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Marijuana Makes You Crazy, Says New Study (Yeah, Tell us Something we Don't Know)

Categories: Marijuana

marijuana joint psycho with a heart.JPG
psycho with a heart
Marijuana might be medicine of sorts in California, but a growing body of research suggests that it ultimately might make you crazy. (Not that other prescriptions drugs can't do their own voodoo on your head).

A study analyzing the MRI scans of a small sample of weed users unleashed this week concludes that "THC significantly increased the severity of psychotic symptoms ... "

Maybe that's not enough of a warning to get you to stay away from the dispensaries, but ...

... the research by Sagnik Bhattacharyya, a psychiatry professor at King's College in London, states that THC was linked ot the brain "region" known to be home to "psychotic symptoms."

Published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the study concludes that "THC may increase the aberrant attribution of salience and induce psychotic symptoms ... "

We have qualms with the research, however. It only looked at 15 "healthy men" who are occasional pot users. That's a pretty small sample size.

Still, we all know that marijuana can make us at least temporarily pscyho or, as Cypress Hill put it, "insane in the membrane." And who could forget the Black Eyed Peas' command, "Let's Get Retarded?"

Yeah, we should know by know what we're doing when we self medicate: Killing me softly, one brain cell at a time.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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19 comments
Solar_Eclipse
Solar_Eclipse

My friend has been smoking pot every day for the last 4 years. I would
say lately he's been smoking a lot of high quality weed. Recently in the
past month he has been saying that people are controlling his mind and
thoughts, and that he has the urge to beat the shit out of certain
people. Ive also noticed that he is very interested and concerned with
conspiracy theories that seem riduculous. Is my friend loosing his mind?
Does this new study actually shed light on his problem? Or is he
telling the truth, and people are actually controlling his mind...?

Erica
Erica

you're wrong about the vitamin C. it never kills anything except free radicals. Taking too much vitamin C would only produce diarrhea. And too much vitamin C would be about 15g daily.

Flipsniggles
Flipsniggles

Like every asshole in the world I have my opinions too :)  So here's mine.  I've been on and off the pot for 20 years.  Does my experience reflect that of the entire world population?  Nope.  Neither does a handfull of people's experience in some small scientific study.  I, like many marijuana users who would agree with me have dealt with psychological dependency.  Yes, I've had withdrawals when coming down.  Many defenders of the right to smoke would say, why ever quit?  Why don't you just keep on tokin so you can sleep good at night.  Well let's see.  First of all, there's anxiety - what is anxiety? - it is a psychosomatic disturbance in the hippocampus region of the...  what?  Oh shit, I just made up a line of complete bullshit that actually appears on the surface as being intelligently written.  This is why I take what I read (positive or negative) regarding any subject on the internet with a grain of salt.  Supporters and opposers alike are guilty of propaganda and bias.

Therefore, it's the individual experience that should count for anyone seeking knowledge.  Now, if i see monkey jump off cliff and turn into splat on rock, will I jump too?  Hmm... marijuana it seems is not that extreme and is subject to a lot of debate as to long term and short term effects, benefits vs costs.  In my experience, I've had good and bad effects from pot.  In the end, I always find, that the bad outweighs the good FOR ME.  I also KNOW that I'm not alone in this, and would venture to say that many pot advocates are people who are defending a marijuana dependency to the death.  Is it as bad as crack, meth, pills, or booze?  Probably not.  Should it be as legal as booze, IMO, absolutely!!!!!!!!!!

Aside from legalities, I've known several people who started smoking pot as teenagers and didn't take long breaks from use (1 year or more) as I have.  Most of those people didn't seem to really grow up emotionally.  WTF did you say???  Now you're pissing me off dude, right?  Where's your evidence to support this?  Well, since the pot smoking community tends to only favor scientific data that shows the health benefits of smoking pot, I won't bother with trying to dredge any studies up, because you'll say it's full of holes anyway.  Therefore, all I will do is give you my personal experience, take it or leave it. 

