Crackdown on marijuana increases rates of cannabis psychosis


MarijuanaResearchers from the University of York have demonstrated that the change in cannabis declassification in 2009 has coincided with a significant increase in hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis – rather than the decrease it was intended to produce.

The UK Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) divided controlled drugs into three groups – A, B and C – with descending criminal sanctions attached to each class. Cannabis was originally assigned to Group B, but in 2004, it was transferred to the lowest risk group, Group C.

In 2009, on the basis of increasing concerns about a link between high strength cannabis and schizophrenia, it was moved back to Group B.

Researchers from the University’s Department of Health Sciences examined admissions to psychiatric hospitals in England between 1999 and 2010 to explore whether the reclassifications in 2004 and 2009 were associated with changes in the admissions rate for cannabis psychosis.

They found that there was a significantly increasing trend in admissions from 1999 to 2004, but following the reclassification of cannabis from B to C in 2004, there was a decline until 2009. Following the second reclassification back to class B in 2009, there was once again a significant increase in admissions.

The study was led by Ian Hamilton from York’s Department of Health Sciences, an expert on the relationship between substance misuse and mental health. The results are published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Psychosis describes a range of symptoms, such as distortions of reality, hearing voices, difficulty in thinking and problems with motivation.

Ian Hamilton said: “Our research shows an interesting relationship between the Government’s decision to reclassify cannabis and the rate of hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis. It is significant as the Government’s argument for reclassification was made on the basis that the stronger forms of cannabis known as ‘skunk’ are more likely to lead to mental health problems such as psychosis. However, our research challenges this.

“While our study shows a statistical association between the reclassification of cannabis and hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis, it is in the opposite direction to that predicated by the presumed relationship between the two.”

The authors say the reasons for the statistical association between the reclassification of cannabis and hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis are unclear.

Ian Hamilton said: “The association is unlikely to be due to changes in cannabis use over this period, but possible explanations include changes in policing and systematic changes in mental health services unrelated to classification decisions.”

  • Bone Wilder

    So the “weed is evil” bullshit continues, huh? Well that’s just wonderful.

    • Jarrett

      Do a little research buddy, excessive smoking can cause mild outbreaks of crazy on occasion

      • Galen Spring

        as a smoker, i can verify this

      • Cocomaan

        Some people shouldn’t smoke, and some people shouldn’t drink. People have to figure out their own limits.

        • Stopthatman

          It’s not about limits, it’s about the relationship of their mental well being and their genetic disposition to psychosis.

          ^ _ ^

          • Cocomaan

            The government has no business telling me whether I have the predisposition or not. That’s for me to find out.

      • SloppyToast .

        Please show us your research, aside from anxiety I have never head of weed driving a non-crazy person “crazy”

        • StephenR

          I’m living evidence of this. Cannabis-induced psychosis is real. It caused me to hear voices. Now take antipsychotics to function normally. No family history of mental illness. Smoking now causes me to enter a psychotic state.

          The argument could be made that mental illness could happen to anyone or that weed causes people with a predisposition to mental illness to experience it. I have no genetic predisposition.

          • NotSarcasmAtAll

            Pfft, as if I would listen to a crazy peroson!

          • The Dock Tour

            Well..I’m sorry to hear about your condition.I really am. I read a study done on THC to CBD content in strains of cannabis. They showed how THC alone without CBD causes the symptoms described in the article as cannabis psychosis. But that when mixed WITH the CBD’s in cannabis, it’s mostly harmless-although those paranoid delusions sometimes rear their ugly head even with CBD’s. ALLEGEDLY. This was not a fact, just a study. Correlation and causation are a fine line to distinguish. Although I think in cases (genetic or not) where someone suffers from permanent psychosis is something to research-what factors could have (or not) affected the situation? Was it causation or correlation??

          • Simmons

            So you’re also claiming that there is no chance for a small unnoticeable mutation. You can argue that the chances are slim to none and sure that’s true….but if you’re going to go there, the chance of you being born as the person that you are today is also staggeringly huge itself isn’t it? Improbable, not impossible.

          • SloppyToast .

