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Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

cnn.com

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Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#2

Post by hereforphone »

I can only speak from personal experience, which is of course limited. I smoked occasionally in my 20s, but not since (I'm middle-aged now). I've been friends and acquaintances with many people that smoke a lot. I see a trend among these people - not necessarily schizophrenia (I'm not a psychologist and probably wouldn't even notice a mild case) - but instead a consistent arrogance and self-importance. It's peculiar - they may be contributing very little to society (or maybe a lot), but regardless there's a sense of superiority that seems to crop up among them all. Maybe even narcissism?

I could be completely wrong. I don't express this to assert it, but rather to ask if anyone else has noticed anything similar.

Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#5

Post by warent »

hereforphone wrote: post #2

I can only speak from personal experience, which is of course limited. I smoked occasionally in my 20s, but not since (I'm middle-aged now). I've been friends and acquaintances with many people that smoke a lot. I see a trend among these people - not necessarily schizophrenia (I'm not a psychologist and probably wouldn't even notice a mild case) - but instead a consistent arrogance and self-importance. It's peculiar…

That just sounds like people in their 20s in general, even without weed. Marijuana might make it seem worse because stupid ideas sound much more profound when we're high

Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#6

Post by hereforphone »

warent wrote: post #5
hereforphone wrote: post #2

I can only speak from personal experience, which is of course limited. I smoked occasionally in my 20s, but not since (I'm middle-aged now). I've been friends and acquaintances with many people that smoke a lot. I see a trend among these people - not necessarily schizophrenia (I'm not a psychologist and probably wouldn't even notice a mild case) - but instead a consistent arrogance and self-importance. It's peculiar…

That just sounds like people in their 20s in general, even without weed. Marijuana might make it seem worse because stupid ideas sound much more profound when we're high

Good point, I had in mind friends / acquaintances from 20s to 50s however.

Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#7

Post by hart_russell »

I think it's too common a sentiment that psychoactive substances like cannabis and psilocybin are harmless and in fact are good for mental health. I've had adverse mental reactions to both and I would caution people with family history of anxiety.

Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#8

Post by micromacrofoot »

warent wrote: post #3

This would not surprise me at all. But I'm curious to know if they got the causation backwards. Maybe people with schizophrenia just have a higher likelihood of smoking marijuana

Yeah this is often the debate. Many schizophrenic people self-medicate with drugs and alcohol before they've been diagnosed, so it's very hard to get a clear picture.

The "component cause" makes sense... marijuana and other psychedelics don't necessarily cause schizophrenia in most people, but for some people it may serve as a trigger. There's some evidence that trauma in childhood may have a similar impact.

Re: Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise, study finds

#9

Post by sharklazer »

warent wrote: post #3

This would not surprise me at all. But I'm curious to know if they got the causation backwards. Maybe people with schizophrenia just have a higher likelihood of smoking marijuana

I'm curious about alcohol and tobacco usage as well. Tobacco usage in mentally ill has generally been higher. It could simply reflect over all trends in substance choices depending on availability. So many variables unaccounted for.
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