High Times are Headed for D.C. - And a Whole Lot of Cannabis Chaos

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

There's nothing relevant about posting propaganda. It reminds me of something Anslinger would've put out in Hearst's papers.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

It is valid and important scientific research.

Would you call it propaganda if it was research about alcohol?

Keeping people in the dark about such things is unethical.

The Telegraph

The study, by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London, is due to be published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry later this week.

They studied almost 800 working-age adults from one area of south London, half of whom had been recently treated for a psychotic episode for the first time.

The incidence of schizophrenia in the area has doubled since the mid-Sixties, a trend widely thought to be linked to drug use.

Cannabis use in the UK overall has fallen by about 40 per cent in the past decade but, for those using it, the typical potency has increased sharply in that time.

“Compared with those who never used cannabis, individuals who mostly used skunk-like cannabis were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder if they used it less than once per week, almost three times as likely if they used it at weekends, and more than five times as likely if they were daily users,” the paper notes.

It found that skunk use was the “strongest predictor” of psychotic illness in those studied and that 24 per cent of new cases in the area could be attributed to skunk.

It also noted that those who started smoking cannabis before the age of 15 had higher risk of developing psychotic disorders than others.

Prof Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King’s, said: “It is now well known that use of cannabis increases the risk of psychosis. However, sceptics still claim that this is not an important cause of schizophrenia-like psychosis.

“This paper suggests that we could prevent almost one quarter of cases of psychosis if no-one smoked high potency cannabis.”

He added: “Education is the important thing – people need to know the risks of regular use of high potency cannabis.

Mr Grayling said: “Far too many of those who end up in our criminal justice system have got drug and mental health problems.
“It’s clear to me that drug addiction is at the root of a large proportion of crimes in the UK and that it causes mental health problems which are all too apparent in our prisons.

“That’s why mental health will be our next big reform focus – but it’s also why decriminalisation is not the right option.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Our approach remains clear: we must prevent drug use in our communities and help dependent individuals through treatment and recovery, while ensuring law enforcement protects society by stopping supply and tackling the organised crime that is associated with the drugs trade.”

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

Not necessarily.

That however, is a poor attempt to cast cannabis in a negative light.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom

I don't care how positive your vibes are, just mind your own business ...

You could say, "mind your business" -- as cannabis will make a few people very, very wealthy. If I had money to invest, I'd be looking into the front runners of this new emerging market to retire on.

Good point. Now we just need the banks to ease up.

It's coming.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth
That study is a set-up.
They went to a specific area where rates of schizophrenia had doubled in the past 50 years and picked 800 people who had recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia to be their test subjects.
I wonder who financed that study.
It seems to me they started with a conclusion and made sure that their research would lead to it.

a reply to: abe froman

There is plenty of similar research all with similar results.

Research from 2009
The Telegraph

The results appear to confirm a link between psychosis and skunk cannabis, which now accounts for 80 per cent of street seizures of the drug.

Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in King's College London made the discovery after running tests on 22 healthy men, aged in their late 20s.

They injected them with THC - a major component of skunk cannabis which has been blamed for increasing psychosis among heavy users.

By giving a dummy injection to some, and a dose of THC to others, the scientists were able to establish a link between THC and psychosis, in which hallucinations and delusions leave sufferers unable to tell between the real and imagined.

The team, led by Dr Paul Morrison, concluded: "These findings confirm that THC can induce a transient acute psychological reaction in psychiatrically well individuals."

The researchers found that the "extent of psychotic reaction" was not related to "the degree of anxiety or congnitive impairment" in the men.

www.uniad.org.br...

Aims Aims To examine critically the evidence
that cannabis causes psychosis using
established criteria of causality. established criteria of causality.
Method
We identified five studies that
included a well-defined sample drawn included a well-defined sample drawn
from population-based registers or from population-based registers or
cohorts and used prospective measures of cohorts and used prospective measures of
cannabis use and adult psychosis. cannabis use and adult psychosis.

Results
On an individual level, cannabis On an individual level, cannabis
use confers an overall twofold increase in
the relative risk for later schizophrenia. At the relative risk for later schizophrenia. At
the population level, elimination of
cannabis use would reduce the incidence of cannabis use would reduce the incidence of
schizophrenia by approximately 8%,
assuming a causal relationship. Cannabis
use appears to be neither a sufficient nor a
necessary cause for psychosis. It is a necessary cause for psychosis.

It is a component cause, part of a complex
constellation of factors leading to constellation of factors leading to
psychosis.

Conclusions Cases of psychotic
disorder could be prevented by disorder could be prevented by
discouraging cannabis use among discouraging cannabis use among
vulnerable youths.

Research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which understand the mechanisms by which
cannabis causes psychosis. cannabis causes psychosis.

Declaration of interest Declaration of interest L.A. is
supported by the Canadian Institute of

Health Research;M.C. is supported by the Health Research;M.C. is supported by the
WellcomeTrust and the EJLB Foundation.

a reply to: subfab

I feel that once cannabis prohibition falls, we will see an increase in the use of designer drugs.

Funny you mention that. Heres a link to my previous thread regarding the topic.

The consensus was to legalize all substances in order to take control away from the drug cartels. The only market they still have are the substances that people have to obtain illegally. I agreed, but thought they made it sound way too easy.

