Marijuana may indeed be a gateway drug.... to psychosis. The Wall Street Journal reported recently:
Braxton is among thousands of teenagers and young adults who have developed delusions and paranoia after using cannabis. Legalization efforts have made cannabis more readily available in much of the country. More frequent use of marijuana that is many times as potent as strains common three decades ago is leading to more psychotic episodes, according to doctors and recent research. “This isn’t the cannabis of 20, 30 years ago,” said Dr. Deepali Gershan, an addiction psychiatrist at Compass Health Center in Northbrook, Ill. Up to 20% of her caseload is patients for whom she suspects cannabis use triggered a psychotic episode. Rates of diagnoses for cannabis-induced disorders were more than 50% higher at the end of November than in 2019, healthcare-analytics company Truveta said this week. The trend is contributing to the broader burden of caring for people who developed mental health and addiction problems during the pandemic. Symptoms of serious mental disorders including schizophrenia often emerge in adolescence. Cannabis can’t be isolated as the culprit in any particular case, but large studies show a clear link between frequent and more potent cannabis use and higher rates of psychosis, particularly in young users, said Dr. Deepak D’Souza, professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Even one psychotic episode following cannabis use was associated with a 47% chance of a person developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, a 2017 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry showed. The risk was highest for people 16-to-25-years-old and higher than for substances including amphetamines, hallucinogens, opioids and alcohol. At Boston Children’s Hospital, doctors are treating more children developing psychotic disorders from cannabis use. Nearly a third of adolescents they see for checkups say they are using cannabis. About a third of children using cannabis report experiencing hallucinations or paranoia.... The average THC content of cannabis seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration was 15% in 2021, up from 4% in 1995. Many products advertise THC concentrations of up to 90%.... Rest of article.
34 comments:
Such bullshit.
Explicit WARNING! Don't put anything in your mouth to steal your BRAIN!
So is alcohol. It turns your brain into Swiss cheese.
Basically, anything that alters your brain chemistry damages your brain chemistry.
Simple as.
Wow. It almost sounds like drugs are bad for you.
$hocking I tell you, just $hocking.
Madison had it right. No psychotic drug stores here.
Good post KF. This post confirmed what I've had real experience with as an attorney.
I have tried cases involving individuals who were diagnosed with "psychotic episodes" at times. Every one of these individuals was on either mood altering prescription medication or on anti-psychotic prescription medications. Though the psychiatrists and doctors may have differed on some points, the psychiatrists and doctors all agreed on one common thing that they advise their patients - avoid marijuana and the over-consumption of alcohol. They also testified that marijuana use while taking these prescription medications works against the medication and is a big factor, and can actually trigger in some patients, for a patient to have a psychotic episodes.
Of course there's always the argument that one has to be mentally defective to smoke it in the first place.
And all the potheads scream "But but but, It's my "medicine"...." It has always been about recreational drug use. Always.
And all the potheads scream "But but but, It's my "medicine"...." It has always been about recreational drug use. Always.
Keep the developing minds away from it as we do with alcohol. Not that MM is a comparison to alcohol, which is absolute poison. Ever seen the list of adverse affects of Adderall, which is a schedule narcotic? These same complaints are listed there as well, in addition to other ones that include heart attack and stroke. An argument can be made for anything and this is just another one. All in the name of focus and concentration for ADHD suffers (which I am). Give me a decent sativa and I can sit down and soak up information with the best of them.
Watch "Reefer Madness" the true tale of the dangers of weed!
Lots of new comments on this one.
I am 50. I have chronic pain. Cannabis used medicinally has been a life saver.
People with psychosis are abusing it, just like an alcoholic abuses alcohol.
Abuse anything, including food, and it doesn't turn out well.
If you are using cannabis for every waking moment, you will lose grip on reality but that goes for opoids and many other substances.
Your title to this blog could have read "Lack of self-control a gateway to psychosis?".
Paul Davis knew this when he wrote that song about SoSo Mississippi. Farrrrrrr out maannnnnnn. I wonder if this new stuff makes your eyes roll back in your head like he said those boys did up err at Tupelo, Missssippi. If you ever seen any body high on marawanner you tell cause they cuticles are dilated. They had a boy up wee that tried that marawanner pill and his eye roiled back upon head and he was tripping out…he’s actually what they call freakin out.
OH here we go with this crap again, people surely won't buy into this like they did in the 60s.
Lemee see here: The incidence of psychotic episodes can't be linked to cannabis. But the increase in psychotic episodes parallels studies that show THC potency has increased along the same timeline, although there's no definitive correlation between the two.
Now if that's not scientific I don't know what would be!
Did you know that a study in the sixties showed that 88% of a sample of 6500 deaths in the United States were among those who at some point in the prior 30 years had eaten carrots on four or more occasions? That clearly shows that eating carrots will kill you.
