cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Use Linked To Schizophrenia 










  Marijuana Use Linked To Schizophrenia 

Posted by CN Staff on November 21, 2002 at 16:07:28 PT
By Steve Mitchell, Medical Correspondent 
Source: United Press International 

Marijuana use in adolescents can increase the risk of developing depression and schizophrenia later in life, suggest three new studies released Thursday.The findings highlight the need for reducing marijuana use, particularly considering the substantial increase among young people in recent years, said Joseph M. Rey, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Sydney who wrote an accompanying editorial to the studies that appear in the Nov. 23 issue of the British Medical Journal.
The connection between schizophrenia and depression and marijuana use has been seen in previous studies and this adds further confirmation of a link, Rey told United Press International. "These findings strengthen the argument for cannabis use increasing the risk of schizophrenia and depression and provide little support for the belief that" people already prone to mental illness are using the drug as a way of self-medicating, he said. But, he noted, "Whether cannabis use triggers the onset of schizophrenia or depression in otherwise vulnerable individuals or whether it actually causes these conditions in non-predisposed people is not yet resolved."Marijuana advocates agreed with Rey the studies did not show a definitive link between use of the drug and mental disorders. "This really does require some further study," Paul Armentano, spokesperson for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told UPI. "We really can't draw any hard and fast conclusions based on the evidence that's out there," he said.Armentano pointed out overall marijuana might be much safer than many commonly used legal drugs. "When you compare marijuana's overall health risks they really seem to be lower than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol," he said. He noted NORML does not advocate marijuana use for adolescents and believes the drug should only be used by responsible adults for recreational or medical purposes.In one study, Stanley Zammit of the University of Wales in Cardiff and colleagues reanalyzed a Swedish study done in 1970 because although the research originally found an association between marijuana use and schizophrenia, there was some concern that the mental disorder could already have been present before the drug use started or it could have been due to other drugs. The reanalysis found that marijuana -- and not other drugs -- most likely accounts for the increased risk of schizophrenia in the more than 50,000 young men who were studied. "Men who had used cannabis by age 18-20 had an increased risk of developing schizophrenia over the next 27 years," Zammit told UPI. "This increase was dose-dependent, in other words the more they had used cannabis, the greater the risk," he said. For example, men who had used it more than 50 times had a 300 percent increase in risk compared to non-users. The risk dropped to a 40 percent increase in those who had used it less than 10 times.Other factors such as personality traits or use of other drugs did not account for the association between schizophrenia and marijuana usage, Zammit said. They also found that marijuana use began before the onset of schizophrenia. "Nevertheless we cannot be certain that the increased risk is due to cannabis -- there could be other explanatory factors we haven't considered or were unable to measure," he said. "Overall though, the most likely explanation for the increased risk is that of cannabis use."The second study of schizophrenia confirmed marijuana use increased the risk of schizophrenia later in life in a group of New Zealand adolescents who ranged in age from 15 to 18. Those who began using marijuana at 15 had the greatest risk of developing schizophrenia as adults. Cannabis use preceded the onset of the mental disorder in this study also."Although most young people use cannabis in adolescence without harm, a vulnerable minority experience harmful outcomes," the researchers, Louise Arseneault of King's College in London, UK, and colleagues, write in the journal. This suggests "policy and law makers should concentrate on delaying onset of cannabis use," they add.In the study showing a link to depression, 1,600 students from 44 secondary schools in Australia were monitored for seven years. Frequent use of marijuana correlated with later depression and anxiety in teenage girls. Daily users had a more than five-fold increase in the risk of developing depression and anxiety later in life. "Measures to reduce frequent and heavy recreational use seem warranted," George Patton, a professor of adolescent health at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Victoria, Australia, and colleagues, write in the journal. From the Science & Technology DeskSource: United Press InternationalAuthor:  Steve Mitchell, UPI Medical CorrespondentPublished: November 21, 2002Copyright 2002 United Press InternationalWebsite: http://www.upi.com/ Contact: http://www.upi.com/about/contact.cfmRelated Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Cannabis & Mental Health - BMJ Reporthttp://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7374/1183Cannabis Link To Mental Illness Strengthened http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14800.shtmlCannabis Could Cure - Wall Street Journal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11398.shtmlCannabis a Medical Miracle - It's Official http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11254.shtml 

