Young puff on pot at their peril

[..............................]

CANNABIS use can speed up the appearance of psychotic illness, a ground-breaking Australian study has found.

 

Dr Matthew Large, a staff specialist in mental health from the University of New South Wales and the Prince of Wales Hospital, said the risks were especially high for younger people, whose brains were still developing.

 

“What our research has found is that ... cannabis smoking ... brings schizophrenia on early by an average of 2.7 years,†he said.

 

For young people who smoke cannabis regularly, instead of having about a one per cent chance of developing schizophrenia during their lifetime, they would end up with something like a five per cent chance of developing schizophrenia, Dr Large said.

 

His research, which pulled together data on 20,000 patients and drew on more than 80 international studies, is published in the journal, Archives of General Psychiatry.

 

The study has again prompted drug experts to call for regulation, not prohibition, of marijuana.

 

With about 33 per cent of the Australian population and 18 per cent of secondary school students using the drug, in a few years there would be more Australians smoking cannabis than smoking tobacco, said Dr Alex Wodak, director of the Alcohol and Drug Service at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital and head of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation.

 

“Having a black market of that size is not good for anybody,†he said.

 

“By taxing and regulating the drug we would start to have some influence over the way people use cannabis.

 

“An unregulated cannabis market is about profits, not ethics. We have a responsibility to reduce the harm associated with cannabis use.â€

 

Dr Wodak added that taxing and regulating cannabis could be carried out similar to the way the alcohol and tobacco industries are regulated.

 

“We could have warning labels on packets, we could have proof-of-age requirements, we could also have help-seeking information for people who want to try to cut down or stop.â€

 

He recently told Northern Star reporter Jennie Dell that he believed the time was right for a trial of a hash coffee shop in the community of Nimbin.

 

David Halliwell, a Fellow of the Chapter of Addictive Medicine Unit at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and a long-term Northern Rivers resident, said: “At the moment the cannabis industry is just kept in the dark and prohibited.

 

“The laws have failed. We have anillegal market run by criminals. Regulating supply would be a much better way (of controlling cannabis use).â€

 

However, Dr Halliwell said moreresearch was needed to establish whether cannabis caused psychosis or was simply linked to it.

 

Alan Salt, vice-president of The Hemp Embassy in Nimbin, said: “Even if one accepted the ‘2.7 years earlier for schizophrenia in those susceptible’argument, what percentage of the population are susceptible? Where are there any figures that suggest an epidemic or any increase at all in theincidence of schizophrenia?

 

“I am sceptical of research that panders to popular prejudice or political prejudice,†he said.

 

Michael Balderstone, also of The Hemp Embassy, added: “I think psychosis is probably related to prohibition.

 

“At the moment, cannabis is expensive. You can lose your job if you are found with it and there’s quite a bit of fear and paranoia that goes with all of that.â€

 

Dr Large said a number of hypotheses had been proposed to explain theassociation between cannabis use and schizophrenia.

 

These include that cannabis use is a causal factor for schizophrenia, that cannabis use precipitates psychosis in vulnerable people, that cannabis use exacerbates symptoms of schizophrenia, and that people with schizophrenia are more likely to use cannabis.

 

“This study lends weight to the view that cannabis use precipitates schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, perhaps by an interaction betweengenetic and environmental factors,†he said.

 

A spokesperson for the Minister for Police Michael Daley said the NSWGovernment had no plans to change the drug policy.

 

Source: http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2011/02/09/young-puff-on-pot-at-their-peril-mental-illness/

[Radic]

greetnz

this is a BS study

same old story

durg war propaganda

 

well here is all the proof to discredit that crap

 

EURODRUG - INFORMATION LIST OF THE EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES

 

From the IACM-Bulletin of 5 July 2009

 

Science: The development of the number of new schizophrenia cases in the UK does not support the hypothesis that cannabis use increases schizophrenia risk

 

According to research of scientists at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, the incidence (the number of new diagnosed cases) of schizophrenia in the years 1996 to 2005 does not support the hypothesis that cannabis use increases the risk for the development of schizophrenia or psychosis. For this study an analysis of data from 183 practices in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland was conducted. The study cohort comprised almost 600,000 patients each year, representing approximately 2.3 per cent of the UK population aged 16 to 44. Between 1996 and 2005 the incidence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining.