            This does *not* mean cannabis induced your psychosis. However, that doesn’t mean it didn’t help exasperate it.

            I would like to hear more.

          • SloppyToast .

            My argument that illness can happen to anyone will be my own here. There is no doubting cannabis exasperates psychosis, I know a number of cluster patients who will have severe breakdowns if they ingest cannabis. However, on the same token there are those I know with psychotic disorders who I know find relief from the same drug.

            I feel more research is needed, but for the time being it seems while cannabis use rises, cases of psychosis per capita does not follow.

      • Bone Wilder

        Research indeed…. sigh. And I can’t be your ‘buddy’. I just don’t seem to relate to those with an IQ under 50. But maybe if you’re handler lets me I’ll buy you an ice cream cone! How does that sound, little guy?

  • critical_thinking

    “significant”, eh? I should like to know the percentage change really, without it this article isn’t too meaningful.

    Of course, if this includes ‘problems with motivation’ and ‘difficulty thinking clearly’ I’d wager that percentage of smoker’s experiencing marijuana psychosis is roughly 100%

  • FMS

    Haha. Ex user here. Ban this POS drug asap! Yes, weed makes you a skizo. Not everyone. But I could say most of users are in danger of developing psyche issues. Destroy this horrible drug from Earth.

    • Steve

      McFucking kill yourself

    • riiiiiight

      No one that smokes weed calls themselves a “user.” It’s not fucking heroin. You’re obviously BSing.

    • FMS is a SIMPLETON

      I’m sorry, but do you have any sources to site for this horseshit nonsense? Or are you just a troll sent here to be fed by those who would dare argue with that kind of logic. I mean honestly. What a disgusting way of looking at this medicine. Just because it didn’t get YOU the fuck off, or whatever ego boost you were going for, doesn’t mean that it harms other people. There is no, I REPEAT: NOOO scientificly proven fact that backs this ‘theory’ of yours. Only paranoid correlation-which, of course, is WAAY different than factual CAUSATION. simple simon mother fucker…..

    • Brian E Stiner

      you are a fucking brain dead idiot..

  • bburrito

    $10 says that all of the people counted as going to the hospital for marijuana psyhosis were fourced to be there by the courts.

  • GreyMatterTripp

    Such utter bullshit.

  • dragonfiesta

    reefer madness? HA HA HA HA yeah right I bet it encourages Jazz music and rapping white women too

    • Chimmy Chummy

      Yah rapping white girls! Krayshawn!

    • Gahgah

      Stanhope bit, eh? :)

  • Dave A

    I wish this issue wasn’t so polarizing. I personally smoked for almost 10 years on a daily basis and I can say, on the heaviest weeks I had side effects like what was described in this article. I since have quit smoking and am better off without it. However, I don’t think that the drug is evil, it just didn’t do me any good. It should be said that this article is not a smoking gun for anti-pot advocates. This article only lightly pulls from the study cited, and does not provide numbers or sample sizes, just says the trend has increased. However, for all the stoners out there who say pot is harmless try quitting for a month and tell yourself that you don’t have any urges or side effects. For all those who hate pot with an utter passion stop being so hypocritical and understand that this drug, while not a wonder cure all for societies ills like the pro-cannabis advocates would have you believe, is no more harmful to society than alcohol and may even be a safer alternative. All I’m saying is locking up people for what might be a pretty inert vice, preventing them from moving up the economical ladder, and stigmatizing a section of your population, is a much more harmful than a cannabis plant could ever be.

    • dt

      But you were a 10 year daily abuser of a drug, so of course there would be side effects. If a person got drunk daily for a span of ten years, I would assume there would be significant side effects as a result of cessation. There has to be a difference between using and abusing. Abusing anything is harmful. Responsible, moderate use however, is not.

  • cam

    This flies in the face of basically every other modern study done about the effects of marijuana.

    Psychosis is possible for anyone – w

  • Tom

    on what sample size? like a study of 20 people. this has no credibility

    • Tom is dumb

      Where did you get 20? They said “admissions to psychiatric hospitals.” It is probably a fairly large sample size. What are you taking stupid pills or something?

