The Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia

[storealex]

I don't like Canabis, partly because it's bad for you, partly because buying it support criminals, sometimes even Taliban and Afghan warlords.

But a much greater cost to society, a much greater threat to economy and health, is obesity. I have more respect for a pot head who eats veggetables and exercise, than a fat, McDonalds eating non-smoker.

 

[Winner]

I don't like Canabis, partly because it's bad for you, partly because buying it support criminals, sometimes even Taliban and Afghan warlords.

That's why I grow it myself. I've never paid for it and I never will.

But a much greater cost to society, a much greater threat to economy and health, is obesity. I have more respect for a pot head who eats veggetables and exercise, than a fat, McDonalds eating non-smoker.

Obesity, alcoholism, smoking and million other things which are bad for us, but legal. Outright criminalization of marijuana and other drugs when other, often far more deadly things are legal, is hypocritical and counter-productive.

 

[sophie]

Also, a separate question: why is California contemplating legalizatio of marijuana in light of such concerns and findings? Do people think stories like this will sway the vote there one way or the other? Right now, I have heard it reported that the measure is currently failing support wise, but its still fairly close, roughly 48-44 in the polls. Oddly enough its behind most in the black, hispanic and asian communities, all of which are solidly anti-drug so far in the polls.

Well, the thing is, Marijuana usage is pretty high in California as it is. The thing with marijuana here is if you really want to smoke it, it really isn't that hard to get your hands on it. In Santa Cruz, it's so prevalent it's as if it isn't even illegal. In areas where medical marijuana usage is legal, all it takes is a signature from the right doctor. That being said, I think it's better to legalize it and regulate it, rather than just keep it illegal and have all kinds of people still use it regardless.

To me, it's similar to what the US was like under prohibition. Alcohol was illegal, but most people still drank it. All it led to was bathtub distilleries and gangs making a killing selling it on the black market. When you took the restriction out, the gangs fell apart and the quality of the alcohol became more standardized.

 

[GenMarshall]

Government better lay off my pot! I need something to smoke the troubles away and escape!

 

[civ_king]

Spoiler :

ooooooooh
ssss

I was gonna clean my room until I got high
i was gonna get up find and the broom but then I got high
my room is still messed up and I know why
because I got high x3

I was gonna go to class until I got high
I could have cheated and passed but I got high
I'm taking it next sememester and I know why
because I got high x3

I wuz gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion then I got high
now I'm sellin dope and I know why
Because I got high x3

I wuz gonna go to court before I got high
i wuz gonna pay my child support but then i got high
they took my whole paycheck and i know why
because i got high x3

i wuznt gonna run from the cops but i wuz high (i'm serious man)
i wuz gonna pull right over an stop but i wuz high
now im a paraplegic and i know why
because i got high x3

i wuz gonna pay my car note until i got high
i wuznt gonna gamble on the boat but i wuz high
now the tow truck is pullin away and i know why
because i got high x3

i wuz gonna make luv 2 u but i got high
i wuz gonna eat your .... too but i wuz high
now i'm jackin off and i know why
because i got high x3

i messed up my entire life cuz i got high
i lost my kids and wife because i got high
now i'm sleeping on the sidewalk and i know why
because i got high x3

i'm gonna stop singin this song because i'm high
i'm singin this whole damn song because i'm high
if i don't sell one copy i'll know why
cause I'm high x3

cause I got high
cause I got high
cause I got high

best song ever

 

[MobBoss]

So, am I accurate in saying that people who smoke pot dont care if it might make them schizophrenic?

Because that seems to be the prevaling attitude of many who seem desirous of downplaying the information given in the article.

So I guess thats the question. Is smoking pot worth become schizophrenic over? Is that a good trade off?

 

[Kyriakos]

I wouldnt mind if alcohol (which i never drink anyway) was banned. I wouldnt mind if cigarettes were banned, provided that i hadnt come into contact with them and became addicted to them.
If there was a proposal to ban cigarettes in 100 years then i would vote for it, since it wouldnt alter my lifestyle at all, and moreover it would be the healthy suggestion.

Marijuana is an entirely different thing though. Cigarettes do not alter your mental state in any psychotropic way, they do not cause hallucinations. And hallucinations, which are caused by a drug, can be very dangerous, for the sole reason that the poor person experiencing them will most of the time make the crude connection that there exist more things he can experience, with the use of a drug, and therefore become addicted to it due to his thoughts of it, as well as due to any possible existant somatic reasons.

Think of it this way: if there was a drug that made you able to become a visual mathematician, one could take it and become one, but it would be down to the drug. He wouldnt be developing a skill, the skill would have been there due to the drug, and moreover even if he had the ability to develop this skill before, now he would probably tend to think that it is impossible without the drug. This would lead to a mental ability being falsely linked to an external stimulation, thus leading potentially to the demise of said mental ability by physical means.

 

[Winner]

So, am I accurate in saying that people who smoke pot dont care if it might make them schizophrenic?

Given that the chance is at best about 100000x smaller that I am gonna get hit by a meteorite, yeah, it is safe to say I don't care.

