Mental health risk & MJ

[Guest]

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...OC_0_US-CANNABIS-PSYCHOSIS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
Brain scans pinpoint cannabis mental health risk

LONDON (Reuters) - Brain scans showing how cannabis affects brain function may help explain why heavy consumption of the drug triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of people, scientists said on Monday.

Psychiatrists are increasingly concerned about the mental health impact of smoking large amounts of modern super-strength marijuana, or skunk, particularly among young people.

Until now, the mechanism by which cannabis works on the brain has been a mystery but modern scanning techniques mean experts can now detect its impact on brain activity.

Professor Philip McGuire and Zerrin Atakan of London's Institute of Psychiatry said their work using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, showed patients given the active cannabis compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had reduced function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region.

This area is associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations.

"What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with how paranoid people became," McGuire told reporters.

Their research will be presented at a two-day International Cannabis and Mental Health Conference at the Institute of Psychiatry this week.

Similar findings from other teams also highlight the link between THC dose and the risk of schizophrenia-like symptoms, conference organizer Professor Robin Murray said.

"It's no longer a contentious issue. The expert community, by and large, accepts that cannabis contributes to the onset of psychotic symptoms in general and the severe form of psychosis, schizophrenia," he said.

DOUBLE-STRENGTH JOINTS

One reason for the growing problem is thought to be the increasing strength of modern strains of cannabis, which are cultivated to produce the maximum amount of THC.

In recent years, the average THC content of marijuana sold in Britain has doubled to 12 percent from around 6 percent, while in the Netherlands it is about 18 percent, Murray said.

Most users of cannabis still do not have a problem with the drug but a minority, possibly because of genetic factors, are vulnerable to long-term damage from modern skunk -- which Murray says is to old-fashioned dope what whisky is to lager.

The rise in THC content is linked with a decline in another active ingredient called cannabidiol (CBD), since the two products compete biochemically inside the cannabis plant.

CBD, which reduces anxiety but does not produce the euphoric high of THC, may help offset some of the paranoid feelings.

Markus Leweke of Cologne University said a clinical trial involving 42 patients showed CBD was as effective as the established medicine amisulpride, sold as Solian by Sanofi-Aventis, in treating patients with psychosis.

"It seems there are good guys and bad guys within cannabis," Leweke said.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

 

[genkisan]

What a total load of stinking bat feces.



It makes me violently fucking sick to see how all these "expert" Corpo-Nazi puppets perpetuate the myth and lie that MJ is illegal because it is such a dangerous drug, and the real reasons are never even mentioned.

Evil fascist Corpo-Nazi malignant goatfucking exploitative lickers of rancid moose jizz.........

 

[Guest]

Science gets peer reviewed in the end, and until someone else shows otherwise, I'm siding with the current scientific evidence...but,

It's unfortunate that anti-pot'ers will use this info to their advantage...but I can't blame the scientists, as long as they are legitimate scientists...they're just doin' science...

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

What a total load of stinking bat feces.



It makes me violently fucking sick to see how all these "expert" Corpo-Nazi puppets perpetuate the myth and lie that MJ is illegal because it is such a dangerous drug, and the real reasons are never even mentioned.

Evil fascist Corpo-Nazi malignant goatfucking exploitative lickers of rancid moose jizz.........

Hey now i like bat feces!!! My ladies love it

Heres the word from some more jizz lappers:


Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'
BBC
Thousands are thought to be dependent on cannabis
Scientists have shown how cannabis may trigger psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

A King's College London team gave healthy volunteers the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

They then recorded reduced activity in an area of the brain which keeps inappropriate thoughts at bay.

THC levels are thought to have doubled in street cannabis in recent years - at the expense of other ingredients which may have a beneficial effect.


