marijuana-induced schizophrenia Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Marijuana and Schizophrenia?

The AHA! Team — Fri, 31 May 2024 05:31:56 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The evidence linking cannabis use to psychotic disorders is considered strong enough to warrant a public health warning. “Even as proponents of [cannabis] legalization contend that smoked marijuana is a harmless natural substance that improves the quality of life, a growing body of evidence links it in a small but significant number of users to…the induction or aggravation of psychosis.” “Psychotic disorders are arguably the most serious of mental illnesses, the best known being schizophrenia.” “Schizophrenia, an illness that is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and odd behavior, is among the top 10 leading causes of disability in the United States. It affects approximately 1% of the general population.” Can cannabis cause it? Schizophrenia… affects approximately 1% of the general population As I discuss in my video Does Marijuana Cause Schizophrenia?, over the last half-century, “nearly 2,000 studies have been published on this topic…and the pro-psychotic effects of cannabis have dominated media reporting about this drug. But how clear is the link?” Population studies have “consistently demonstrated a strong, positive, and dose-dependent association between cannabis use and the risk of psychotic disorders.” Indeed, studies have shown that the more cannabis people use, the more likely they are to be psychotic, as seen in a chart below and at 1:10 in my video. However, that doesn’t mean cannabis is the cause. It could just be a correlation or even a consequence of the disease. “The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established,” but it may be the case that patients with mental health problems self-medicate and “use cannabis to relieve their distress.” The link between cannabis and psychosis is well established… As you can see below and at 1:38 in my video, there isn’t only a link between cannabis and psychosis in snapshot-in-time cross-sectional studies, but in cohort studies as well, where people are followed over time. Research has shown that cannabis use often precedes psychosis, not the other way around. Now, it goes without saying that “the vast majority of people who use cannabis do not develop psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, and many people diagnosed with such disorders have never used cannabis.” But, overall, these studies are considered to be “strong enough evidence to warrant a public health message that cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic disorders.” There is another potential explanation: Even though cannabis use precedes schizophrenia, could it be that whichever genes drive schizophrenia also make it more likely you start smoking pot? The biggest strike against the cannabis-schizophrenia link is country-by-country ecological studies that don’t seem to show more disease in areas where there’s more use. And, overall, schizophrenia rates seem to have remained stable or even gone down worldwide since the 1960s, even though there’s been a big bump in cannabis use since then. If about 10 percent of schizophrenia cases are attributable to marijuana use and there’s been a fourfold increase in use, why hasn’t there been a 40 percent increase in the prevalence of schizophrenia? The problem with that argument is “there is little reliable evidence on the temporal [true] trends in the incidence of schizophrenia, so it is difficult to know whether this statement is true or not.” Perhaps it’s more of an issue with potency rather than just cannabis in general. Indeed, “the incidence of schizophrenia is higher in countries…where high-potency cannabis has taken over the market compared with countries…where more traditional forms of cannabis are smoked.” The bottom line is you don’t know until you put it to the test. You can’t just randomize kids to cannabis, but, in a way, Nature set up a natural experiment for us. There are genes that kids randomly get that can increase their likelihood of smoking pot. Do those kids then go on to have a higher risk of schizophrenia? Yes, research “findings strongly support” all of those population studies that suggest “cannabis plays a causal [cause-and-effect] role in the development of schizophrenia.” Okay, but by how much? Let’s break it down. Even if cannabis use doubles the risk, that would mean only going from a 7-in-1,000 chance of developing a psychosis to 14 in 1,000. So, going from a 1 in 140 chance to a 1 in 70 chance. It would be different if schizophrenia runs in your family, where a doubling of risk could mean going from a one-in-ten chance to one in five, but, on a population scale, it could take thousands of cannabis users quitting to prevent a single case of schizophrenia. So, from a public health standpoint, “addiction is a far more common problem.” Researchers “estimate that people who try cannabis are ninefold more likely to become addicted to it”—even though that itself is relatively rare—“than to develop psychosis in their lifetime.” I have an entire series of videos on cannabis, which I originally released in a webinar and downloadable digital DVD. Key Takeaways Although some proponents of cannabis legalization argue that marijuana is a “harmless natural substance that improves the quality of life,” it has been linked “in a small but significant number of users to…the induction or aggravation of psychosis.” Schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder characterized by hallucinations, odd behavior, and delusions, affects about 1 percent of the general population. Studies have found that the more cannabis people use, the more likely they are to be psychotic, but that could just be a correlation or even a consequence of the disease. Individuals with mental health problems may self-medicate and use cannabis to relieve distress, for example. Research has found that cannabis use often precedes psychosis, not the other way around. Overall, there appears to be “strong enough evidence to warrant a public health message that cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic disorders.” There does not seem to be more disease in regions with greater cannabis use. Overall, schizophrenia rates appear to have remained stable or even declined worldwide since the 1960s, despite a large jump in cannabis use since then. Potency may be a bigger issue. In countries with higher potency cannabis, the incidence of schizophrenia is higher than in countries with “more traditional forms.” Some genes can increase our likelihood of using cannabis, and kids who randomly get them have been found to have a higher risk of schizophrenia. Research suggests that cannabis may have a cause-and-effect role in the development of that psychosis. Even if cannabis use doubles the risk, however, that would just mean a 1-in-70 chance of developing a psychosis without a family history of schizophrenia. From a public health standard, the far more common problem is addiction. To read the original article click here.