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Comment #20 posted by firedog on November 22, 2002 at 15:28:22 PT
Pulling out all the stops
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma GandhiWe're getting close!
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Comment #19 posted by kanabys on November 22, 2002 at 12:04:23 PT
The prohibs are pulling out all the stops!
They are getting desperate, aren't they? :)
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on November 22, 2002 at 12:00:51 PT
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Pot and Mental Health
(CNN) -- Researchers say new findings about marijuana show clear links between its heavy use and serious mental health problems. For more on the new study, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent, joined anchor Bill Hemmer on Friday's American Morning. HEMMER: Let's talk about pot -- what are they saying? GUPTA: First of all, marijuana use in this country is common -- approximately 12 million people in 2001 used marijuana. High school statistics, I think, are some of the most alarming -- 20.1 percent of eighth graders, that number doubles by the time you get to 10th graders, 40 percent of 10th graders say they've used it at least once in the month before they were asked, about 42 percent of seniors. THC is the active chemical in marijuana. This is a chemical that gets in the brain and binds to certain receptors. Those receptors, once expressed have the cellular reactions that cause all of the things associated with a high -- pleasure, difficulties with memory, difficulties with concentration, uncoordinated movements. There are some benefits to marijuana use. It can make cancer chemotherapy patients hungrier -- also in HIV and AIDS patients. But the three studies you are talking about talk specifically about schizophrenia and depression, and the fact that marijuana use earlier in life actually may lead to an increased -- 30 percent increase -- in schizophrenia later in life. They actually looked at 50,000 Swedish military people, and they went back and looked at their histories and found those people who are more likely to use marijuana, both in terms of frequency and amount, are more likely to have the symptoms of schizophrenia. HEMMER: What is the impact on the brain long-term? GUPTA: Well, they talk specifically about the receptors and the THC sort-of interacting. We know it causes all these short-term effects, the ones we just listed. What is it doing to the brain long-term? Schizophrenia is a very complicated diagnosis. You get all sorts of symptoms -- hearing voices, disorganized speech, withdrawal, paranoia, for example. That's a very complicated picture within the brain. The fact that this THC can actually cause these things is just becoming known now. HEMMER: Take it a little deeper on depression, though. GUPTA: Depression, also a very big diagnosis -- roughly 18.8 million in this country have it. Again, they looked this time at 1,600 high school students and followed them over about seven years. This is in Australia, not in the United States. But they actually found that all of these boys and girls, particularly girls, were more vulnerable to the symptoms of depression later on in life again if they were frequent or even daily marijuana users. Trying to piece together exactly the mechanism of how this THC causes these sorts of symptoms is a little more complicated, but that's what they're finding out. HEMMER: You mentioned the benefits that some of the studies talk about. There are major significant movements in this country to get marijuana legalized for medicinal use or other reasons. GUPTA: There are major movements. There is organization called NORML -- National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws. They have gained a lot of press lately about some of the medicinal uses. And marijuana can offer some of those things, especially when it comes to reducing nausea and vomiting, not advocating that necessarily myself. I think there are other ways to do that besides marijuana. There are a lot of short-term effects which may be hard to get around. http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/conditions/11/22/otsc.pot.depression/
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Comment #17 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 22, 2002 at 09:38:23 PT:
Reprise
Here are the links to the PDF's of the 3 articles and the editorial from the BMJ. It is possible that you will not be able to access them without a subscription.
http://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7374/1212.pdfhttp://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7374/1199.pdfhttp://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7374/1195.pdfhttp://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7374/1183.pdfAs usual, this stuff hits the press before we've had a chance to read the original articles. Some of the data was generated via self-reports of drug use, which are notoriously inaccurate.At most, such data can indicate an association, or even what we call "comorbidity," meaning that two "problems" occur in the same patient. However, none of this proves that cannabis produces psychosis.Generically, I can say the following. The issue of cannabis as causing mental illness has been debated for at least 1000 years, usually on the basis of hysteria and myths, such as that of the hashish-crazed assassins. There is no substantiation of the whole story according to the thesis of Michael Aldrich. It is apocryphal. The first serious survey of cannabis in schizophrenia was the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission in 1893-1894. They scoured the country's asylums for cases of cannabis psychosis and came up with a mere handful of cases where there was not some alternative explanation. Their conclusion was that cannabis did not cause permanent harm of this nature. Everyone knows that a rare patient may have a temporary psychosis that seems to be triggered by