If Queen Mary would drug test all city employees, as well as her neighbors withing two miles of her house, she'd be blown the hell away by the results.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-woman-got-high-stabbed-boyfriend-108-times-not-go-prison-judge-rules
Appears to work other places.
Now that I'm nearly 60, I've had two generations of druggies to observe. Watching the life trajectories of individuals I've known, has let me to conclude that even moderate occasional use of "weed", causes personality changes (none of them good). Certainly, I've seen the development of mild drug-induced psychosis, in people who only mildly "partake".
In this thread, we're hearing the same tired retorts from tired old potheads. Someone brought up "Reefer Madness". It was inevitable. Someone mentioned that "So So Mississippi" song, which WZZQ was playing, back in the '80s. ...and on and on. This leads me to something else I've noticed. Potheads become frozen in time.
Whatever music potheads liked, when they started "using", is the music they STILL prefer (even though Pandora, Bandcamp, and YouTube have, for two decades, to those with functioning brains, offered ways to find newer and better alternatives to 40-year-old radio-friendly garbage). You can apply that same learning difference to law or medicine or plumbing. Potheads become dangerously FOSSILIZED.
Potheads cannot adjust to and incorporate, the ever-changing landscape around them (I find them worthless as employees, and incompetent as professionals, because they can't and don't learn and adapt). So, OF COURSE they're going to keep right on repeating the same tired old defenses and deflections they began using, when they first started "smoking".
5:11 PM: Amen to that! I am a couple of decades younger than you, but I concur with your points.
But, being a dope used to mean stupid, and that can't be right. It's the Miracle Drug. Cures everything. And the stoners and slackers are living proof of that. As was predicted, the curative effects of weed ended all violence. Tax surpluses abound. Drug dealers gave up the trade! Young burnouts became geniuses! And the street of WeedTown USA are paved in gold! I promise.
At 5:51
Have a Snickers....
Geez
Diddywahdiddy says:
I have posted this summary to be reviewed, before, on this blog, so this may be redundant.
As a physician doubled-boarded (until 2026, as we have to re-take the certification test every 10 years), and the only MS physician to attend November 2019 in Orlando FL "Pain Care for Primary Care" that had two full days of lectures on Cannabis Sativa, this WSJ information is "OLD NEWS". Once "Medical Marijuana" approved in other states: 80% of Rx's for Cannabis Sativa will be for non-indicated and non-approved diagnoses.
About 22 million US citizens used cannabis in the past year.
Use has doubled in past 10 years.
10% of current users, use for “medical” purposes.
9-10% of regular users become dependent…17% (1 in 6) of those who start as pre-teens & teens.
For comparison, dependency: tobacco 32%, ETOH 15%, Cocaine 17%, Opioids 8%.
For RML (Recreational Marijuana Legalization) use states of CO/WA in ages 8th-12th grades, regular use increased
20% in the first tow years of RML, in (previously?) healthy youth users.
Male brains do not ‘mature’ on average until age 26.
Source: www.Recovery.org
Marijuana’s effects on the brain:
Increased appetite.
Euphoria/relaxation.
Increased anxiety and paranoia.
Altered sense and disordered thinking.
Decreased motor fine motor skills.
WTF is today’s Marijuana:
140-plus pharmacologically-active cannabinoids
THC: euphoria, anti-inflammatory, psychosis.
CBD: non-intoxicating, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic
Today’s Marijuana potency is sky-rocketing:
1960’s-1980’s average THC content 3-4%
2013-2023 average THC content 12% and rising

However, you can get Cannabis with THC 20-30%
(Yup, you get really stoned, and exponential risk of acute psychosis-DWD)
Cannabis and Depression (Observational Studies)
* Cannabis use: increased risk for depressive disorders Dose-dependent, Cannabis OR 1.17, Heavy Cannabis Use OR 1.62 (Lev-Ran et al. 2014 meta- analysis)
* Cannabis worsens existing depression. (Degenhardt 2003, Feingold et al. 2017)
* No interventional studies of MMJ on depression, but one observational study in cancer patients showed symptom reduction. (Anderson et al. 2019)
Cannabis and Bipolar Disorder
* Those with lifetime BD have 7.2% past-year rate of CUD vs. 1.2% in general population. Those with lower age of onset more likely to have CUD. (Lev- Ran et al. 2013).
* Those with BD use more frequently in higher quantities. (Feingold et al. 2015)
* Cannabis worsens existing BD- more symptoms, co-occurring SUDs. (Lev-Ran et al. 2013)
Key Issues
• Cannabis not even on the radar for patient, referring doc.
• Cannabis use rarely occurs w/o concurrent other 'drugs'.
• High potency/high amount.