If something has an active effect in inducing the symptoms of psychosis after one dose, then it would not be at all surprising if repeated use induced the chronic condition
Professor Robin Murray
Institute of Psychiatry

A separate study has shown that one of these ingredients - cannabidiol (CBD) - has the potential to dampen down psychotic symptoms, and could form the basis of new treatments.

The research will be discussed at a conference on the impact of cannabis use to be held at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College this week.

Dependency

Although figures are not kept, it is estimated that as many as 500,000 people in the UK may be dependent on cannabis.

Increasing numbers of people are seeking help for cannabis problems at specialist clinics. In 2005, only heroin users accounted for a greater proportion of patients.

Experts are concerned that street cannabis is becoming increasingly potent. It is thought that average THC content has risen from 6% to 12% in recent years.

The Institute of Psychiatry study gave THC, CBD or placebo capsules to adult male volunteers who had not abused cannabis.

They then carried out brain scans, and a battery of tests, and found that those who took THC showed reduced activity in an area of the brain called the inferior frontal cortex, which keeps inappropriate thoughts and behaviour, such as swearing and paranoia in check.

The effects were short-lived, but some people appeared more vulnerable than others.

In a second study, a team from Yale University administered THC intravenously.

Even at relatively low doses, they found 50% of healthy volunteers began to show symptoms of psychosis.

Volunteers who already had a history of psychotic symptoms appeared to be particularly vulnerable.

Side effects

A third study, by the University of Cologne, compared the effect of CBD and a commonly used anti-psychotic medicine, Amisulpride, on 42 patients with a history of schizophrenia.

After four weeks both groups showed a reduction in psychotic symptoms, but the CBD group were less prone to side effects, such as muscle stiffness and weight gain.


We strongly urge the government to heed the growing evidence and take urgent action to warn young people that some of them are risking lifelong mental illness
Marjorie Wallace
Sane

The researchers warned that THC and CBD compete with each other biochemically, so a rise in THC levels would blunt any positive impact of CBD.

Professor Robin Murray, a consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry, said the research provided the strongest evidence that cannabis had a significant impact on the brain.

He said proving a long-term effect was extremely difficult, as it was not ethical or feasible to stimulate long-term psychosis in volunteers.

However, he said: "If something has an active effect in inducing the symptoms of psychosis after one dose, then it would not be at all surprising if repeated use induced the chronic condition."

Professor Murray also warned that the high potency cannabis now widely available was likely to pose a much bigger risk to health than the significantly weaker formulations of previous years.

"It is similar to comparing the effect of drinking a glass of wine at the weekend with drinking a bottle of vodka every day."

Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity Sane, called the research a "significant contribution" to the understanding of the dangers of cannabis.

"Sane has been saying for years that there is a link between psychosis and the drug, particularly in its more potent forms.

"We strongly urge the government to heed the growing evidence and take urgent action to warn young people that some of them are risking lifelong mental illness - that they are playing Russian roulette with their minds."

 

[9Lives]

Well maybe they should start educating people about drugs...less is more etc..instead of fear tactics.


..and you dont need an MRI scan to tell you that there is PLENTY of stuff to drive you angry and sometimes insane if you cant handle any more bullshit..once pot screws off the cork from the bottle of ignorance and hypocricy!!!

 

[asa42]

this "research" sure sounds similar to the old studies... what stands out to me is they are administering pills, getting results, then atributing the findings to cannabis. that is BS & not real science!

 

[Guest]

Haven't they hated on cannabis enough?!
I dont ever believe anything really anymore, the government is a load of bullshit and these government funded agencies that hire these scientists to lie are too! Even if it did, its only in a small few, that's like getting rid of peanutbutter because people are allergic...

 

[Guest]

I trust the beauty of peer-reviewed science to weed out any bad claims made, in time, but I personally would rather have all truth about MJ let out, good and bad, rather than be kept in the dark shielding myself from everything bad about MJ.. It's a great thing that science is being conducted on MJ...years ago that was pretty much unheard of...and still is, for the most part, in the US

 

[Guest]

I trust the beauty of peer-reviewed science to weed out any bad claims made, in time, but I personally would rather have all truth about MJ let out, good and bad, rather than be kept in the dark shielding myself from everything bad about MJ..