      • Tom’s doctor

        He is affected by cannabis psychosis.

        • Tom’s Pharmacist

          Or the stupid pills you’ve been prescribing have been working

      • Tom is dumb is Dumb

        Generally speaking, it’s up to the poster of an article to provide quantifiable and real evidence with factual information. There is no statistics whatsoever, not even a logical fallacy thrown in, there is literally no reference point to base this “facts to suit theory” theory.

  • she wants the d!

    “So you can either go to jail, or check yourself in for psychiatric treatment” says the Judge. Most people choose treatment unknowingly increasing this useless statistic that states “look how many people check themselves in for cannabis psychosis!”

  • Doug

    psychosis?, Really now. There are always a few odd biological/enviormental defects in any group but 99.999 % of weed smokers are cool.
    What do you say about drunks driving down the road whacking people – ‘At least they’re not psychotic’
    I’ve bee using the shit off & on for 45 yr.’s plus, never been or seen any such nonsense.

    Bloody researchers gotta come up with something for the money..

  • mspyrrha

    Personally I’ve been using marijuana for the last six years to calm my anxiety, and help with severe stomach pains that I’ve been experiencing for the last 8. While its not a cure for either of these it definitely helps me manage them and I don’t have to get high to do so. And everyone’s different but personally I’ve never had “psychosis” from weed. I mean if you wanna take their description of it I guess I wouldn’t smoke and try to do work, I’d feel less motivated, but not if it was something I actually wanted to do.

    • Jodie.L

      I use it for anxiety as well, and it works better than any drug out there-honestly, with the relaxation, and attitude adjustment it induces, it’s incomparable. The psychosis in question is usually due to a high level of THC to CBD content in the strain itself. Too much pure THC can cause severe (but temporary) frightened psychosis. Sometimes people who have dormant mental illnesses are SOMETIMES affected negatively by cannabis use-and if they use it regularly (esp during adolescence), MAY be prone to developing said disease for life. Such as Schizophrenia….or manic depression. MAY be prone is the key phrase here. I, personally haven’t had cannabis psychosis yet, and I’ve been smoking for over 15 years for anxiety-it’s actually the best medicine to ever happen to me!!

  • Janes

    Marijuana is related to mental ‘Illnesses’ such as psychosis. I love to smoke marijuana, and the only negative effects it has on me is I eat a lot. However, my brother had a much different experience and had become mentally unstable after just a month or two of smoking. We had to have him evaluated by multiple doctors who also diagnosed him with schizophrenia. I wish this wasn’t true, but marijuana ruined my brothers life in ways arguably worse than most hard drugs. Even after he went clean, my family and I battle this everyday. Marijuana is wonderful to most, and healthier than things such as alcohol and tobacco yet this is a negative side affect with serious consequences. I thought I would share my anti-marijauna story coming from a pro-legalization individual (me).

    • Sock

      Well actually, marijuana just accelerates schizophrenia in people who are already prone to have it. This means that your brother would have developed schizophrenia anyway, just at a later age.

      • McBernard

        Ok this us true. Still doesn’t escape the fact that his life was ruined. I let me explain. If you have a predisposition to schizophrenia but do not smoke weed, drink excessively or take other drugs, chances are no symptoms will ever present themselves and so the person then holds down a
        , has a family, and life is good. If, on the other hand they smoke skunk at 15 years old, hallucinate, ‘spin out’, start having paranoid thoughts and get cannabis psychosis; their life is ruined before it’s even really started.

        So yes, he may have ‘developed schizophrenia anyway’ the but getting it at 15 and getting it at 50 have wildly different consequences.

        • Johnjoe

          Big Cannabis legalization supporter but IMO a teenager should NEVER smoke weed. Need to know your head and your personality before you try expand it.

