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Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

bloomberg.com

51–60 of 304 posts

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#51

This isn't news. The link between schizophrenia and cannabis use was known in mental health world before it was ever made illegal. The legalization crowd wouldn't promote that. The news is the problem is increasing and a 3 in 10 chance of males becoming schizophrenic is a reason to avoid it. Now I wonder what the correlation of cannabis use to active shooter incidents is?

> Now I wonder what the correlation of cannabis use to active shooter incidents is?

Uh, is it even reasonable to try and find these correlations? We could probably say that the vast majority of mass shootings were conducted by somebody who had previously used ibuprofen or drank alcohol. Is that meaningful or even useful information?

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the idea of not capping anything. Live and let live.

This will likely lead to a competitive race of stronger and stronger potency. Market dynamics aren't neutral.

i think we've already approached an asymptote on thc in modern cannabis at like 30% max. people are instead moving towards ingesting concentrates (dabbing) pure/live extracts or rosins.

you say "likely lead to a competitive race" as though that hasn't already been going on for the last decade or more. it's happening now, and has been happening for a long time. it makes sense for everyone to produce a higher yielding plant. it's more efficient, less biomass waste, less physical footprint required, etc.

a lot of medical cannabis patients require very high doses of THC. if you are a caregiver who can only grow X crops per year, legally, you want them to produce as much as possible. this sort of regulation is just bonkers. let people live. let the experiment play out. stop regulating out of fear.

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What we have now isn't what we the general public aimed to legalize I don't think the general public knows (or cares) much about potency, actually. Also, they were plenty aware that legalization wouldn't stop a certain segment of the population from harming themselves through overconsumption, no matter what was done to try to convince them otherwise.

> I don't think the general public knows (or cares) much about potency, actually. Disagree. I think recreational cannabis users are well aware of potency. Here in Canada, all cannabis products have the THC/CBD content on the label, and our shops offer strengths across the spectrum, according to preferences. Admittedly, some users will get "the strongest available", but the people I know have specific preferences. Hav…

I think recreational cannabis users are well aware of potency.

The general, non-using public I (and the commenter above) were talking about.

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the idea of not capping anything. Live and let live.

This will likely lead to a competitive race of stronger and stronger potency. Market dynamics aren't neutral.

No, it will lead to a saturation level (or S-curve).

There are biological limits to potency - probably about the level of where we are now, in fact.

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#56

Original journal article (apparently not linked to in the Bloomberg piece): Association between cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia stronger in young males than in females (May 4 2023) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medici... Interestingly, the journal article doesn't bother to mention how cannabis use disorder (CUD) is defined; however, Bloomberg's description "frequent use despite negativ…

Oh that's interesting. I thought the linked review study was what they were referencing. Why would they reference a study as the basis for the entire article without linking to it? .-.

This really seems like bad journalism for the sake of clickbait.

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#57

Interesting. My dad developed schizophrenia in his twenties and had been smoking a lot of marijuana. I have always wondered if the smoking triggers something in him. I will always wonder.

I’m curious how we could ever reasonably parse cause and effect here? I think it’s possible smoking a lot of marijuana triggers something in certain people that causes schizophrenia but I also think it’s possible that people in the early stages of schizophrenia might seek out marijuana as a way of self-soothing. Or maybe it could even be a bit of both?

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#58

Original journal article (apparently not linked to in the Bloomberg piece): Association between cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia stronger in young males than in females (May 4 2023) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medici... Interestingly, the journal article doesn't bother to mention how cannabis use disorder (CUD) is defined; however, Bloomberg's description "frequent use despite negativ…

Indeed. Shameful level of journalism. Every time I see reporting relating to health science I expect this and it is generally the case, it is so disappointing.

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#59
post #5

I really recommend people interested in Schizophrenia to read the book “Hidden Valley Road”. I saw it recommended in a HN comment previously. The book follows an American family who gave birth to 12 children, 6 of whom were later diagnosed with schizophrenia in their teens. It’s interesting because the book gives lots of insight into the historical to modern research on the condition. In the past psychologists though…

Interestingly, schizophrenia is really rare in accounts before the 1800s. It appears to be a modern disease, which would make it seem like it would be environmental. Another interesting thing about schizophrenia is it's much more common in cities, even after controlling for drug use and ethnicity[1]. Which again makes it seem like something that was rare in the past. [1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-b…

Does it show schizophrenia is caused by living in the city or does it show that cities tend to have more homeless people?

Re: Heavy marijuana use increases schizophrenia in men, study finds

#60

Original journal article (apparently not linked to in the Bloomberg piece): Association between cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia stronger in young males than in females (May 4 2023) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medici... Interestingly, the journal article doesn't bother to mention how cannabis use disorder (CUD) is defined; however, Bloomberg's description "frequent use despite negativ…

How is 'negative consequences' defined? I think its interesting that young males experience it more than young females, but it does make me wonder if 'negative consequences' is a boundary defined by society that these young males are choosing to ignore and thereby self selecting into another hazily defined illness.
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