Cannabis and Anxiety Observational Studies
* Cannabis use worsens existing anxiety. (Crippa 2009)
* Reduction in use associated with improvement in anxiety (also depression and sleep quality). (Hser et al. 2017)
* No interventional studies, but one observational study found MMJ reduced use of anti-anxiety medications.(Piper et al. 2017)
Cannabis and PTSD
* At least one RCT ongoing in AZ, but positive results mostly anecdotal at this moment.
* In longitudinal cohort of 2276 US veterans with PTSD,cannabis assoc. w greater PTSD symptom severity, violent behavior, more alcohol and drug use.
* Initiating cannabis use worsened outcomes. (Wilkinson et al. 2014)
Cannabis and PTSD, cont.
* Past 6-month use associated with other drug use, hazardous alcohol use, PTSD and depression symptom severity. (Gentes et al. 2016)
* Quitting or sub-moderate use decreases likelihood of future PTSD symptoms. (Lee et al. 2017)
The tell this article is complete bullshit? 4% THC in 1995. LOL
1995 was THE peak era for ultimate pot genetics. Nothing today touches the OG plants, the real Chems, Northern Lights, White Widow, Exodus Cheese. And it's gone today mostly.
But you old chuckleheads will believe anything.
"“What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is poison or not. The dose will determine the poison."
- Paracelsus, Father of Toxicology
Moderation is key to anything we ingest.
In addition to causing psychosis, long term pot use can cause a serious digestive problem called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Ask any ER doctor about how prevalent this is.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21665-cannabis-hyperemesis-syndrome
Did you know that a study in the sixties showed that 88% of a sample of 6500 deaths in the United States were among those who at some point in the prior 30 years had eaten carrots on four or more occasions?
Link?
Diddywahdiddy says:
To @09:14
Yup, within the past 2-3 weeks the # of folks in ER's from Southaven to Jackson to Metarie with uncontrolled hyperemesis has see quite a spike. Has there been a 'new' batch with a higher % of THC?
About the only Rx that will help it is IV Haldol/Haloperidol, as Vistari/Phernegan/Droperidol/Zofran, etc doesn't touch this Hyperemesis Syndrome due to Cannabis.
What is Haloperidol?? "An antipsychotic medication that is used to treat schizophrenia, mania in bipolar disorder, delirium/agitation/hallucinations from ETOH withdrawal, and....acute psychosis.
Yup, "all things in moderation"...you want to risk it?
ER MD's on the front line have an opinion of 'the safety of Cannabis Sativa': "It's not nfn safe, dude".
Not one person here knocking it has ever tried it and can’t get over their Bible Belt ways. Just like the fake people of Madison. We are so backwards in Mississippi that you can’t have a real conversation with someone because they were brought up to believe they are better than everyone else. This is the most closed minded collective of people in the world sticking to their old “how II was taught by my racist grandfathers” ways. Some of you need to grow the hell up and stop being damn hypocrites. I see ya asses out partying with pineapples and ya ass in church on Sunday. STOP ACTING LIKE YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVERYBODY INCLUDING THAT LOSER MAYOR OF MADISON
"Did you know that a study in the sixties showed that 88% of a sample of 6500 deaths in the United States were among those who at some point in the prior 30 years had eaten carrots on four or more occasions?
Link?"
Not the one who cited this "study" but I'm gonna say, "What is theonion.com, Alex?" Or maybe a Trump, Biden, or Harris speech. All four about the same level of "facts" one ought to take seriously. Or maybe spend an hour or so Googling - that ought to lead to a few verrrry intwesting wabbit twails, Doc.
Today's mj is several powers of magnitude more intense and powerful than the Mexican ditch weed from the 60s and 70s. And once it is legalized, dope sellers add other, illegal narcotics to the weed to camouflage the hard drugs delivered by "legal" means.
Society needs a Reefer Madness II, a remake for this new iteration of ultra potent mj.
"...out partying with pineapples and ya ass in church on Sunday."
Which church is this, where we can go out partying, on Sundays, with pineapples and our asses?
In most churches, the "Pineapples and Ya Ass" Training Union is held off-campus, and never, never on a Sunday ('cause that's our day of rest). Sounds like you've found an exciting new ministry. Please share!
In fact, why don't you go door-to-door, passing out leaflets with lots of pictures. Alternately, can we buy you a plane ticket to some far-off place, where you can share the good news?
7:15, there IS no 5:51. Have a Twinkie.
"Did you know that a study in the sixties showed that 88% of a sample of 6500 deaths in the United States were among those who at some point in the prior 30 years had eaten carrots on four or more occasions?"
Link?
There IS no link, Einstein. This is merely an example of using imaginary dots to arrive at a mythical conclusion.
"Eating carrots will cause death". Get it? Hang with me for more study reports.
Legalizing weed is a great tool to lasso the lower classes. Name a better tool to keep them in rental apartments and hourly paid jobs.
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