    • Jodie.L

      Sometimes the disease of Schizophrenia doesn’t manifest until after the use of substances that could induce the symptoms of the disease that’s lying seemingly dormant (or being so subtle that it’s hard to detect) My sister had a similar experience as a teenager-about a year (maybe less) of smoking, she began a downward spiral of manic behaviors-and soon after, she quit. We were all relieved when she went back to normal. yet we (almost my whole fam) never did quit. We are ‘fine’ mentally, as far as normal goes. I, in fact, study psychology and I have a passion for helping people. I empathize for you and your family, I do. My sister, btw, has recently told me that she smoked a joint with her fiancee-and that it must of have really strong bc she went into a state of paranoid mania-to the point of thinking that she’s ruined the lives of everyone around her! She is my role model, and is the most amazing person ever-so imagine my surprise at hearing her confess this to me. She also confesses to smoking regular weed once in ablue moon and feeling, not just fine, but GREAT! I’ve concluded that it has to do with the CDB and THC contents (the percentages of them are what changes highs from happy to frightened psychosis). IDK I guess I’m babbling at this point. What I want to say is, I appreciated your story and perspective on this topic-sometimes we need to be reminded of the inherent dangers in ALL mind altering substances.

  • bryancarpen

    If you were caught with pot and were given the choice to either go to jail or be admitted into a marijuana rehabilitation program, you’d be pretty ballsy not to choose the latter.
    This was the case for a few of my friends, and it could also be why there is a “correlation” between “psychosis” and marijuana policy.

  • Oskari

    I have seen people who smoke pot daily and had went crazy by it. They have not been the most mentally stable people though. People who have issues socially are the ones most likely to go psychotic. They don’t know how to act in front of people or it varies so much that they don’t realize that they just should be themselves. At some point they become so paranoid that they go “Schizo”.

    I have visited mental hospitals and I don’t really see this “psychosis” very clearly treated. People don’t do anything there, they just waste their time and eat meds for years. You can’t go outside and do anything you love to do. Of course there’s exceptions where people get treated by talking and understanding. I haven’t seen much development in curing mental disorders though and that’s something countries should think about.

    I live in Finland and I think we are the most mentally sick people in the world. 1/10 of the people are on depression meds, high suicide rates and loving attitude towards alcohol. Still on other statistics we are one of the most happiest, educated and safest countries in the world. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000053851507 Monette Cavalier-Bell

      Probobly just the human condition itself, we have been using drugs and alcohol since we figured out we could get high and nothing has really changed between ancient times and now, there are some people who like to get high, others don’t, I cant figure it out either.

  • Matt

    all i’m saying is that even if this is true, the overwhelming research that proves smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer that will ultimately Kill you not just make you crazy or whatever is way more convincing. And i can buy a pack less than one hundred feet from my front door, completely legally.

    • Billy

      Actually, cigarettes do not cause cancer. Cancer is either in you or it isn’t. You cannot obtain cancer, unless you were somehow able to find cancer cells and inject them into yourself, and even at that point there’s no guarantee. Smoking cigarettes will cause your lung cancer to spread quicker than it normally would of, but does not cause it as you’ve been lead to believe.

      • guesty

        Hey Dr., gonna call BS on you. I’m wagering the fact I’ve worked with hundreds of cancer patients versus the drivel you just pulled out of your arse.. Wanna bet?


        Smoking doesn’t only cause ‘lung’ cancer, it causes other kinds of cancers, including ‘bladder’ cancer, which killed my father. Also a famous American Actress died of bladder cancer recently from smoking. It also causes tons and tons of lung disease and disability and heart disease.


      Cigarettes Kill, and the Govts. sell that to you legally. As much as you want.

  • Joshua Atkinson

    I think for marijuana to cause schizophrenia a person would have to be biologically predisposed to schizophrenia to begin with.

  • Genkakuzai

    Prepare to get fired for speaking the truth. Oh wait, they’re not hired by the British government, nevermind. Gooooo facts.

  • Guest

    Oh this stuff is funny. It is already known marijuana treats psychosis, it does not cause it. The previous studies were found to be in error, and that people had been self medicating their problem, not causing their problem.
    These numbers are a joke because these people only go for psychological treatment to avoid jail time. It makes it look like there is a problem, when none actually exists.

    • Dave

      You seriously think you know better than peer-reviewed science? In this field, very little is “already known” without doubt. You may have a view based upon a personal affection for the substance in question, but don’t announce that there is no problem at all.