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Not Your Grandpa’s Weed: Today’s Super-Strong Marijuana Causing Mental Health Problems, Addictions

AHA Publisher — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:00:59 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – Health experts and broken-hearted family members along with former marijuana users themselves are all warning about the high potency of today’s weed. The combination of a stronger product plus states legalizing the drug equals a dangerous situation. The highly concentrated marijuana is leading to greater levels of addiction and mental disorders. Zach’s Story Zach Plant starting using marijuana to ease the stress in his life, he told CBN News. At first he enjoyed getting high whenever he could. “It just sounded like a great idea,” he said, “I’d much rather be high than be sober.” Months later, Zach entered the hospital for cannabis-induced psychosis, a mental health disorder that can cause people to lose touch with reality, and experience hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. “I had thoughts of other people wanting to hurt me,” Zach said, “Thoughts of the only way of being safe was to end my own life.” While Zach’s symptoms didn’t last, doctors warned him that if he used marijuana again he could risk going into psychosis and not ever coming out. “Your brain may not recover,” Zach recalled his doctors saying. Higher THC Content Up until about twenty years ago, most marijuana contained comparatively low levels of THC, the ingredient that makes users high, hovering around three percent. Now, that concentration can be ten times greater, 30-percent THC, and in some cases, much more than that. “You can go to a gas station,” Zach explained, “And you will find a vape pen that has, we call them carts, or dab pens, and it will have 50 times the potency of just smoking regular marijuana.” New research published in the medical journal Lancet Psychiatry show’s today highly potent marijuana can be directly linked to a greater risk of mental illness and addiction. Christine Miller, Ph.D., a neuroscientist specializing in psychosis, told CBN News the public should become better educated about the link between marijuana use and serious mental health impacts, including psychosis and suicide. “Marijuana-induced psychosis and marijuana-induced schizophrenia is the single most well-replicated finding in schizophrenia research today,” she said. This super-strong weed is widely available on the streets as well as in cannabis dispensaries nationwide, sources that can both carry risks to the buyer. “The legal pot shops are dedicated to selling very potent products,” Dr. Miller explained, “The only caveat to that is the drugs on the street can have fentanyl laced-in, on occasion, which obviously can be fatal.” Making Marijuana Legal So far 37 states have legalized medical marijuana and in 19 of those states, recreational use is also legal. All of these sales rake in billions of tax dollars for those state and local governments. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, (D-OR) introduced legislation in July to federally decriminalize marijuana and establish a federal cannabis tax. “We are taking steps in the Senate to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs,” said Sen. Schumer. However, many believe the U.S. needs to revive the war on drugs, now more than ever, including Aubree Adams, the Director of Every Brain Matters, an advocacy group supporting and educating families on the harmful effects of cannabis. “Legalizing or promoting marijuana is not a solution. It’s a nightmare,” Adams told CBN News. “THC is the perfect drug to hijack our children’s brains and embed the disease of addiction and mental illness and we have to stop this nightmare.” She speaks from personal experience. “I’ve witnessed THC psychosis in my own son, and my husband was hearing voices after using 24% THC flour,” she said. The two used the amped-up weed after it became legal in their home state of Colorado, not knowing how powerful it had become. “The THC content in marijuana is increasing on purpose,” Adams said. “The legal marijuana industry has to addict their users. So the more potent the product, the more at risk they are of becoming addicted, just like the tobacco industry did.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates one-third of today’s marijuana users are addicted. “Probably the majority who are using daily are addicted,” said Dr. Miller “Because they’re not just using once a day they’re using several times a day.” Marijuana addiction interferes with normal life, as Zach Plant knows all too well. “Can’t get off work without doing it, can’t go into work without doing it,” he said. Scientists say marijuana addiction can also hamper the development of children and young adults. Dr. Miller explained it can “interfere with developing careers and completing degrees and things like that.” It’s been two years since Zach suffered from marijuana-induced psychosis, and he’s doing great. He’s glad to be off the drug and recommends other steer clear of it too. “For me, it was detrimental,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can know if it will have that effect on them and so it’s very risky to do.” To read the original article click here.

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