The chronic pot heads I know didn't stop living and learning all together but it limited very much their ability to absorb and assimilate the information of day to day experience.  This has led them to being (emotionally) still like teenagers in a lot of ways.  They live in the day to day bubble of a pot induced perceptual filter.  Grandiose thinking abounds and whimsicle plans are cooked up that rarely materialize in the real world - this is what I've seen among most chronic heavy users of pot - including at times in myself.

My experience: For me, when i smoke it usually doesn't take long to notice things starting to slide sideways.  First my short term memory starts going out the window.  After a while this plateaus and I reach a stage of "if i don't remember, oh well, fuck it".  It conveniently helps me to forget life, if that's what I want.  Of course, if life really does suck then I guess that's a good thing.  In my case, I don't believe life sucks - regardless of circumstances, because I believe that circumstances change based on what a person attracts - change thinking and life follows suit.  So, I prefer a sharp memory and the ability to recall information on the spot that may be stored in some distant corner of my mind which is very helpful in many situations.  Now, some pot defenders will say - I don't have that problem.  Well, I have a couple questions for ya.  Is it because in the daytime you're highly stimulated by a good sativa?  What happens when you smoke a stoney indica?  Or what happens when you stop altogether for a few days for a tolerance break?  Do you ever get the fog?  Dude, where are your car keys right now? Lol...

I believe that it is very rare for there to be no negative side effects with pot use.  For me, there are withdrawals and like with any other drug, they suck until they go away.  Pot takes a long time to clear out of the system (lipophilic) which makes the withdrawals not intense but they take a long time to go away.  I suffer axiety, depression, insomnia, irritability, and brain fog from hell when coming down from pot.  It takes an entire month for the withdrawals to completely subside, and that's if I'm not using heavily.  While using pot: short term memory is reduced, I become more detached from the world, my relationships suffer, I'm more irritable because life seems more unorganized, chaotic, and uncoordinated in general (inside and out), I experience heightened paranoia and (depending on the strain) more or less anxiety.

After I've been off pot for over a month most of these symptoms clear up and I become generally more productive and happy.  So, why do I go back occasionally?  Very good question.  For me I think its the idea of how I felt when I was about eighteen to twenty when my love affair with Mary Jane started.  Oh how the years in this world change a person.  I don't have that kind of energy anymore and even if I did, my mind has changed so much since then.  I don't get the geeked out laughing fits and seeing trippy mild hallucinations of cartoon images of morphing and laughing superman smiley faces, etc.  Now, I think about bills, and responsibilities, and feel a since of doom that all I'm trying to achieve will fail miserably.  The problem is that I have so much responsibility.  If life was all about getting up everyday, sitting on a beach playing guitar and eating mangos, shit, pot might be wonderful for me, but like most American's, I've bought into the system.  I think it is the pressure to conform to the established system of capitalism and the guilt of what we do to the planet that makes me paranoid when I smoke in my late 30's.  When I was 18 I didn't care, and I had a fucking great time!!!  So, I think that's why I go back to it, trying to experience that care free attitude again and really enjoy myself.  "what in the world ever became of sweet Jane, she lost her sparkle, well you know she isn't the same" ~ The Grateful Dead

So, keep on tokin year in and year out but ask the question: Does the good truly outweigh the bad for me?  If it does, then you have no reason to stop.  My advice is to ask that question honestly to yourself, your spouse if you have one, and anyone else close to you.  If your friends and loved ones say that you're better off on the pot than off the pot, then are they talking about a week off the pot or two to three months off of it?  More than likely you'll be worse off without it in a week and better in a month or two after your mind/body has adjusted to being off of it.  If you really could care less, then why did you read this entire post?  Ultimately, I'm not saying pot is good or bad, it's overall not good for me and a lot of people agree with me on that. 

