like that, since our subconscious mind is beginning to realize it's losing control of that anxious death grip? Suddenly the person feels vulnerable, causing the fight or flight response a lot of users experience at least the first time they smoke.

    Over time this works like deep tissue massage therapy, causing disruptions in that persons ability to remain tense at all times. It shows up with involuntary muscle spasms or movements, jerkiness...another very common report, as the body adjusts to relaxing.

    Marijuana has definitely caused some trippy episodes in me before, even some hallucinations. If I take a break from cannabis and then come back to it, I also experience a lot of weird involuntary muscle movements...almost like I'm relearning how to relax again. Then, after you're settled into it, the benefits are life changing.
     
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  6. #6 Dimebag_Dave, Aug 22, 2016
    I feel as if at some point in the past year or two while smoking heavily there was split that occurred in my brain and there are now two different people who are trying to go in opposite directions. It's kind of a cool feeling but also disorienting since it also coincides with time where I seem to be aging rapidly physically and I barely recognize myself, which is almost frightening.

    One of those people emerging is a normal man who just wants to get with the plan and go about his daily business. But the other is like a perpetual 17 year old me. I started realizing eventually how I had become so numb to a lot of the sensitivity I had even as a younger man and had brushed a lot under the carpet as an adult. So I want to kind of experiment between the two people and see if any form of balance is possible.

    Marijuana has either also made me more spiritually aware, or it was the time of life that it was going to happen on its own. That's one of the classic mysteries surrounding it to me is whether it really brings about cognitive change or it merely opens the door, and if you're ready you go through it. I think it's the latter because I've been smoking since 18 and wasn't realizing what I am now then.

    I'm a musician and weed also enhances playing and going to raves and concerts obviously. I'll never forget the first time I went to a rave stoned and could feel the kicks shaking the earth from 10 blocks away, gave chills up the spine. Those are the type of experiences that make it all worth it IMO.
     
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