Marijuana made him do it?

[mangeorge]

Some reports of John Bedell's attack on the Pentagon mention his use of marijuana to self medicate as a causative factor in his actions. This just doesn't fit with my own experience with the drug, or with my observation of many other users.
There has been a gradual trend toward support for legalization, and I wonder if the anti crowd is jumping on this for ammunition in their opposition.
Anyway, is there any science to support their claims?
BTW; I haven't used for more than ten years because my company prohibits it. They would fire me, and I retire next year. Then we'll see. ;)
Peace,
mangeorge

[Bean_Wrangler]

Documentation of psychosis with regards to marijuana has been well documented over the past seventy years. Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2FZgErvNTE) is a copy of the definitive work on the matter, of course.

[Markxxx]

Some reports of John Bedell's attack on the Pentagon mention his use of marijuana to self medicate as a causative factor in his actions. This just doesn't fit with my own experience with the drug, or with my observation of many other users.


Did marijana MAKE him do that? The key word for discussion is "make." Drugs (including alcohol) may not "make" people do things, but they certainly "allow" people to do things, they wouldn't do otherwise.

Go to a company Christmas party and you'll see lots of people getting drunk and telling everyone exactly what they think of them. Did the alcohol "make" them do that? No, of course not, but it allowed them to do so by lowering their inhibitions and by obstructing their self regulation.

If you're already unbalanced using marijuana or alcohol to "calm" is only going to make things worse in the long run, though they probably will help in the short term

[mangeorge]

Documentation of psychosis with regards to marijuana has been well documented over the past seventy years. Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2FZgErvNTE) is a copy of the definitive work on the matter, of course.
Well then, I guess I'll have to completely reverse my feelings on the matter.

[panache45]

This just doesn't fit with my own experience with the drug, or with my observation of many other users.

Your experiences are with people who have relatively normal brains. Bedell's brain was anything but normal, even without the marijuana. Adding the drug to his existing psychiatric problems could have all sorts of bad consequences.

[mangeorge]

Did marijana MAKE him do that? The key word for discussion is "make." Drugs (including alcohol) may not "make" people do things, but they certainly "allow" people to do things, they wouldn't do otherwise.

Go to a company Christmas party and you'll see lots of people getting drunk and telling everyone exactly what they think of them. Did the alcohol "make" them do that? No, of course not, but it allowed them to do so by lowering their inhibitions and by obstructing their self regulation.

If you're already unbalanced using marijuana or alcohol to "calm" is only going to make things worse in the long run, though they probably will help in the short term
While you're completely correct, the use of the term "make" more closely fits the spirit of this thread. It's how we talk. Observe:
"Marijuana allowed him to do it?"
See what I mean?

[mangeorge]

Your experiences are with people who have relatively normal brains. Bedell's brain was anything but normal, even without the marijuana. Adding the drug to his existing psychiatric problems could have all sorts of bad consequences.
Specifically, violent consequencies? That's my question.
I've seen people on alchohol and pot get violent. I've seen people on just alchohol get violent. I haven't seen people on just pot get violent. But all of these people were seemingly "normal". While my own experience is statistically insignificant, there have been at least a couple hundred persons. That's a lot, and enough to make me wonder.

[Blalron]

Correlation does not prove causation. Just because he used pot before his violent episode doesn't mean he wouldn't have done it even in the absence of the pot.

[Blalron]

Edit: Sorry, didn't realize this was GQ.

[mangeorge]

Edit: Sorry, didn't realize this was GQ.
I may have mis-posted this thread. Maybe IMHO would be a better fit, although I am looking for scientific evidence. Please, not GD!
Let any handy moderator decide.

[coffeecat]

More to the point were the prescription drugs he wasn't taking, but should have. Marijuana even contains an antipsychotic, canabidiol.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I'm not hearing a huge anti-marijuana outcry over this. Self-medication with marijuana is certainly not unheard of though, and the fact that this aspect of the story seems to be getting due coverage is encouraging, since it seems to indicate that we're not being handed a simple "reefer madness" tale. It's not like in the 60's and 70's when it was common to hear stories about major "narcotic" busts, without the drug being identified.