      There IS a link. The prevailing scientific consensus accepts this. The SCALE however, is debatable.

      • RevSchaeffer

        Different drugs affect different people differently. That’s just the nature of drugs. What this study tells me is that when the stigma and fear of penalties are removed more people feel comfortable seeking help and discussing their use with a physician when they feel overwhelmed. This is a good thing. Treating it as a crime doesn’t help. It’s a cash cow that hides the real problem to make politicians and police quotas look good. It harms the people who need help the most.

        • maxbots

          Maybe I am misreading something, but this study seems actually to show the exact opposite of what you claim… If the stigma and fear of penalties being removed made people more willing to seek treatment, then the results would be the exact opposite of what has actually been seen.

          Don’t get me wrong, I think I basically agree with your position, but you seem to be misinterpreting the results of this study which shows that MORE people seek treatment when the laws are tougher, not fewer.

          • RevSchaeffer

            You’re right, I misread that. That has been my personal experience with a large number of drug users, however. Perhaps the tougher laws were just making the borderline users more paranoid. There are a wide variety of strains as well, and you’re more likely to have a worse experience with the questionably treated, poorly grown black market stuff than when you have the opportunity to select a suitable quality medical grade. Tighter laws allow the bad stuff to flourish. Now it doesn’t agree with some folks ,but it can provide relief for a wide variety of problems. It shouldn’t be demonized, but as you said it shouldn’t be treated as completely harmless either. We’re finally getting some research done in the US, but there’s still a lot of work to do. It doesn’t help that we’ve still got the stuff rated as worse than PCP.

      • Featurin

        Wrong! There’s a possibility of if it exposing pre existing mental conditions but it has been proven to treat psychosis in all credible research(i.e. scientists without an agenda). I suggest you check peer reviewed science before misinforming people.

  • Austen

    The “psychosis” and classification are probably related. Marijuana makes you paranoid if there is something to be paranoid about. Lower classifications would make users less worried about the consequences or stigma of being high and they would proceed with their daily lives, not seeing a big problem with it. However, if they are paranoid that it is more dangerous for them their high may make cause this “psychosis” through a combination placebo and paranoia effect, in the short-term during their high. It is all a matter of perception.

    Since more recent studies have shown that marijuana is actually helpful for people with schizophrenia and “long-term psychosis”, I would suggest that the facts that led to the misleading argument that marijuana somehow caused psychosis was from the correlation of people who had these mental issues and used marijuana to remedy them. However, the correlation was taken in reverse where the marijuana caused the psychological problems instead of the problems being the reason for the marijuana use.

    • Patrick O’Brien

      Spot on. Only accurate post in this thread.

  • Fafafafafafafafafa

    This is due to dealers making higher strength strains to give people more bang for their buck, skunk and other similar strains are much more likely to cause psychosis. Kids nowadays want to get blown away on weed, this is a massive shift from when I was using it, as we all just wanted to have a laugh, imagine, listen to music all for shits and giggles. These days it’s dark. I’ve tried smoking some of the crap they have on the streets these days and it just turns everything sour, not enjoyable. Regulate this industry as you do with booze, the problem is you don’t have choice with the black market, you take what the dealer has got, unfortunately too often it’s not weed that leads to an enjoyable time. The kids don’t understand this as high strength strains is all they have ever known. Stop the bullshit trying to stamp it out, and regulate for fuck sake. These problems are caused directly by attempting to restrict supply. Legalise and regulate.

    • Joey

      For a start dealers don’t make high strength strains growers do , and most people can handle their skunk i never met anyone who didnt enjoy smoking it. Maybe its changed from the placebo shiz you used to get.

      • Fafafafafafafafafa

        it’s my perspective you fuckwit, if you can’t understand other peoples perspectives then tough shit. This fucking posturing I read on forums is another problem you pubeless boyz braggin about how much thc you can handle. I KNOW PLENTY of people that don’t like skunk but because we isn’t in with da dudez who is in da know to try different strains when the opportunity arises all we get is dirty skunk. Also look into inhibitors not present in strains like skunk and their effects on people with a tendency towards psychosis. Or come by my way in Hackney and see the zombified kids who stink of weed and haven’t broken into a smile in years, who barely remember who their mother is. Also you come across as about 17 let’s see what your tolerance is like when you’re 50. And some dealers are growers!!!! get back to the xbox Joey.

