What do you all think? Should I be worried? Will this push back the legalization movement at all?
Wait, disregard that. Let’s keep this a GQ. Could someone just explain to me how conclusive these findings are? It would seem that with the huge explosion of marijuana use in the 60’s there should be a subsequent huge increase in schizophrenia. Has this happened?
What a horrible article. From the relatively modest finding that a genetic abnormality exists that causes a schizogenic response to marijuana, these idiots baldly state that marijuana causes schizophrenia. Dammit, the genes were there FIRST.
There have always been a few “scientists” willing to bend clinical findings to “prove” that ganja is bad for you. Several decades ago, a devious guy in a labcoat named Nahas (duck call noises here) kept a group of trained circus monkeys stoned to the bone. He proudly found that the monkeys, when the drug wore off, would resolutely turn only right in their little pedal cars. Nahas claimed brain damage, and spawned the phrase “no left turn unstoned.” Preposterous? Of course, but generations of DEA and DARE officials quoted Nahas’s work reverently.
Oh, aren’t we Merry Pranksters today?
The phrase is so clever, I’m wondering if he came up with it first and then devoted his energy to creating a study which would provide results which he could attach it to.
I don’t trust this article. It seems to be written in a deliberately obscure manner; either that or the writer doesn’t understand the material and so cannot properly convery the meaning.
Here is a link where you can access the paper in Molecular Psychiatry, if it concerns you greatly.
Unfortunately, it costs 21 pounds and the odd pence to do so. You can look at the abstract for free.
Personally, I’ve never heard of hallucinations being associated with marijuana use. But maybe I was stoned when it was big news.
There is the disclaimer in the last paragraph:
“Ujike stressed there is no evidence yet these genetic abnormalities can affect how the marijuana receptor actually acts in the brain. “We would also like to replicate our findings with different ethnic populations and more people,” he added.”
These are very preliminary studies. To me, all he seems to have proven is that some people may act schizophrenic when stoned. Will it make someone who would never suffer from it all of a sudden suffer? Not conclusive.
BTW, yojimboguy, you must not be getting good stuff, because I have definitly seen things that gave me a second look while stoned. The grass is greener, the strobe lights trippier. There are definitely mild halucinigenic properties to cannibus.
From the American Heritage dictionary
hallucination
SYLLABICATION: hal·lu·ci·na·tion
PRONUNCIATION: AUDIO: h-ls-nshn KEY
NOUN: 1a. Perception of visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory experiences without an external stimulus and with a compelling sense of their reality, usually resulting from a mental disorder or as a response to a drug. b. The objects or events so perceived.
2. A false or mistaken idea; a delusion.
Maube greens are greener and whites are whiter, but I never halucinated under it’s influence. I’ve done acid and mushrooms, so I know what a hallucination is.
Sounds like the only thing they have shown is that they found a genetic component to schizophrenia.
Speaking of marijuana and schizophrenia, here’s a link I posted in the GD thread “What if a non-harmful, addictive drug hit the streets?”
If the OP’s link is correct, it’s interesting that marijuana could trigger symptoms in some people and relieve the same symptoms in others. IANAD, but is it possible that the patients mentioned in the OP’s link overreact to lowered dopamine levels by overproducing dopamine, triggering the symptoms of schizophrenia?
…schizophrenia, Ujike said. This holds especially true for a condition called hebephrenic schizophrenia, which is marked by deterioration of personality, senseless laughter, disorganized thought and lack of motivation. These symptoms are similar to psychotic behavior sometimes triggered by severe cannabis abuse, which could mean the marijuana receptors in schizophrenics are far more active than they should be.
remember the scene in the movie “Reefer madness”, …a guy smoking a joint is watching a woman play the piano…he urges her to play faster…laughing like a maniac saying, “faster…FASTER…” as his eyes glaze to a schizophrenic stare… That Japanese report sounds like they watched the movie first. I don’t know which is more laughable!
Some of these posters seem desparate to justify their own use of the drug.
I studied psychology for six years and remember studying a firm link between drug and alcohol abuse and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression.
Schizophrenia usually appears obvious before the age of 25/26, so it would be unusual for someone who smoked a lot of dope as a teenager, to develop it after this age. For those of you who still smoke dope regularly, you could be increasing your chances for developing it - some schizophrenia develops later than 25/26.
I remember that there is probably some evidence of genetic predisposition that stays hidden if no abuse occurs, but I would have to go digging in my boxes to find relevant peer review journal articles.
I assume AskNott is being facetious in assigning it to Dr. Nahas, who is real enough. The phrase itself was used by Ken Kesey, who placed it on a sign at the entrance to his place in La Honda in the 60’s, hence my reference. I believe one of the other Pranksters, not Kesey himself, actually came up with it.
The diathesis stressor model suggests that some people may have necessary, but not sufficient, genetic or biological loading to develop a particular disorder–in this case, schizophrenia. For those traits to become overt, there needs to be a stressor or stressors–something that affects the individual because of their vulnerability. Marijuana overuse is typically associated with amotivation and memory/cognitive deficits. My text here doesn’t mention schizophrenia per se, but there appear to be a lot of different stressors that make a vulnerable person more vulnerable to psychosis. I’d think that sensory distortion might be too flippy for some folks to manage.
Itmay be worth noting that drug experimentation in the US often occurs at the age when young men are more likely to have a first psychotic break; this period (late teens to early adulthood) also provides some heavy social, interpersonal, and career stressors. A lot of people get high in response to stress; al lot of people experience stress related to getting high. It can be pretty hard to develop a good narrative about which came first, or whether the substance played a necessary role in the psychosis.
In The Eden Express, Mark Vonnegut describes having psychotic episodes that he attempted to control with marijuana. This worked spectacularly poorly for him. It also makes it hard for your friendly ER to know what they’re treating–and the more substances you use, the muddier the syndrome, and the less accurate and useful your health care will be in an emergency.