My daughter had a psychotic break in 2013. She had been to a college graduation party in Chico, CA. When she arrived home I knew she wasn’t “normal”. I told my husband that I was taking her to emergency. My husband, being a pot smoker told me to “mellow out”. Took her, to emergency, she freaked out, and they wanted to hold her on a 51/50.....they tested her for drugs and concluded it was a marijuana-induced psychosis.
Shane was my first-born son who grew into a handsome 6’4” young man. He always seemed larger than life and he had a big heart, infectious smile, and zest for life. He excelled at sports, especially water sports, from a young age. Shane was a very normal, healthy teen and even weathered a back injury and surgery which made high school team sports no longer possible–so he transferred his athletic skills to wakeboarding !
When Shane moved away from home at age 19, he began using recreational marijuana (unbeknownst to his family). At age 22, Shane endured prolonged physical rehab to his knee following a serious boating accident. It was later realized Shane had increased his use of pot as he was intolerant of the prescription pain medications.
Shane was determined to proceed with his wedding to his long-term girlfriend...
This is the story of my son Andy Zorn…
Andy was born in 1982 and had a joyful life easily making and keeping friends. It was his mission to make friends and family laugh and have a good time and he was GOOD at it. He was class clown. He made parties come alive. When he grew older he helped good friends with their mental health and substance abuse issues.
But it all began to get harder for him to do as he became a teen and thought he had to participate in drinking and drugs to fit in. He was good at hiding the extent to which he indulged in these activities and surprised everyone with his statements in a suicide note:
“My soul is already dead. Marijuana killed my soul + ruined my brain.”
Thousands of young people hospitalized due to cannabis and other substance use, report reveals
A
new report says thousands of young people in Canada were hospitalized
last year due to cannabis, alcohol and other substance use, and experts
say the numbers highlight the need for more mental health supports in
the community.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/12.full
Our first news article is a well done piece with historical perspective along with current knowledge of marijuana dangers.
In an interview Murray said his research with users in London has shown that high-potency cannabis—approximately 16 percent THC(tetrahydrocannabinol)—was involved in 24 percent of all cases of a first episode of psychosis. (New laws permitting recreational pot use do not make it legal for teens to consume cannabis, but that has not impeded access.)
As physicians, we need to say clearly what is happening and what is not,” says Peter Falkai, a psychiatrist at the Munich Center for Neurosciences at Ludwig Maximilian University. “Looking into the data, clearly yes, the data show increasing risk of psychosis.”
Link between Adolescent Pot Smoking and Psychosis Strengthens
Society’s embrace of cannabis to treat nausea, pain and other conditions proceeds apace with the drive to legalize the plant for recreational use. Pot’s seemingly innocuous side effects have helped clear a path toward making it a legal cash crop, with all of the marketing glitz brought to other consumer products.
Even before nationwide marijuana legalization in Canada, there was a concerning rise in psychosis cases amongst marijuana users.
Mental Health Experts Warns of ‘Significant Increase’ in Cannabis-Induced Psychosis
Fact is that while you’re a teen (and even into your early 20’s!), you’re still growing and developing, and drug abuse during these years in particular can have a lasting impact. Another fact to consider: the brain is much more vulnerable to addiction during these years. 90% of Americans with a substance abuse problem started smoking, drinking or using other drugs before age 18.
Click Here for Fact Sheet: Drug Facts- Marijuana _Cannabis_
Largest Brain Study of 62,454 Scans Identifies Drivers of Brain Aging
In the largest known brain imaging study, scientists from Amen Clinics (Costa Mesa, CA), Google, John’s Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Francisco evaluated 62,454 brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans of more than 30,000 individuals from 9 months old to 105 years of age to investigate factors that accelerate brain aging.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana- SAM
There are now twice as many daily or near daily marijuana users in the US than just a decade ago, according to the most comprehensive survey on drug use released today by the federal government.
Jim Martin: Marijuana and a Brave New World
“Brave New World,” a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley, projects the futuristic developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning and psychological manipulation that combine to profoundly change society by the year 2540 AD. Huxley describes a utopian society based on the consumption of the drug “soma.”
