Strong cannabis causes one in four cases of psychosis: Users three times more likely

[graham12]

I think the problem with UK tokers especially young ones is dosage. I see it sometimes at parties a big joint will get rolled and someone will have one toke to many and pull a whitey. We didn't start getting good weed where i lived until the late 90s it was mostly low quality hash which had a more mellow high until we got skunk or cheese or whatever the fuck its called these days.
The UK conservative press are getting their backs up at the minute. Its because a more fact based evidenced based policy towards drugs is starting to happen.

 

[Dr.King]

Here we go again. They can't make up their minds, and "Skunk" is the new demon. Tomorrow there will be a new headline.

"As many as a quarter of new cases of psychotic mental illness can be blamed on super-strength strains of cannabis, scientists will warn this week.

The potent form of the drug – known as ‘skunk’ – is so powerful that users are three times more likely to have a psychotic episode than those who have never tried it.

The study, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, will reignite debate around Britain’s drug laws – and will add weight to calls for a tougher stance towards those caught dealing or in possession of cannabis.

According to Crime Survey figures for England and Wales, more than a million youngsters aged 16 to 24 smoke cannabis.

Regular users are most at risk of a psychotic episode, prompting experts to warn that youngsters need to be aware of the dangers of skunk, which has been cultivated to be four times as strong as cannabis smoked by previous generations.

The researchers, led by a team at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, conclude there is an ‘urgent need… to inform young people about the risks of high-potency cannabis’, despite a worldwide trend towards relaxing drug laws.

They will reveal there is a key difference between potent skunk strains and ordinary ‘hash’. Those who used these ‘weaker’ forms did not seem to suffer the same increase in risks.

Psychosis is defined as a form of mental illness where people experience delusions, hallucinations, or both at the same time.

Associated with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, some victims are so badly affected that they end up committing suicide or seriously harming others because they believe they are being ordered to do so by voices in their heads.

The findings will add substance to a 2012 report by the Schizophrenia Commission, which recommended the need for ‘warnings about the risks of cannabis’ to mental health.

That report was chaired by schizophrenia expert Professor Sir Robin Murray, who also played a key role in the new study.

It looked at cannabis use in two groups, each containing about 400 people, from 2005 to 2011. Those in the first group had all suffered ‘first-episode psychosis’ – a diagnosed first occurrence of the disorder.

The second group were volunteers who agreed to answer questions about themselves – including on cannabis use and mental health history.

Some had suffered psychosis, others not. They were not told the nature of the project. The academics found those in the first group were more likely to smoke cannabis daily – and to smoke skunk – than those in the second.

The researchers say: ‘Skunk use alone was responsible for 24 per cent of adults presenting with first-episode psychosis to the psychiatric services in South London.’

The latest research, to be published in The Lancet, concludes: ‘People who used cannabis or skunk every day were roughly three times more likely to have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder than were those who never used cannabis.’

Michael Ellis, a Tory member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: ‘This powerful new study illustrates that those in government and the police must be careful to send out the right message.

‘Cannabis isn’t a harmless drug: it can ruin lives.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hree-times-likely-episode-never-tried-it.html

Video, too....

How can we even take their studies and researches seriously when nearly half of their findings aren't even included in the end result? When research companies research different things they don't always show us all of their findings and studies. Some or a lot of the data that researchers find they may not want people to see or they just act as if it isn't correct. Researchers can be just as corrupt as the government and so many other things that are at the moment. Truth may hurt but just because they are Researchers doesn't always mean they are looking out for peoples overall wellness.

http://www.livescience.com/8365-dark-side-medical-research-widespread-bias-omissions.html

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115754/mice-studies-researchers-are-ignoring-deaths

Can always find more.

 

[jd4083]

"exacerbates" and "causes" are two different things. i think people who are already predisposed to these conditions are the ones displaying symptoms, whether they have used cannabis before their episodes or not.

i don't believe cannabis "induces" psychosis.

i have used the strongest forms of cannabis i could find since 1965 in massive amounts on an almost daily basis and have never had any episodes such as described.

some people shouldn't use cannabis just like some people shouldn't use alcohol.

i would suggest that if you are having trouble handling the "experience" you don't do it anymore.

This is exactly right. It does not induce these various psychoses, it can bring latent issues to the surface and/or exacerbate existing issues.


No comment on the article, I assume it's full of misinformation based simply on the "skunk" thing so not going to waste my time.

 

[Tudo]

Hey !

 

[RetroGrow]

I think the problem with UK tokers especially young ones is dosage. I see it sometimes at parties a big joint will get rolled and someone will have one toke to many and pull a whitey. We didn't start getting good weed where i lived until the late 90s it was mostly low quality hash which had a more mellow high until we got skunk or cheese or whatever the fuck its called these days.
The UK conservative press are getting their backs up at the minute. Its because a more fact based evidenced based policy towards drugs is starting to happen.

If I were in the U.K., I would be much more worried about the Islamization of the country than what people are medicating with. One thing for sure. Under Sharia law, it will be the death penalty for stoners, by stoning.

 

[Heimdallr]

I hope you're just trying to be funny retro grow and you're not actually that much of an ignorant twat.

 

[Mate Dave]

All I know about strong cannabis is I smoke less of it and intern I smoke for fewer hours of the day which gives a better quality of life.. Not to mention a better feeling and an uplifted mood.

Oh yeah and I smoke "Psychosis" for breakfast

"Skunk" for dinner and then I go all crazy and smoke concentrated "Cheese" before bedtime for fun....

I blame the Sam Skunkman for making it the Pukka.....

 

[mukuku]

skunk can lead to murder it's a fact !