I hope DC has thought ahead and stocked up on sunflower seeds, potato chips, 7-11 hoagie sandwiches, and Supersized Big Gulp drink cups.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

The first study there (coincidentally by the same group in your previous post) isolated one chemical component and injected it into the bloodstream. That's like isolating all the hydrogen out of water, setting the hydrogen ablaze and claiming that proves water is flammable.
Those guys are pretty determined to link MJ to psychosis no matter what.
The second "report" you have there reads like it was written by a high school kid who is struggling with English as a second language.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

There are some pretty major flaws in this study you linked.......injecting thc straight into the blood stream and then comparing to smoking the stuff .....that should be enough to get alarm bells ringing

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

I am very very suspicious of "research" that posts results that say something like "five times more likely". What does that mean? They found 1 person out of 799 that had a psychosis after using marijuana once a week, then they found 5 people who had psychosis after using 3 times per week?

I suggest that if you are seriously promoting research that you check out the original study to see what they actually said. Newspaper reports often had it wrong. Also 799 is a very very small study.

The government has been talking about marijuana causing psychosis in certain individuals for that last 60 years. This research has already been done. What was the point of doing it again? Why was it done now? Who sponsored the study? Why were the results released BEFORE publication.

This study is, of course, epidimiology. Epidimiology is a soft science. It is the science of observations. It is supposed to be used only to identify associations that can be used to direct hard science in a laboratory. Has there been medical research in a laboratory to identify the biological mechanism by which marijuana CAUSES psychosis.

Psychotic breaks are typically associated with a disease process like schizophrenia. Schizophenia often manifests first as a psycotic break in teenagers and the young. Would it be possible that the break would have happened even without the marijuana?

Tired of Control Freaks

Cool, but i am sure you will hear the crying about second hand smoke, just like cigarettes. Will have to be a private club. They won't let the market dictate itself. Like bars that are all non smoking now. You would think if that was so popular it would have happened naturally. You would not have to mandate it. Supply and demand. To bad they don't teach economics properly anymore. Probably because people would question trickle down econimoics if they had an education. lol

Reefer madness!

Here's the kicker in the form of an official document, legalization is a backdoor to gun bans. Always remember, if it seems too good to be true, you better get a receipt.

Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijauana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from posessing firearms or ammunition.

ATF

originally posted by: theabsolutetruth
a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

It is however, a rather disturbing and potent ''negative'' aspect that people should be aware of and educated on.

Informed is better than uninformed, especially when it is something as major as psychosis.

Wouldn't you agree?

Im legally drunk right now and would much rather be legally stoned. I have never had problems with smoking pot, and yet alcohol consumes my life, even though every morning I wake to bright lights and I tell myself I won't drink, and yet I do. When I smoke weed instead, I forget about alcohol, I care less for its appeal. If I were able to go to a local shop or grow it in my own hoe I woul be a much better contributer to society and a better parent. This is a fact about my own life that I contribute to you. I have been busted for pot, but only a fine, have also had a DUI at .09 and I felt sober as the 80 year old lady driving by you every day. The laws are screwed and pot laws will never be just. No matter if it is legal or not. It is in your system too long, so anyone that smoked in the last few days could easily be charged as driving under the infuence based off of the laws in place at the moment. Even if there is a pipe in the car it will be considered as an open container or worse. Trust me, people will not get what they want.

a reply to: GodEmperor

Very interesting....you may just be onto something there....good find

originally posted by: theabsolutetruth
This report is in The Telegraph today.

Super strong cannabis responsible for quarter of new psychosis cases

Risk of developing psychosis up to five times greater for those who smoke 'skunk' cannabis every day

Experts have said that cannabis is far from being a “safe” drug and no one under the age of 30 should ever use it

One in four new cases of psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia could be the direct result of smoking extra-strong varieties of cannabis, a major new study concludes.

The finding suggests that about 60,000 people in Britain are currently living with conditions involving hallucinations and paranoid episodes brought on by abuse of high-potency cannabis, known as skunk, and more than 300,000 people who have smoked skunk will experience such problems in their lifetime.

The six-year study, the first of its kind in Britain, calculates that daily users of skunk are five times more likely to suffer psychosis than those who never touch it.

Psychiatrists said there is now an “urgent need” for a drive to educate the public about the risks involved with the substance. It is believed that even newer varieties, some of them more than twice as potent as those currently available on British streets, have already been developed in the Netherlands.

Experts have said that cannabis is far from being a “safe” drug and no one under the age of 30 should ever use it

Guess I'm missing this, but can you share exactly where that is stated in the article for additional information on it? I'm wondering more about that because usually these studies warn on 18 and under. Why 30? Is it due to Schizophrenia's onset in individuals or the maturation of the brain? Some studies show the brain is matured around 20, others 23 or so.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme
The problem is, on most streets in the UK that's the only pot you can buy. Due to bad drug legislation all pot is pretty much classed the same. It's like pubs only being able to serve whiskey instead of wine and beer. I'm sure if the consumer had choice and education in the UK, they wouldn't all be going for the strongest variety of pot. Just as most drinkers wouldn't order a whiskey to drink all night in a bar or pub.

First of all that study is Bull dooey.....
Secondly So called skunk aint the strongest form of pot either.....
Nobody is going bonkers in BC on the very best that I have heard about.......
And we grow the very best......bar none....
No untoward effects yet.....
The telegraph must be trying to pander to straight people....lies all lies....

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

They say the use of MJ has dropped by 40% yet the rate of schizophrenia has increased. Red flag. Schizophrenics have an extraordinarily high rate of self-medication. Abuse of nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, and street drugs is rampant among schizophrenics. The onset of the condition takes years. There is a strong possibility that the researchers are making a causal relationship that simply isn't there. Injecting THC into the bloodstream certainly doesn't mirror real-world use of MJ. There are a lot of problems with this study.