America’s Invisible Pot Addicts
More and more Americans are reporting near-constant cannabis use, as legalization forges ahead. The proliferation of retail boutiques in California did not really bother him, Evan told me, but the billboards did. Advertisements for delivery, advertisements promoting the substance for relaxation, for fun, for health. “Shop. It’s legal.” “Hello marijuana, goodbye hangover.”
Abstract It is now incontrovertible that heavy use of cannabis increases the risk of psychosis. There is a dose-response relationship and high potency preparations and synthetic cannabinoids carry the greatest risk. It would be wise to await the outcome of the different models of legalisation that are being introduced in North America, before deciding whether or not to follow suit.
Cannabis and psychosis: what do we know and what should we do?
Cannabis is used by approximately 200 million people across the world. The current trend to popularise its medicinal properties, real and imagined, and to decriminalise or legalise it in many countries, is likely to be followed by greater use., However, cannabis is not as safe as was once thought., Just as longitudinal studies of tobacco smokers versus non-smokers nailed the link between cigarettes and lung cancer, so similar prospective studies have shown that heavy cannabis use carries with it an increased risk of psychosis.
Rep. Patrick Kennedy Speaks About Marijuana Policy
Former Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) marked April 20th, a holiday in cannabis culture commonly referred to as “4/20,” by joining public health… read more Former Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) marked April 20th, a holiday in cannabis culture commonly referred to as “4/20,” by joining public health officials and others to talk about federal marijuana policy.
This study replicates exactly what Henquet et al. found back in 2005 for the amount of use where you begin to see a rise in risk – 5 times of use.
Teenage pot smokers are risking mental illnesses in later life
On an afternoon I occasionally walk with my granddaughter in a London park where teens gather after school, and the smell of pot is unescapable. It’s more pungent than I remember and I presume stronger, possibly super skunk , which is flooding the UK.
“They may be infrequent and thus not problematic for the adolescent, (but) when these experiences are reported continuously, year after year, then there’s an increased risk of a first psychotic episode or another psychiatric condition.”
Marijuana is thought to cause psychosis-like experiences by increasing a user’s risk of depression.
See Study Adolescent Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychosis
Easing access to marijuana is not a way to solve the opioid epidemic
he take-home message from research published last week in JAMA Internal Medicine – let’s liberalize access to marijuana as a way to address the raging opioid epidemic – captured the public imagination. We disagree. Supporting medical or recreational marijuana as an alternative to opioids for conditions like chronic pain is a bad idea, especially for America’s youths.
In embracing medical cannabis, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta cultivates another ethical quagmire
In a promo for his upcoming report on the role of marijuana in alleviating the opioid crisis, CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD, beckons viewers: “Join us as we investigate a search for answers and meet potential pioneers and outspoken critics. Whether you struggle with opioids or know one of the millions who do, …
Marijuana-induced psychosis behind Toronto lawyer’s bat attack, judge rules
As the federal government prepares to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, an Ontario judge has ruled that cannabis-induced psychosis led a man to a seemingly hate-filled attack on a family, in what appears to be the first case of its kind in Canadian criminal courts.
Doctor Who Was Taught to Overprescribe Pills Now Works to Counter the Marijuana Epidemic Ronnet Lev, M.D. ( ER physician at Scripps Mercy Hospital, San Diego, CA)
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Karen Randall, ER physician in Pueblo, CO presents at the SAM Summit (Atlanta) 4-5-18 “join the fight against THC marijuana” Karen Randall, M.D. (ER physician at Parkland Medical Center, Pueblo, CO)
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Superskunk schizophrenia timebomb
Britain could set off a schizophrenia timebomb if it ignores the dangers of super-strength ‘skunk’ cannabis, one of the UK’s most eminent psychiatrists warns today. Strong evidence now shows that smoking potent forms of the Class B drug increases the chance of psychosis, paranoid delusions and schizophrenia.
Colorado Suicide Rates and the Connection to Marijuana See Graph by Clicking here: Colorado Suicide Rates & Cannabis.