Pot smoking linked to psychotic disorders
Heavy marijuana use doubles the risk, new research finds.
By Jia-Rui Chong
L.A. Times Staff Writer
July 27, 2007
People who smoke marijuana daily or weekly double their risk of developing a psychotic illness over their lifetime, according to a study published Thursday.
Among all cannabis users, including sporadic experimenters and habitual users, the lifetime risk of psychotic illness increased by 40%, the report said....
The study by Zammit and colleagues, published in the medical journal the Lancet, reanalyzed data from seven long-term studies on psychotic illnesses and marijuana involving 61,000 participants.
The researchers filtered out about 60 factors, such as preexisting mental illness and the use of other illicit drugs, and considered IQ and social class, to try to isolate the effect of marijuana, Zammit said.
Most of the studies that were analyzed indicated a range of increased risk for frequent users from 50% to 200%, with the average being about 100%, or double the risk, [Dr. Stanley] Zammit said.
The researchers also studied the relationship between marijuana use and mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder. They analyzed 22 studies involving 52,000 participants.
The researchers found that any marijuana use increased the lifetime risk for mood disorders by about 40%, and weekly or daily use increased the risk by about 50%.
RESEARCHERS at Cardiff University also said they were unable to conclusively link heavy marijuana use to the so-called "one sentence, one paragraph" craze currently sweeping Los Angeles and other centers of "hippie" culture.
So then is calmness now considered to be a psychotic disorder?
ReplyDeleteGosh, how dreadful!
Happily people with undiagnosed brain chemistry disorders never, ever self-medicate, because that could have messed up the results something awful.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but some drug company which sells an anti-psychotic drug funded this...
ReplyDeleteThat's a great study they got there, and if you believe it, you're too stoned to think straight.
ReplyDeleteI always like the way journalists reporting these sort of studies showing an increased chance of something happening assiduously avoid mentioning what that chance is. This allows them to use big newsworthy numbers like 40% or 100% rather than have to say "the chance goes from 0.34% to 0.72%" [numbers purely an example]. I'm pretty sure if the resulting risk factor was significantly high, rather than merely higher, they'd bother reporting that.
ReplyDeleteOf course, in articles about, say, occupational health and safety, or pollution, they tend to go with the smaller numbers of the actual risk factors.
julia, I love you.
ReplyDeleteAnd this rocks. I've been waiting *ages* for a remake of Reefer Madness.
Most Americans diagnosed with mental disorders have drunk chocolate milk, eaten french fries, and watched TV in their formative years. So people should be jailed and have their property confiscated for those offenses, too. Scientifically proven, no?
ReplyDeleteCould it be that the waning interest in the drug war needs a boost? The Pentagon's war-teat may soon be withdrawn, so its back to McCain talking about billion dollar hot air balloon surveillance over Mexico.
ReplyDeleteLike a mother's lactating breast, if empty, suck harder, eventually her body will adjust and the ambrosia will flow to meet demand.
Could it be also that Big Pharma steps on board of the study because they can't resist forming new drug dependent markets?
Nothing will cow someone to subservience like telling them all their thoughts are crazy and they won't live right without Libbey and Co. to help out.
Building an army of National Healthcare resisters one mind at a time, by God!
But then again, I first learned to smoke pot at twelve and smoked pretty regularly through junior high school, so take what I say accordingly.