6 ms·

Isn't it established since about 25 years that any drug-use can bring onset of schizophrenia in those vulnerable?

by _98fj 10y ago

saalaa 10y ago
In fact it's highly debated by psychiatrists and social workers. They argue that Marijuana consumption forces many to maintain some form of social links which, were it not for Marijuana, they very likely wouldn't (I'm specifically talking about schizophrenia cases here).
- andai 10y ago
  More info? That sounds fascinating. Mini anecdote: met a very friendly schizophrenic guy in a coffeeshop who got really paranoid and uncomfortable after he smoked... and apparently he smoked all the time.
- reflexive 10y ago
  Marijuana consumption forces many to maintain some form of social links Ironically, that's only true when marijuana is illegal, hence a poor argument for legalization. Legal substances may be easily purchased with minimal social interaction.
DanBC 10y ago
The correlation between drug use and schizophrenia is very clear. There's considerable debate about the causality. Does psychosis cause people to smoke more cannabis? (It causes people to smoke more cigarettes). Does cannabis cause people who would not have had psychosis otherwise to get it? Or does cannabis just bring out an underlying psychosis that the person probably would have experienced anyway? It's probably a bit complicated, with circular stuff going on. While I'm strongly in favour of legalisation of all drugs I am a bit worried when some of the legalise crowd refuse to accept that there might be health risks. (I'm also frustrated when the anti crowd refuse to accept that the situation is probably a bit more complicated than "drugs make you mad")
- kolinko 10y ago
  Speaking of smoking cigarettes - there is an excellent paper outlining all the neuropsychiatric diseases where smoking may be actually a method of a self-medication. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f961/639e2a998d275f3e8f8f4ccb41564a00d63f.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f961/639e2a998d275f3e8f8f4c...
- kahnpro 10y ago
  Or is it that people who have schizophrenia often belong to social classes that are more likely to use drugs? If poor people are more likely to use drugs, and poor people also have a higher incidence of schizophrenia, you could arrive at this correlation even if marijuana and psychosis are entirely unrelated.
  - mistersquid 10y ago
    Marijuana use actually may be more strongly correlated to higher socioeconomic status than lower. A quick Google search for "drug use by socioeconomic status" turns up a 2012 article titled "Socioeconomic Status and Substance Use Among Young Adults: A Comparison Across Constructs and Drugs" [0] which concludes, in part > Findings based on three indicators of family background > SES—income, wealth, and parental education—converged in > describing unique patterns for smoking and for alcohol and > marijuana use among young adults, although functional > relationships across SES measures varied. Young adults with > the highest family background SES were most prone to alcohol > and marijuana use. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410945/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410945/ EDIT: Change lede.
  - Broken_Hippo 10y ago
    Poor folks aren't more likely to use drugs: It seems that drug abuse is actually pretty common through society, but with poor folks using the least - mostly because drugs cost money. Poor people are more likely to get caught for using drugs, however, simply because of living spaces. You and a couple friends wanna get high? Low income, you might be in a car, on the corner, or in an alley. Higher income, you might be in your basement or pretty private backyard.
- 10y ago

Isn't it established since about 25 years that any drug-use can bring onset of schizophrenia in those vulnerable?

by _98fj 10y ago

Isn't it established since about 25 years that any drug-use can bring onset of schizophrenia in those vulnerable?

In fact it's highly debated by psychiatrists and social workers. They argue that Marijuana consumption forces many to maintain some form of social links which, were it not for Marijuana, they very likely wouldn't (I'm specifically talking about schizophrenia cases here).

andai 10y ago
More info? That sounds fascinating. Mini anecdote: met a very friendly schizophrenic guy in a coffeeshop who got really paranoid and uncomfortable after he smoked... and apparently he smoked all the time.
reflexive 10y ago
Marijuana consumption forces many to maintain some form of social links Ironically, that's only true when marijuana is illegal, hence a poor argument for legalization. Legal substances may be easily purchased with minimal social interaction.

DanBC 10y ago

The correlation between drug use and schizophrenia is very clear. There's considerable debate about the causality. Does psychosis cause people to smoke more cannabis? (It causes people to smoke more cigarettes). Does cannabis cause people who would not have had psychosis otherwise to get it? Or does cannabis just bring out an underlying psychosis that the person probably would have experienced anyway? It's probably a bit complicated, with circular stuff going on. While I'm strongly in favour of legalisation of all drugs I am a bit worried when some of the legalise crowd refuse to accept that there might be health risks. (I'm also frustrated when the anti crowd refuse to accept that the situation is probably a bit more complicated than "drugs make you mad")

kolinko 10y ago
Speaking of smoking cigarettes - there is an excellent paper outlining all the neuropsychiatric diseases where smoking may be actually a method of a self-medication. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f961/639e2a998d275f3e8f8f4ccb41564a00d63f.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f961/639e2a998d275f3e8f8f4c...
kahnpro 10y ago
Or is it that people who have schizophrenia often belong to social classes that are more likely to use drugs? If poor people are more likely to use drugs, and poor people also have a higher incidence of schizophrenia, you could arrive at this correlation even if marijuana and psychosis are entirely unrelated.
- mistersquid 10y ago
  Marijuana use actually may be more strongly correlated to higher socioeconomic status than lower. A quick Google search for "drug use by socioeconomic status" turns up a 2012 article titled "Socioeconomic Status and Substance Use Among Young Adults: A Comparison Across Constructs and Drugs" [0] which concludes, in part > Findings based on three indicators of family background > SES—income, wealth, and parental education—converged in > describing unique patterns for smoking and for alcohol and > marijuana use among young adults, although functional > relationships across SES measures varied. Young adults with > the highest family background SES were most prone to alcohol > and marijuana use. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410945/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410945/ EDIT: Change lede.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  Poor folks aren't more likely to use drugs: It seems that drug abuse is actually pretty common through society, but with poor folks using the least - mostly because drugs cost money. Poor people are more likely to get caught for using drugs, however, simply because of living spaces. You and a couple friends wanna get high? Low income, you might be in a car, on the corner, or in an alley. Higher income, you might be in your basement or pretty private backyard.
10y ago