cannabis overuse. Virtually all recover. This does not require the caging of human beings, especially those who are ill, to protect our society from a rare sequela. In contrast, alcohol clearly rots one's brain in overuse.The same conclusion that cannabis did not "cause permanent psychosis"was reached in the Panama Canal Zone studies in the 1920's and the LaGuardia Commision report of 1944. The IOM in 1999 and the Canadian Senate Report in 2002 came to the same conclusion with lots of other studies inbetween.Some people will have schizophrenia and depression, and in some cases, cannabis will not help, or may even contribute to the problem. However, there is just as much high quality evidence that cannabis ameliorates symptoms for afflicted people. See study by Leweke et al.:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10501554&dopt=Abstract I also address this topic in the cannabis chapter in Handbook of Psychotripic Herbs. Thus the truth on this issue is a shade of gray that is much closer to white than it is to the black that the BMJ, ONDCP and other acronyms espouse. 
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Comment #16 posted by goneposthole on November 22, 2002 at 06:49:24 PT
Yin and yang
Twenty-first Century Schizoid Man.
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Comment #15 posted by kanabys on November 22, 2002 at 05:43:16 PT
suspicious
I am suspicious because we haven't heard anything about cannabis causing schizophrenia for a long time. Now, in this day and age when decrim or legalization is looming, they pull out a swedish study from 1970? 
Does any of this seem a little fishy?
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Comment #14 posted by Patrick on November 22, 2002 at 05:24:00 PT
CNN
Is covering this story right now. To bad they don't cover the truth and the harm caused by prohibition.
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Comment #13 posted by DdC on November 22, 2002 at 02:08:00 PT
New Scientist Fiction...We aim to deliver!
Must be getting musty and mildewy for these aqualungs hoovering over their piles of money in the cold dank dark castle attics. The Randolph Hearst of British Paper and Publishing Empire, how conveeeenient. A friggin advertizement against ganja FARMaceutical competition. And food, fuel and fiber. Chemical Commercials for Shrinks and Industry. The Farben bastards. The U.S. once again embrasses fascism. Re-cycled Nahas dribble. Arrest these muck ruckers. Yellow Journalism International style... UP in a cup International infesting the planet. The cockroaches are really scampering now, shine the light!Peace, Love and Liberty or the Fascist D.E.A.th ... DdCReed Business Information Ltd... New Scientist Creative marketing and effective communication solutions for business today...We aim to deliver what you need to make your business a success through a level of service no other publisher can match.Reed/Elsivier companies
http://www.r-e.com/Morris Tabaksblat 64
Chairman of Reed Elsevier Group plc and Reed Elsevier PLC, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Reed Elsevier NV, since April 1999. Chairman of Unilever NV from 1994 to 1999. Chairman of Supervisory Board of Aegon NV and of the TNT Post Group NV. past-Chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists. Member of International Advisory Board of Salomon Smith Barney and Renault Nissan.
Morris Tabaksblat c/o Reed Elsevier Sara Burgerhartstraat 25 1055 KV Amsterdam, The NetherlandsReed Elsevier is a world leading publisher and information provider, operating in four core segments: Science & Medical  Legal  Education BusinessIts principal activities are in North America and Europe and the company employs approximately 37,000 people.Reed Elsevier's key objective is to be the indispensable source of information-driven services and solutions to its target customers, through the delivery of highly valued and demonstrably superior and flexible solutions, increasingly via the internet. For information about an RBI publication, select from the titles below...
http://www.reedbusiness.co.uk/rb2_about/rb2_about_portfolio.aspPerformance Chemicals (WS)
http://www.performancechemicals.com/History Acquisitions Mergers 
http://www.r-e.com/about/mn_company_history.htmlexcerpts...
http://www.reedelsevier.com/news/fr_press.htmLatest: Harcourt General (science/medical and education) Classroom Connect (education)
1946 Excerpta Medica founded
1937 Joint venture with Nordesmann Publishing Company to establish branch of Elsevier in New York
1931 First attempts by Elsevier at international scientific publishing ventures 
1920 Reed paper mills are constructed at Aylesford, Kent 
1903 Albert E Reed & Co becomes a public company 
1894 Albert E Reed establishes newsprint manufacture at Tovil mill near Maidstone 
Reed International with Elsevier NV (becoming Reed Elsevieras of 1 January 1993)
Big Farm Weekly with Farmers Weekly (business)
Social Worker Today with Community Care (business)
Chemical Insight (business)
Electronic-Business Asia (business)
Reed's publishing activities are formed into two divisions:
Mirror Group Newspapers and IPC 
Reed Paper Limited is formed in Canada to oversee Reed's interests in North America
MEPC-Reed Properties is formed 
Merger of Elsevier Publishing Company NV, North Holland
Publishing Company and Excerpta Media to form Associated