Because that seems to be the prevaling attitude of many who seem desirous of downplaying the information given in the article.

I've been reading similar nonsense for years. All these articles lack any conclusive proof and usually come from very questionable sources.

So I guess thats the question. Is smoking pot worth become schizophrenic over? Is that a good trade off?

Do you drink alcohol? Aren't you afraid of cirrhosis? Do you eat unhealthy food? Aren't you afraid of heart attack/cancer? Do you drive a car? Aren't you afraid you'll die in a car crash?

The dangers coming from smoking pot are negligible, provided you don't smoke it like cigarettes. Which is of course pointless for me to try to explain to you, since you obviously subscribe to the ultraconservative view of marijuana as the satanic drug that's destroying the society.

 

[Frank Drebin]

This thread isnt about stuff thats already legal thats bad for us or whether the government has a right (it does) to regulate such things. The point is why would we knowingly add an additional potentially harmful and addictive drug to our populace fully realizing it can have harmful and addictive effects on the people that smoke it?

well, it's already here, you need not add it.

 

[nonconformist]

Marijuana, it's generally accepted, doesn't tend to cause schitzophrenia, it triggers it in those who have a latent supceptibility to it at an earlier age.
If it did, then I think wse'd see about 65% of adults of the age of 45+ suffering from it.

The right loves to play marijuana smokers off as lazy-ass paranoid waster losers, but the fact of the matter is; a lot of the most successful people have or indeed still regularly smoke it.
In fact, I've known of a number of police officers who smoked it in the past, and who find the fact that the youth smoke it quite amusing.

And Mobboss seems to be quite convinced that THC is addictive, whereas it's quite evidently not.

 

[Winner]

Marijuana is an entirely different thing though. Cigarettes do not alter your mental state in any psychotropic way, they do not cause hallucinations. And hallucinations, which are caused by a drug, can be very dangerous, for the sole reason that the poor person experiencing them will most of the time make the crude connection that there exist more things he can experience, with the use of a drug, and therefore become addicted to it due to his thoughts of it, as well as due to any possible existant somatic reasons.

I don't know who told you marijuana causes hallucinations, but I can assure you he wasn't smoking it. At least not just it...

 

[Kyriakos]

I don't know who told you marijuana causes hallucinations, but I can assure you he wasn't smoking it. At least not just it...

It is in the info of the study mentioned in the OP

 

[Kozmos]

So, am I accurate in saying that people who smoke pot dont care if it might make them schizophrenic?

Because that seems to be the prevaling attitude of many who seem desirous of downplaying the information given in the article.

So I guess thats the question. Is smoking pot worth become schizophrenic over? Is that a good trade off?

Well as a really light user (like once every two months) and someone with light mental issues which could one day evolve into the big S...

Smoking pot wont turn you into an S except in the case of heavy use and if you do it alone. (pretty much the story with every other substance abuse). Now pot amplifies my imaginary world and leads to more introversion which means I'm closer to the brink of becoming an S.

Thing is I don't smoke alone, but with a group of friends meaning they keep me grounded in reality. If I did it alone I guess I would slowly drift off in my own very special and elaborately constructed world, but I don't because I know what it does.

As with all things, moderation is the key. And I've had zero hallucinations while stoned, which is not what I can say for my clean state. I knew a few total potheads, heavy users and all, but they didn't strike me as the kind I could relate to, they were mainly burned out and just like really really slow. Of course this is just my experience and opinion, so take it how you will.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Whut? Winner smokes pot? Who'd have thought.

 

[Frank Drebin]

indeed, thc is not hallucinegenic.

 

[nonconformist]

I don't know who told you marijuana causes hallucinations, but I can assure you he wasn't smoking it. At least not just it...

Oh, it's a hallucinogen alright; just the dosage required is so huge it's practically impossible to achieve.

 

[Puck Nutty]

According to my Google antics, it costs about $140 (Canadian) to keep someone in a Provincial prison for 1 day. Additionally, it costs about 75% more if the prisoner is female.

It seems the amount of tax money saved would be huge. Legalizing weed and prostitution would be a huge move in the right direction.

Oddly, it seems inevitable that Canadian law will legalize weed but prostitution is still a political hot potato.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Oh, it's a hallucinogen alright; just the dosage required is so huge it's practically impossible to achieve.

you learn something new everyday...

 

[Winner]

It is in the info of the study mentioned in the OP

The worse for the credibility of the article. I've NEVER had any hallucination after smoking pot and neither have other people I know. THC doesn't do that.

Whut? Winner smokes pot? Who'd have thought.

I've stated that many times on this forum. Occasionally, not regularly, and I am self-sufficient in production

Oh, it's a hallucinogen alright; just the dosage required is so huge it's practically impossible to achieve.

Mm, maybe you're right, but in my experience, smoking pot alone never gives you hallucinations.

The nice thing about marijuana is that it is practically impossible to get overdosed. This alone makes it much safer than alcohol.

 

[_random_]

you learn something new everyday...

I've heard accounts of auditory hallucinations after one hit. It effects different people differently, but any hallucinations that seriously mess with one's perception of reality require tons of weed.