jim
jim

Who wrote this article and are they stupid or something???? Do some research first, then come talk to me.. Hundreds of doctors have said medical marijuana doesnt make people crazy or everyone from the 1970's would be crazy as well.. Marijuana doesn't kill brain cells, if you looked at the actual study that they did you can see that they used monkeys that had thc tank with a mask stuck on their face.. Since they were only getting the thc and no oxygen, that is what killed the brain cells because without oxygen brain cells die. Many doctors have agreed so look it up and shut up if you dont know that facts. 2nd the USA did a secret study on marijuana and after the scientist were done they concluded that they couldnt put lung cancer and marijuana together, as well as many other facts. Once the government learned these facts, they shut down the program indefinetly. The only real reason the government does NOT want marijuana around is money. The government is greedy and wants people to take pills and have liver problems instead of growing a natural plant.HERE IS A QUICK TRUE STORY. A MAN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE WORST BRAIN TUMOR EVER, WITH 3 MONTHS TO LIVE OR 12 MONTHS TO LIVE IF THEY DID RADIATION AND BRAIN SURGERY. INSTEAD THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS SMOKED MARIJUANA EVERY DAY THROUGH OUT THE DAY AND HAS BEEN FOR OVER " 7 " YEARS !!!! THATS RIGHT 7 YEARS .. TELL THAT TO YOUR STUDY OR THE IDIOT THAT MADE UP THIS FAKE STORY..MEDICAL MARIJUANA HELPS WITH : ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, SHRINKS MILIGNANT TUMORS, HAS ANTI DIABETIC PROPERTIES, HELPS WITH STRESS, NAUSEA, BULIMIC, PMS, ANGER, BIPOLAR, BACK PAINS OR ANY OTHER TYPES OF PAINS, HELPS CANCER PATIENTS EAT, ISOMNIA, HELPS REDUCES THE CHANCES OF WOMEN GETTING BREAST CANCER AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS..

ALSO PEOPLE DONT JUST SMOKE MARIJUANA, THEY CAN EAT IT IN ANY TYPE OF FOOD YOU CAN INMAGINE LIKE CHOCOLATE, SALAD DRESSING, THC BUTTER TO PUT IN FOODS, THC PIZZA AND ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF. AS WELL AS PEOPLE WHO DONT WANT TO SMOKE MARIJUANA CAN SIMPLY PUT THE LEAVES AND RUBBING ALCOHOL IN A GLASS CONTAINER AND 2 WEEKS LATER YOU HAVE THE TOP OF THE LINE PAIN RELIEVER OR USE SPRAYS AND LOTIONS THAT REDUCE PAIN, INFLAMATION AND SOOTHS SORE MUSCLES..

I CAN TELL YOU ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE GOOD FOR THIS AND YOU CANT EVEN TELL ME A SINGLE FACT THAT WOULD CONTRADICT MY STATEMENTS. JUST TO ADD THAT THOSE SONGS BY ICP AND BLACK EYED PEAS WERE SONGS TITLES AND THATS ALL THEY WERE. SO DO US ALL A FAVOR AND DO SOME RESEARCH FOR YOURSELF DENNIS ROMERO BEFORE YOU WRIGHT AN ARTICLE AND MAKE YOURSELF LOOK LIKE A JOKE........

TRY WRITING AN ARTICLE ABOUT GETTING RID OF SUDAFED BECAUSE THATS THE MAIN INGREDIENT FOR CRYSTAL METH .. ITS THAT SIMPLE, NO MORE SUDAFED MEANS NO MORE CRYSTAL METH..

Ninja
Ninja

You talk a load of rubbish

Debfrmgp
Debfrmgp

Marijuana does not make you crazy or lazy or dangerous, We have some of the smartest most productive and caring people that you will ever find, If one does there research they would see this and maybe find the truth more interesting,, If you want to find true research that has been done throughout the years, Please google "Granny's List",, You will be amazed at all the research that has been done on medical marijuana throughout the years.. And for your information, I have been an mj user for almost forty years now, I have never been and am not now crazy, I have always worked and continue to be a productive person. I brought up four lovely children who now have families of their own and they too work hard. I must of done something right while using mj medically or for recreational times..

Matthew Barnes
Matthew Barnes

Mr. Romero you are not a neuro-psychologist and your interpretation of the study is patently false. Attenuation of regions does not define behavior. The only thing demonstrated (poorly, this is not a study, it was a fishing expedition) is that THC-delta9 affects receptors in the brain in which one function is salience.