I agree on the last part, but what is peer-reviewed science?

 

[Guest]

The basic way science works is that one group will study something, put forth a hypothesis, test to see if that hypothesis is true or not, and then publish the evidence and procedures etc etc....

then, other scientists (peers) around the world will review those publications and either challenge or accept the claims made by that first group who published something....if the majority of the scientific community supports the evidence, then that data is considered to hold weight until someone successfully challenges it.

the problem is that if a scientist puts forth bad data, the public may believe it without realizing that the data is widely unaccepted....example: global warming

wikipedia: peer review: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_review

 

[SEEDYNONO]

i'm grateful for the study.

 

[Guest]

i have been around a few people who completely lose it when they get high...like this one girl i got high acted so fucking weird and bizarre after i got her high once that i have refused to get her high ever since...i do think that certain people are predipsosed to not being able to handle pot but they can't handle a lot of things...i had another girl i was dating be a total weirdo and get all frigid and paranoid when we smoked pot so i started refusing to get her high as well, i just couldn't take it...

an interesting correlation between the two were that they had both voluntarily committed themselves for a few weeks due to 'personal problems' before i had met them...both of them were highly unstable people and completely capricious when it came to arguments or taking offense at stupid irrelevant shit or whatever...i kind of think people like this shouldn't take any mind altering substances at all, including weed...that is just my opinion but when it happens to be my call on whether or not an unstable or potentially psychotic person is going to get high or whatever i have no problem saying 'no way'...

 

[Guest]

If I quite smoking for a length of time, when I start again I feel much more overwhelmed and intense about a situation but after smoking for maybe 3 or 4 days I am completely normal and most often lack even the munchie effect.
However, I am no good with hallucinogens and thus I am not interested in them since they bring me nothing but inflection.

I think in a sense this points out the obvious that experienced smokers have known for years. If you are one of the "paranoid types" then you are best off not smoking. Most people aren't the paranoid types but everyone knows one of them.

J.

 

[9Lives]

Nugalicious i know the type..and honestly they piss me off..I mean how are we supposed to have a democtatic society with people like that ? They get nuts about their own petty problems so how are they supposed to deal with bigger global problems and horrors of this world ?? People like that make tyrants possible...

I can take heavy doses of shrooms and any psychedelic they throw at me..and still keep my feet on the ground and keep level head after i come down. They freak out if some one makes a comment about their shoes..

Sorry for the rant..

 

[Guest]

I can handle myself but I'm known for getting crazy at parties which is a reason why I dont really like to party cause they are expecting something out of me when I just like to relax.

 

[asa42]

but how can these be called MJ research when MJ was not used? pills are not the same.

 

[Guest]

I get it now. I think they're trying to say to all the paranoid stoners they should let let their plants flower for longer to get more cbd which has an anti-paranoia effect.

 

[asa42]

well, that i can do.

 

[Guest]

9Lives glad to hear someone else knows what i'm talking about! i find when getting into weird petty arguments with those kinds of people i often think it feels kind of like a bad trip; surreal, irritating, interminable and a huge waste of time and mental energy...the funny thing is when u try to disengage from those types of people and just get away from them then they get all clingy and act like you're abandoning them, then if u start talking to them again all of sudden there is some weird crisis that conflagrates out of nothing...i used to think astrology was bullshit but now i do prefer if the girl i'm dating was born in the first third of the year...i won't even call a girl if she's a scorpio (sorry to offend but IME they're powder kegs)...

 

[page1]

what they don't say is how only a small amount of people who smoke cannabis will get this and all those people would have eventualy got the mental illness but cannabis just speeds up the proces for some reason.

And does this mean that holland is full of phsycotic people? - i dont think so.