Marijuana use causes psychosis

[Anonymous]

I saw a friend develop schizophrenia from smoking pot decades ago with no family history and it was already talked about as a causal link even back then. Question is why it is legal in some major cities in the US. It should be banned. We can’t look after the mentally ill people we have already without making more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had always said I’d rather my kid be around stoners than heavy drinkers — in my own experience, drinking was much more associated with danger (drunk driving, assault, etc). But today’s weed really does seem different than the kind I’d known.

I know three kids who wound up in psych hospitals for psychotic episodes after regular cannabis use. These are ordinary kids, UMC, good schools, loving families. All three lives permanently affected. One of the kids has been on and off the streets, it’s just an absolute nightmare for the family.

I keep trying to warn my own teen, and I’m sure I sound like a Charlie Brown mom, or Nancy Reagan or something. I’m so far from Nancy Reagan it’s absurd. But something is happening that is very scary.

Thx for weighing in. Have a DC, college age at time, who experienced a non-cannabis related psychotic episode some years ago. Many of the patients their age were in due to cannabis psychosis.

I grew up in an era and in a community with a lot of potheads. Unmotivated, etc - yes, but I only knew one who experienced cannabis psychosis. TBH, nearly all of them grew up to hold solid U/MC jobs, though, at the time, I didn’t think it would out that way for them. The weed does seem different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we please talk more about the SCROMITING for pete's sake, why am I the only one noticing this new word for SCREAMING and VOMITING at the same time WUT??

I love it and simply filed it away for later use.

[Anonymous]

My college boyfriend had a schizophrenic breakdown in college. He was using a lot of marijuana. But imo it may have triggered the schizophrenia episode at that point in time but did not cause him to have schizophrenia. His mother ran naked on the streets of Tokyo and was hospitalized in the 1960s.
He subsequently had other episodes while not using.

[Anonymous]

I am not a data analyst, but it’s also possible that more mentally ill people are likely to self medicate with marijuana. Ie that correlation does not imply causation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a data analyst, but it’s also possible that more mentally ill people are likely to self medicate with marijuana. Ie that correlation does not imply causation.

BINGO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw a friend develop schizophrenia from smoking pot decades ago with no family history and it was already talked about as a causal link even back then. Question is why it is legal in some major cities in the US. It should be banned. We can’t look after the mentally ill people we have already without making more.

Marijuana addiction ruined my older brother’s life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a data analyst, but it’s also possible that more mentally ill people are likely to self medicate with marijuana. Ie that correlation does not imply causation.

I’m not sure this is what studies are finding. Here’s the first thing that came up in a search, I haven’t done a deep dive, but I know I’ve read that studies indicate causation not merely correlation (ie the self medication idea).

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2424288

I think a more likely explanation is that cannabis unlocks psychosis in someone who might be genetically predisposed, but who might not have experienced psychosis without that trigger. But at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any way to know in advance who these individuals are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a data analyst, but it’s also possible that more mentally ill people are likely to self medicate with marijuana. Ie that correlation does not imply causation.

This. Mental illness is often genetic in origin, as are addictive predispositions and behaviors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My college boyfriend had a schizophrenic breakdown in college. He was using a lot of marijuana. But imo it may have triggered the schizophrenia episode at that point in time but did not cause him to have schizophrenia. His mother ran naked on the streets of Tokyo and was hospitalized in the 1960s.
He subsequently had other episodes while not using.

Most mental illness is a combo of genes and environmental stressors. Pot use is an environmental trigger in some vulnerable people (vulnerable due to genetics or other environmental stressors)

[Anonymous]

My brother has this. But it could be unrelated to his daily use of 3o years

Sad

[Anonymous]

A bit more about my brother:

I’ve asked family members who claim there is no history in our extended family. I was so surprised. He is the outlier, I guess.

I dislike all recreational drugs for these obvious reasons

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not a data analyst, but it’s also possible that more mentally ill people are likely to self medicate with marijuana. Ie that correlation does not imply causation.

I have wondering about this too!

[Anonymous]

This... Friends of my kids are having the worst time as a result of weed addiction. They are suffering ... anyone who says it is harmless is peddling harmful and serious lies.

[Anonymous]

My teen developed psychosis from weed. He was hearing voices. Paranoid that people were trying to break in our house. It was frightening for him and me too. I slept with my door locked for a while.

He stopped smoking and went on Thorazine for a while plus therapy. Years later he is fine and shows no lingering signs of psychosis.