    • Matthew Mc Mullen

      Your seriously full of shit. Weed is not stronger then it was, proven over and over that yes there is some select strains such as white widow which have higher average percent but these strains were around as early as 1985. Literally this is exactly what they want you to think so that even though you smoked as a young lad, now you can reason to justify your discrimination against current pot users…erhmehgerd they pot is real drug now hur hur I judge.

      • Fafafafafafafafafa


    • Anonymous

      Of course, because having less potent marijuana is the only way to control the high.

      That’s an absurd suggestion; it’s up to an individual’s own responsibility to manage the amount that they smoke. If you have a problem with getting too high because you’re smoking marijuana that’s ‘high strength’, then try smoking less. That way you don’t smoke dirt weed with 10% THC content and 90% plant matter that likes to leave tar all over the inside of your lungs. Take responsibility for your own actions; don’t try to restrict others because you can’t handle your own mind and body.

      • Fafafafafafafafafa

        read into the chemical make up of the different strains and their effects on the brain then come back to me, it’s not all about THC. I’m not attacking strong strains or the really strong minded tough people who smoke them. if you had any retention of memory you might try and understand my point which is this. When drugs are illegal, choice is limited, quality of product is questionable. Legalise it to allow more choice and less occurrence of people who can’t take higher strains of certain drugs from being relegated to take the only option. I take responsibility for my actions everyday, I can handle my own mind and body. You are showing signs of not being able to understand sentences. Doesn’t that concern you?

  • Doryu

    This smells like misinformation and misinterpretation. If you are going to a psychiatric hospital chances are you are “naturally crazy”. Besides EVERY single day researchers and scientists are re-evaluating what really happens in the human body. These people are only human and make mistakes, simply because we don’t have enough information on our own bodies. “We” have become too arrogant because we’re “intelligent”, we don’t know enough and try to explain things to people who aren’t involved in that field and misinterpretations and misunderstandings happen. In research there is VERY rarely a time where we can say: “This is how this works 100% for a fact.” and until you can say that this is a “WHAT WE THINK” moment, thus should be treated as one. Too many people are taking everything way too seriously, ALL I will say to those trashing this post, They are humans and with that goes making mistakes cut them some slack and shrug it off if you don’t believe it

  • Niggjones

    psychosis is what you want to get after smoking a joint….

  • MDP

    the International Journal of Drug Policy… Do you think this journal, the International Journal of Drug Policy has a agenda that is in conflict with the human beings that inhabit the world?

  • Angry Voter

    They found similar behavior with alcohol with underage drinking and during prohibition. People who don’t want to get caught binge consume and smugglers ship the most concentrated product they can.

    Look at Portugal’s success with drug decriminalization. Cannabis displaced heroin and the weird synthetic drugs. Organized crime deprived of revenues dried up and moved to other countries.

  • Hi NSA

    Drug prohibitionist funded drivel. The amount of people treated for side-effects from MARIJUANA are statistically un-trackable due to the simple fact that they are ridiculously uncommon. Compare health care costs of MJ vs. cigarettes, or drinking, or high fat diets.. The cost is about .0000001% vs 1-3%(each) of GDP, yearly AND ZERO deaths (MJ) versus THREE TOP TEN KILLERs. Cigs are killing us in the MILLIONS YEARLY. Quit funding these fools with our money to look for issues with something that is NOT a problem, so they incarcerate us ‘for our own good’.

  • Adam

    I don’t care how many studies are done. When I smoke cannabis I feel better, my pain goes away, and it causes a more spiritual connection. I do not need studies to tell me what it does/how it feels. Its Gods medicine. Why are people lying trying to say its bad for our health, yet ambien, yaz (birth control), nexium, adderall, have side effects and risks of: seizure, sudden death, heart attack, kidney failure, ect.