 

A recently published study found that cannabis use increased fourfold between 1972 and 2002 and 18-fold among people under 18 years of age. If the risk of schizophrenia is elevated 1.8-fold among light users and 3.1-fold among heavy users as suggested by another study, and assuming an elevated risk for 20 years, an increase in schizophrenia incidence of 29 per cent would have been expected between 1996 and 2005. Researches concluded that "the causal models linking cannabis with schizophrenia/psychoses are not supported by this study" and that "the underlying causes of schizophrenia/psychoses remained stable/declined over the study period."

 

(Source: Frisher M, Crome I, Martino O, Croft P. Assessing the impact of cannabis use on trends in diagnosed schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Schizophr Res. 2009 Jun 26. [Electronic publication ahead of print])

---

 

Colleagues,

 

Writing in the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet in 2007, Zammit and colleagues proclaimed that smoking cannabis could boost one's risk of schizophrenia/psychoses by 40 percent or more. Naturally, this sky-is-falling sound-byte was repeatedly thoroughly by the MSM

 

<www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/2007072...-psychotic-later>

 

and was one of the primary reasons cited by PM Gordon Brown, ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and others as the impetus for reclassifying cannabis in the U.K.

 

<www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3156255.ece>

 

Of course, what the MSM did not report from the Lancet meta-analysis was that empirical data did not support the investigators hypothesis that smoking marijuana caused schizophrenia or other mental illnesses: "Projected trends for schizophrenia incidence have not paralleled trends in cannabis use over time" (page 326).

 

So, in order to test Zammit and other's supposition, investigators at the Keele University Medical School in Britain have now done the obvious, and performed a comprehensive analyses of trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia and/or psychoses in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. (*Note, average age of diagnosis for schizophrenia is one's twenties.) Their findings will appear in the journal Schizophrenia Research:

 

"[T]he expected rise in diagnoses of schizophrenia and psychoses did not occur over a 10 year period," authors concluded. "This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and incidence of psychotic disorders. ... This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence."

 

<www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19560900>

 

Further, the results of a separate clinical trial published earlier this month reported that the recreational use of cannabis does not stimulate the production of dopamine in a manner that is consistent with the development of schizophrenia.

 

<www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19539765>

 

So, should we expect an apology from Gordon Brown any time soon? I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

 

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19560900

Assessing the impact of cannabis use on trends in diagnosed schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005.

 

Frisher M, Crome I, Martino O, Croft P.

 

Department of Medicines Management, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK. m.frisher@keele.ac.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

A recent systematic review concluded that cannabis use increases risk of psychotic outcomes independently of confounding and transient intoxication effects. Furthermore, a model of the association between cannabis use and schizophrenia indicated that the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia would increase from 1990 onwards. The model is based on three factors: a) increased relative risk of psychotic outcomes for frequent cannabis users compared to those who have never used cannabis between 1.8 and 3.1, a substantial rise in UK cannabis use from the mid-1970s and c) elevated risk of 20 years from first use of cannabis. This paper investigates whether this has occurred in the UK by examining trends in the annual prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia and psychoses, as measured by diagnosed cases from 1996 to 2005. Retrospective analysis of the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) was conducted for 183 practices in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The study cohort comprised almost 600,000 patients each year, representing approximately 2.3% of the UK population aged 16 to 44. Between 1996 and 2005 the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining. Explanations other than a genuine stability or decline were considered, but appeared less plausible. In conclusion, this study did not find any evidence of increasing schizophrenia or psychoses in the general population from 1996 to 2005.

 

 

http://www.earthreggae.com/yard/components/com_kunena/template/default_ex/images/english/emoticons/pull.gif

Marijuana Use Associated With Higher Functioning In Schizophrenics, Study Says http://www.earthreggae.com/yard/components/com_kunena/template/default_ex/images/english/emoticons/rleaf.gif

Manhasset, NY: Schizophrenic patients with a history of cannabis use demonstrate higher levels of cognitive performance compared to patients who have never used the drug, according to clinical trial data published online in the journal Schizophrenia Research.

 

Investigators at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Princeton University compared the neurocognitive skills of 175 schizophrenics with a history of cannabis use with 280 subjects with no history of illegal drug use.

 

Researchers reported that cannabis users demonstrated "significantly better performance" compared to nonusers on measures of processing speed, verbal fluency, verbal learning, and memory. Marijuana use was also associated with better over all GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) scores.