The study does not even try to demonstrate if the effect causes more or less. The effects would also be different in people. There are psychologists that have recorded successful treatment of psychotic symptoms with marijuana.

With the issues we are confronting right now, your careless post provides ammunition to people that would rather see cancer patients starve and waste away than let them use that "devil weed". There is a word for people who give medical advice that they pull out of their ass: Dangerous.

Rekomstop024
Rekomstop024

Agree completely with you Matt. As some strains of cannabis are used medicanaly as anti- psychotics pineapple express is one of these strains. Also works as neuro protectants for patients suffering with ms. When taking vitamin c in pill form if you take too much of it it may cause cell damage. This is because the vitamin c is not in natural form But vitamin c taken naturally as eating an Orange your body discards the vitamin c that can not be absorbed and no harm to your cells. Natural medicne is the way to go. Pills are bad. The only thing that is crazy here is not the plants but the people who created this reefer madness and the people who buy into it. The study above is basicly useless as the test group is too small there is no control group and there is no pretense as if family history of psychological illness. And the 15 subjects were not tested over a large amount of time. Besides their psychotic symptoms were not listed. So maybe they were drinking well water that was too close to a fracking site.

Dennis Romero
Dennis Romero

Matthew:

I never claimed to be a "neuro-psychologist." I simply reported on this study and even used its own words: ""THC significantly increased the severity of psychotic symptoms ... "

If you have a problem with that, contact the author of the study.

Matthew Barnes
Matthew Barnes

Dennis, I do have a problem with the authors of the study, and I have contacted them. It is irresponsible to talk about the increase of symptoms in a non-statistically significant sample in any science. Scientifically this study and article was an exploration of curiosity at best and demonstrated nothing of any value. A sample of 15 people is more a lark than a study.

I hope you will forgive my forwardness. We are in a state of heightened excitement as the federal government is paying for false studies and a PR campaign to undermine medical marijuana. Disinformation designed to vilify it unfairly is rampant in hacks selling their reputations for some quick cash. I may have been unduly rash in my response to you.

Mom Where's My Bong?
Mom Where's My Bong?

Well, here we go again back to the days of "Reefer Madness." And all this time I thought alcohol abuse led to madness. My Bad!

esotericknowledge
esotericknowledge

I have a problem with the last line that says marijuana kills brain cells, because it's a complete lie.  It's a claim from an old "study" used during the Regan era, the "scientists" suffocated monkeys with smoke and igorantly claimed because it's because of marijuana, not from a lack of oxygen.  Examine these "studies", people are so bigoted against marijuana that some people will set their brains on a shelf to confirm their bigoted attitude, and make illogical leaps and bounds, and flat out lies, and call it a "study".

hengdoo
hengdoo

You know that really makes a whole lot of sesne dude, I like the sound of that.www.Total-Privacy dot US

Guest
Guest

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."-CharlesBukowski

wifiepooh2558
wifiepooh2558

Are they doing this "study" on weed or THC... I have a feeling that if this is even remotely true, they done it on isolated THC only ... without other cannabinoids, yeah it can have some worse effects - BUT so can isolated vitamin compounds as well ... things are meant to be used in natural form !

Ivy Miller
Ivy Miller

I am a 26-years-old servicewoman(working in Air Force), cute and charming but still single. I am seeking one who can give me real love, so Ijoined in the online service --Kissinguniform.c0m--. It's a 10-year-old clubfor uniformed personnel finding their intimate lovers. Well, being in militaryservice does not mean to be lonely; you can meet the Mr. or Miss Right there.

p.s. The admirers of thoseuniformed person are also warmly welcome,there are lots of servicemen and women there.

Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre

Does Dennis Romero get paid to write?  This article, essentially, says nothing.  Well done.

Dennis Romero
Dennis Romero

I do. Thanks Dre. Loved you from your leather pants, disco-rap, L.A. Dream Team days.

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