    The FDA or whatever says what is “safe” and “not safe” is a total lie for profits. Why do they allow alcohol? They know it scars the liver, kills brain cells, yet its legal?

    The side effects of cannabis? Red eyes, munchies, and PEACE. Oh and a body in full homeostasis. Did I mention PEACE? And the level of focus is unprecedented. Your mind becomes free, you become more empathetic and caring. You become MORE intelligent! You actually GROW MORE brain cells.

    Cannabis is medicine. Unlike your manmade poison pills and battery acid cigarettes

    You cant stop legalization, the people demand it, our HEALTH demands it.

    peace and pot

  • fredamae

    Which comes first Psychosis or cannabis use? Are these people seeking relief in cannabis for their pre-existing Psychosis?

  • Dylan Moore

    Haha! Did no one read this part? Read that last sentence. He made it as complicated as he could but basically the researchers just said that cannabis is helping people with psychosis. Haha.


    • Patrick O’Brien

      No. They’re not saying that at all. They’re saying there is a possibility that classification of a drug and its social stigma contributes to paranoia driven psychotic episodes.

  • irnbru

    All these study’s ever do is come up with the same research year in year out.
    Complete waste of money when the benefits of cannabis far out weigh the negatives.I don’t smoke cannabis, and even I can tell something is wrong here.

    People can get really obese and ill from eating chocolate too much but we don’t stop people eating it. To the point where they are depressed if they don’t get there bar of chocolate.

    Stop wasting our time with this pitiful research, the people conducting these so called tests should be ashamed of them self’s as professionals.

  • Michael L. Wallace Jr.

    Dealers were not washing pesticides &/or Herbicides off the plants before sales. inhaling such poison residue creates psychiatric problems not cannabis it’s self. Government Regulated Marijuana would be thoroughly cleaned & THC Levels Controlled. GOV. REG. Hemp & Low THC Sativa should be sold in Grocery Produce Sections. Sativa should be for Recreational Purposes & Indica should be for Medicinal Except when the Benefits of Sativa cures desired symptoms. But this is all only talk Government will refuse to take action until 1. a unified act of violence takes place or 2. Gov. is voted out & new Gov. is created. 1 is more likely because the Gov. will constantly try to keep 2 from happening. Due to Anonymity the Enemy will infiltrate the 2 scenario.

    • kbro

      This is a ridiculous thing to suggest. 99% of the time dealers get it from another source, and to “wash off” anything from weed would mean removing the crystals that give the person a “high.” Also I’ve grown before and never used pesticides or herbicides on my plants, just good ol’ natural H2O and sunlight.

  • Natalie Frenshen

    cough cough bullshit cough cough

  • Kevin

    I’d just like to share my experience with weed as it is a little strange and relates to this.

    When I first started everything was cool until this one time I experienced this “spin-out-high” everyone is mentioning. As in a severely distorted perception of reality. That happened a few times after but never as intense and I had a really hard time coping for a bit even while sober. Somehow I recently got back into smoking pretty frequently and I find it better than ever. I still experience a mildly altered reality from time to time but it’s like I can just tell my mind that this distortion is silly and I move on. Since I’ve been able to conquer this mental instability I find that I’ve been able to expand my mind, learn who I really am and to be smarter in general.

    Personally, I think the best cure is to pursue activities/hobbies that you really enjoy. Psychiatric hospitals should maybe talk to these “affected” people and encourage them to do the things that they really want to do in attempt to help them overcome their problems. I realize that this could take a lot of work but I think it would help a vast amount. At least, that’s my opinion.

    Also there are cases of schizophrenia within my family, if that counts for anything.

  • John Pombrio

    Like many things, alcohol, prescription meds, gambling, cigarettes, or pot, a vast majority of people do not have health issues or adverse reactions. For those unfortunate souls that do have the wrong genes though, these can kill, maim, or ruin your life. Having two alcoholic parents scared me enough to completely stop drinking just in case I inherited this scourge. I have never regretted not being able to drink as I just never wanted to ruin my life over something that I could easily avoid.