Scientific PublishersName change to Reed Group Limited to reflect the widened product range. Pat Robber(son) and Ralph Reed???1880 Jacobus George Robbers starts a publishing company called NV Uitgeversmaatschappij Elsevier in Rotterdam to publish literary classics and the encyclopedia, Winkler Prins. The name of the company was taken from the 16th century Elsevier family of Dutch booksellers and printers. A division of Reed Business, part of the Reed Elsevier group, Reed Business Information is a powerful grouping in the business to business sector. We have a portfolio of more than 100 market leading magazines, directories, online services, direct marketing services, industry conferences and awards covering over 18 markets in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and South Africa. Publishing many of the leading names in business publishing, including Computer Weekly, Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Community Care, Estates Gazette, New Scientist, Flight International, Kelly's, Kompass, The Bankers' Almanac and Mardev, Reed Business Information has annual sales of £250 million. Our market leadership stems from our focus on customers, innovation and staff development, passion for winning and leveraging the power and global reach of our associate companies in Reed Elsevier.We aim to deliver what you need to make your business a success through a level of service no other publisher can match. Reed Business Information supports the Children's Trust, a local charity at Tadworth, Surrey. There is a separate Investors FAQ 5. What is your policy on community relations? In line with local practice, the separate business units support charities and institutions whose activities are dedicated to, or connected with, the specific industries or communities within which each unit operates. This results in a wide range of philanthropic action. Institutional support...6. Do you publish an environment report? No, we do not produce an overall report for the group as a whole. Reed Elsevier comprises a number of business units, operating in many different countries. Responsibility for complying with the relevant environmental regulations is devolved to the chief executive officer of each unit. 7. I am a student preparing a report on Reed Elsevier, can you provide more financial information than I have already found on this site? No...Philanthropy Roundtable John P. Walters  President 
http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/1.1/pubnote1.htmlACS - Division of Analytical Chemistry - DAC Awards - John P. Walters 1980Monsanto employees and government regulatory agencies employees are the same people!
http://www.monsantosucks.com/revolvedoor.htm
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Comment #12 posted by DdC on November 22, 2002 at 00:03:47 PT
Anyone remember Dr Drew the quack from MTV?
Typical cart before the horse syndrome. I've also run into patients or family members afraid of ganja. More than dealing with the root cause of their illness. Be it depression or mental illness. Attempted suicide or suicide victims treated by these quacks, and instead of dealing with the cause they quickly blame the remedy keeping them alive. ie;Ganja. Then after forced treatment and removal of ganja within 6 months they finish the job ganja prevented. Then again blame the ganja for their deaths to cover their own sorry methods of treatment. Thanks lysergic I've known many patients using ganja for depression. A lot of times the depression comes from Pharmaceuticals. Morphine for one. These quacks are paramount to killers, or at least assessories. The D.E.A.th propaganda does kill. Advocating ganja can only prevent harm. Blaming the dysfunctions on ganja is not going to help the situation of the patient. And caging someone for ganja will cause more depression and mental illness. Fascist media spreading the lies only cloud the issue and allow the scapegoating to cover the asses of quacks not dealing with the root causes. Or getting huge funding to find something negative. How many Pharmaceuticals have caused suicidal feelings? Like blaming ganja for a-motivation wrongly and bassackwards. A-motivational people enjoy the ganja for what it does, relaxes them. Same as it does patients, seniors or workers. Pseudoscience fiction to preserve the D.E.A.th of America. How sick will they get before financing legitimate research and not just end run around the facts getting favorable results? How many will suffer and die in the meantime. Too many people have used ganja safely, for depression and dementia without side effects. I will treat these D.E.A.th people as criminals to humanity. Doctor, cop, teacher or grocery clerks will not spread such filth in my presence. This is a solomn vow. Enough bushit lies. UPI needs to go out of business. As well as the D.E.A.th Merchants. Sickening how they treat citizens in the name of profits...Peace, Love and Liberty or the Sickening D.E.A.thDdCAIDS, DEPRESSION & HUNDREDS OF OTHER PRIMARY MEDICAL USES 
http://www.jackherer.com/book/ch07.html
One well known effect of THC is to life the spirit, or make you "high." Cannabis users in Jamaica praise ganja's benefits for meditation, concentration, consciousness-raising and promoting a state of well being and self assertiveness. This kind of attitude adjustment, along with a healthier appetite and better rest, often represents the difference between feeling like you are "dying of" AIDS or cancer and feeling like you are "living with" AIDS or cancer. Cannabis also eases small pains and some big ones and helps senior citizens live with aches and pains like arthritis, insomnia and debilitating infirmities, and enjoy life in greater dignity and comfort. Legend has it, and medical evidence indicates, that cannabis is the best overall treatment for dementia, senility, and maybe Alzheimer's disease, for long-term memory "gain" and hundreds of other benefits. U.S. statistics of the 1970s indicated that you will live eight to 24 years longer if you substitute daily cannabis use for daily tobacco and alcohol use. New research is outlawed, of course. Depression
http://www.rxmarihuana.com/shared_comments/
depressionanxiety.htm"Behind Czarist 'Truths' - Deception No Way To Wage Drug War," an editorial published by Daytona Beach News-Journal. http://www.n-jcenter.com/2002/Sep/26/OPN2.htm for the complete editorial."The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure." U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Farmer v. BrennanSPR - Stop Prisoner Rape http://www.spr.org/
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on November 21, 2002 at 21:22:10 PT