 

Authors wrote: "The results of the present analysis suggest that [cannabis use] in patients with SZ (schizophrenia) is associated with better performance on measures of processing speed and verbal skills. These data are consistent with prior reports indicating that SZ patients with a history of CUD (cannabis use disorders) have less severe cognitive deficits than SZ patients without comorbid CUD. ... The present findings also suggest that CUD in patients with SZ may not differentially affect the severity of illness as measured by clinical symptomatology."

 

Researchers speculated that the observed differences in patients' cognitive functioning may be because subjects who use cannabis are more likely to "competently engage in social interaction" than nonusers.

 

"[T]he present findings suggest that SZ patients with comorbid CUD may represent a higher functioning subgroup of SZ," investigators concluded. "Future large-scale, prospective studies are needed to elucidate the nature of this relationship."

 

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Full text of the study, "Cannabis use disorders in schizophrenia: Effects on cognition and symptoms," will appear in Schizophrenia Research.

[rollingnumberspassingtime]

(sorry don't have actual figures in front of me)

 

X amount of people DIE each year from alocohol

X amount of people DIE each year from smoking cigarettes

X amount of people DIE each year from prescription meds

X amount of people DIE each year from heroin, crack, meth . . .

 

But if you're going to smoke cannabis, don't. Because if you happen to be one of the very small number of people who's susceptible to mental illness it might manifest slightly earlier than if you don't smoke.

 

Right wing propagandist bullshit!!

[Delta 9]

I think any drug that has the capability to influence the receptors of a developing brain isn't a good thing.

 

Having said that, I think cannabis should be legalised, and taxed, and have the same rules apply to it as alcohol and cigarettes.

[womble77]

I heard this story on ABC radio the other morning. what a load of BS and lies the host and her guests pooed out of their mouths. This ground-breaking Australian study looked at studies from the 1930s to today......... wow really ground breaking lets rehash the reffermaddness info and put it out there again......

 

Every "story" the ABC ran that morning was propergander at it's core. F the MSM.

[Radic]

greetnz

if you dont have a endocannabinoid system please dont inhale

cannabis is for all the rest

cannabis is proven to cause a homoeostatic rebalance of the endogenous endocannabinoid system

cannabis provides the opportunities, the mind, body and spirit needs to heal,., for every one who has a endocannabinoid system

cannabis therapy is safe and effective for everyone

 

guidance

[daemon]

Most of the patients involved had schizophrenia and, of those who were cannabis smokers, their diagnoses were seen to occur an average of 2.7 years earlier in their lives.

 

So this means it doesn't cause schizophrenia it simply highlights the issue earlier for those that already suffer from it.

 

Isn't that a good thing? It means they can be treated earlier on.

 

Anyway, I find these studies BS. There are so many other factors in ones life which can cause such problems that are not taken into account (such as synthetic drug use - legal and illegal).

 

I watched one documentary on Cannabis (a UK one - the UK documentaries always demonize Cannabis) which had some young teenager in it with schizophrenia. Anyway he went on to say he went to raves every weekend with his friends and smoked pot and they diagnosed that as the cause of his schizophrenia. What they fail to mention is that at raves pot is the last drug teenagers use it's more Ecstasy and Speed which are known to cause damage.

 

I actually had a mate during high school and we used to smoke pot a lot (for many many years). He was later diagnosed with depression and prescribed Zoloft. Not long after that he was committed to a mental institute for schizophrenia for citing things like "the devil is coming, etc.". Now he was perfectly normal prior to taking Zoloft and I absolutely believe it was Zoloft that caused the issue. He was a good mate, I knew him well and he was certainly NOT schizophrenic prior to taking Zoloft.

 

If Cannabis causes schizophrenia then there'd be many tens of millions around the world suffering from it. The fact is there isn't.

 

// Edit

 

Take a look at the Wikipedia page for Zoloft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sertraline#Suicide

 

What an oxymoron. An antidepressant which causes suicidal tenancies!

Edited February 9, 2011 by rjw

[jimbojones5678]

Having said that, I think cannabis should be legalised, and taxed, and have the same rules apply to it as alcohol and cigarettes.

 

FUCK THAT.

 

Jimbo

[Delta 9]

Unfortunately Jimbo, there's more chance of that happening, than any other option at the moment.

 

With Cannabis being the #1 cash crop in the USA at the moment, and with dispensaries there spreading like a bangkok rash, it's only a matter of time until it happens.

 

They'll be forced into it just for the sheer size of it.

[*Ryno*]

OMG! A 5% chance of developing schizophrenia????

 

Wait...

 

So there's still a 95% of NOT developing schizophrenia?

 

Somebody pass the bong please...