More Articles
Hi Everyone, Here are two more articles. One from WebMD and the other from The Guardian Unlimited UK. I didn't post them to the front page but archived them because two are enough I think. Maybe these will help with different ideas though.Pot May Cause Depression, Schizophrenia : http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14804.shtmlStudies Link Cannabis Use With Depression: 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14803.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by p4me on November 21, 2002 at 21:12:08 PT

Be sure and note this is UPI
UPI has not had one decent article on the evils of marijuana prohibition. Now how can you talk about the marijuana laws without a one piece about its side effects. They talk about side effects of cannabis like it is the worst thing since alcohol but will not even address the side effects of the evil and malicious laws.If it is from UPI it is propaganda is my belief. Just think of the things they could say and don't- ever.1
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Comment #9 posted by lysergic on November 21, 2002 at 21:03:02 PT

Teenage Use, Depression
I dont know why i am writing this message, but for reason i feel inclined to jump in and say my piece. I am 20, and have been using cannabis since i was 16. I have also suffered from depression, sometimes severe, since I was 14. I found that quickly when I began to experiment with cannabis that it relieved my depression, and I credit it with helping me cope with some very rocky teenage years. I am now a sophomore engineering student, with grades in the top 10% of my class. I also use cannabis almost daily. I know, of course, that our morals/and or good sense say we should keep kids away from this drug, but I couldn't ever in good conscience chastise another teen for using. Undoubtably, everything depends on the person, and some people are able to use cannabis responsibly at 15 while others, no matter how old, will 'abuse the priviledge' so to speak. Heh, I guess this has turned into a sort of rambling essay (no thanks to the large bowl of mid-grade I just smoked). But anyway, thats my two cents.
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Comment #8 posted by John Tyler on November 21, 2002 at 20:57:36 PT

Rehash of old studies
More of the same old cannabis makes you insane stories. Who sponsors these stories? Why do they get desiminated so quickly while reports of benifical cannabis use get "lost"? This is another rehash of old stastics to draw some dubious conclusions. How many people have you know over the years that were insane because of weed? I haven't know any. I don't advocate illegal activity, and certainly not for kids, but is continued cannabis prohibition and jailing users the answer. I think not. 
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Comment #7 posted by afterburner on November 21, 2002 at 19:04:32 PT:

The Existence of Schizophrenia Is Contentious
The so-called connection between cannabis use and schizophrenia is dubious since the very term schizophrenia is disputed by several leading psychiatrists. The following letter to the editor from the Toronto Star, Fri., Nov. 15, 2002 provides further details. 
LTE:Study won't help schizophrenicsRe: UT scientists on track of gene for schizophrenia - Nov.13.The article touting the discovery of a "risk gene for schizophrenia" lacks scientific credibility; it's more evidence of the Star's uncritical support of biological psychiatry.Although I haven't read this particular study by Seeman et al, all previous studies dating back to the 1980s or earlier alleging a genetic basis or "genetic predisposition" to schizophrenia have never been replicated or scientifically supported. I predict the Seeman/U of T study will suffer the same fate.There are no genetic factors in schizophrenia or any other mental illness. Why? Because schizophrenia and mental illness do not exist as diseases, they're metaphors for serious personal or "psychospiritual" crises--Dr. Peter Breggin's apt term.Like hundreds of thousands of other people, I was once falsely diagnosed "schizophrenic" while going through an existential crisis, and tortured with more that 100 subcoma insulin shock treatments.For damning critiques of mental illness, schizophrenia and psychiatric research, read psychiatrist Thomas Szasz's classic works, The Myth of Mental Illness and Schizophrenia: The Sacred Symbol of Psychiatry, John Modrow's brilliant 1992 book, How to Become A Schizophrenic: The Case Against Biological Psychiatry, and Dr. Peter Breggin's 1991 classic, Toxic Psychiatry.To paraphrase Professor Szasz, schizophrenia is another scientific hoax and "medical scandal." Psychiatric patients labelled schizophrenic will get no help from this study and similar ones. The ones benefiting from this "genetic research" are the biological psychiatrists, U of T and the multinational drug companies that make millions of dollars pushing their newest, brain-damaging drugs as "safe and effective antipsychotic medication."A gene for schizophrenia? Ask geneticists like David Suzuki.Don Weltz, Toronto.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.

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Comment #6 posted by AlvinCool on November 21, 2002 at 18:58:26 PT

Depressed or Schizophrenia
Well I've never heard voices in my head but some days I don't shave. I guess that could be not caring about my appearance but since I'm over 40, and schizophrenia is ver rare in people over 40 that don't already have it, I'm home free eh?Then again I get depressed when I think that I will have to work almost my entire life to get in a position to have the government try to force me into a "retirement" home for my own good. MY GOD IT'S GOT ME, I'M DEPRESSED!Luckily the government has treatment for depressed people. PROZIAC, and lots of it. As I stay tanked up on that with some slob making 7 bucks an hour wiping drool off my chin I can be so glad, until my liver fails.BLAH
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on November 21, 2002 at 18:22:32 PT

"We Cannot Be Certain"
Other factors such as personality traits or use of other drugs did not account for the association between schizophrenia and marijuana usage, Zammit said. They also found that marijuana use began before the onset of schizophrenia. "Nevertheless we cannot be certain that the increased risk is due to cannabis -- there could be other explanatory factors we haven't considered or were unable to measure," he said. "Overall though, the most likely explanation for the increased risk is that of cannabis use."So in other words, they don't have a clue. Any thinking person knows that legal pharmaceuticals screw with a person's head far more than cannabis!At the Gates of Tyranny - Welcome to the American Gestapo:
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_1108.shtmlPentagon to Track American Consumer Purchases:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C70992%2C00.htmlFighting terror by terrifying U.S. citizens: 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/11/20/MN218568.DTLMoussaoui's link to 9/11 in doubt:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=676&e=4&u=/usatoday/20021121/ts_usatoday/4641510WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON 9-11?
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/radio-1a.htm9/11 Skeptics Unite:
http://www.osamaskidneys.com/links.htmlThe People's Investigation of 9/11:
http://www.911pi.com/
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Comment #4 posted by DdC on November 21, 2002 at 17:27:12 PT

Dementia Associated With Alcoholism
http://www.ariannaonline.com/discus/messages/4/801.html?ThursdayJune1520000137pmMarijuana vs Alcohol 
http://www.ariannaonline.com/discus/messages/4/800.html?ThursdayJune1520000121pm 
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Comment #3 posted by krutch on November 21, 2002 at 17:22:28 PT:

Another reason to legalize
Interesting that depression seems to result from frequent use of cannabis by teenagers. Legalization and regulation would make it harder for teenagers to get MJ. If we assume that the results of the study are correct, legalization would protect children.The Zammit study seems suspect to me. Just because someone shows no psychotic symptoms before a study starts does not mean that they were not predisposed to schizophrenia, and it does not mean they were not self-medicating. My understanding is that schizophrenia tends to manifest in young adults. A twenty year old could be examined and show no symptoms, and show up a year later with a full blown case of schizophrenia. Little was known about schizophrenia in 1969 when the study was started. Perhaps they just missed the symptoms. The Moffitt study contradicts the Zammit study. They show that self-medicating is a big factor.George Patton's comments seem to indicate that he wanted to prove that a link between MJ use and mental illness exists. This is a bad attitude for a researcher. He should be trying establish whether or not a link exists. When scientists set out to prove something they usually succeed. Whether or not what they "prove"is actually true is another matter.I find the timing of the studies interesting. They were ongoing studies. As soon as Britian starts liberalizing MJ laws they are released. If a scientist was examining his data regularly and noticed this link, you would think he might release some interim results. Are the conclusions the result of creative data interpretation in response to liberalization of drug laws? I wonder if studies on the mental health effects of alcohol exist. I can't imagine that drinking every day would be safe for mental health.
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Comment #2 posted by DdC on November 21, 2002 at 17:20:13 PT

The Blame Game...Preventing Lost Profits...
No Victims Just more Hunches and Theories. Forgetting once again the millions in China, India and throughout the world using without problems. If a minority gets schitzophrenic what causes the majority of others? Should we ban working or religion or maybe childhood altogether? If these unsupervised kids are smoking pot everyday for 7 years where are their parents? How could they observe without intervening? Shoddy Science Fear Muckers afraid of Liberalizing. Same Internationalist behind Waldo's D.E.A.th. Weird how its picked up so fast by UPI and Isreali science gets bumped. Spain discovery of the lost report on shrinking tumors doesn't get mentioned. But oh a way to keep from liberalizing. Front page bushit. About what end result?Marijuana advocates agreed with Rey the studies did not show a definitive link between use of the drug and mental disorders. The total number of high quality studies on cannabis use and mental health disorders remains small, At least on the D.E.A.th list given to use.) stress Rey and Tennant."The overall weight of evidence is that occasional use of cannabis has few harmful effects overall," Zammit's team writes. "Nevertheless, our results indicate a potentially serious risk to be considered in the current move to liberalise...Dr. Anthony Henman: "One of the best effects Marijuana can have in any terminal illness is to produce a degree of euphoria which boosts morale in a depressing situation" Extracting medical symptoms from racist fascism 101 There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Philipino's and Entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others." Harry Anslinger, Commissioner of Narcotics testifying to Congress on why marijuana should be made illegal, 1937.Marijuana" used in treating Parkinson's WASHINGTON, March 24 A marijuana-like chemical in the brain that helps regulate body movement and coordination might be used to treat diseases that produce tics and shaking, such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia, researchers said. Uncontrolled production of dopamine has been blamed for some of the symptoms of schizophrenia and the nervous tics and outbursts associated with Tourette's syndrome."Patients with schizophrenia and other diseases have reported that marijuana appears to relieve some of their symptoms, but scientists have never found a physiological reason why. By understanding how the anandamide system works similarly to marijuana, we can explore new ways to treat these diseases more effectively." Schizophrenia is caused by over exposure to religious fanaticism. Ganja relieves the symptoms.mhoIsn't this child abuse or stalking? Feeding 14 year old kids pot everyday for 7 years?Patton's team followed over 1600 Australian school pupils aged 14 to 15 for seven years. Daily cannabis use was associated with a five-fold increased risk of depression at the age of 20.Banned from growing in the U.S.Hemp grain is the most nutritionally complete seed on the planet for human consumption. Each hemp seed contains 25% protein. This protein is more easily digestible than the protein in soybeans because it contains a perfect ratio of essential fatty acids (EFA's). EFA's are important for strengthening your immune system and protecting you from disease.
Hemp Food Association
 http://www.hempfood.com/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 21, 2002 at 17:00:23 PT

Paranoia
I don't know about this study because I'm not a Doctor but if Cannabis causes depression in a person or paranoia it more then likely is because they are afraid of going to jail if they use it. Just my opinion.
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