3 ms·

Like others have said, if you are already disposed to have a psychiatric problem - especially one that includes episodes of psychosis - pot is likely to make th

Like others have said, if you are already disposed to have a psychiatric problem - especially one that includes episodes of psychosis - pot is likely to make the problem come to the forefront. To be fair, there are a lot of other things that can cause the same - stress, for example. A lot of major mental illnesses start when folks are in their late teens or early-to-mid 20's as well, making the timing of such experimentation coordinate with the disease onset. Doesn't mean one causes the other, though. More that one can (but doesn't always) bring out some of the symptoms. It surely isn't enough of a link to ban it for that reason, unless we want to ban things like stress, which can also bring on symptoms if you have the "right" setup for it.

Omnius 9y ago
This is dangerous though because then the reaction is always "oh well yeah they must have been redisposed" with no real evidence other than hear say. It was a side effect, a bad one, that requires more study. This thinking though will lead to "I am fine this won't happen to me" and it could and people should know that.
- Broken_Hippo 9y ago
  This is exactly why we need factual drug education prudent age restrictions where legal (drinking age = smoking age), and the normalization of affordable psychiatric checkups and basic information about mental health. Factual drug information would include these warnings, plus giving lots of folks information about what to do if it should happen. Prudent age limits - ones that can be enforced reasonably - help folks know themselves a bit more before they try it out. Psychiatric care being normal can help catch a few folks along the way, and knowing what to do (per the drug education) hopefully means more folks get help. It won't stop the "I am fine, it won't happen to me" sort of thinking, but this sort of thing can prevent a bit of it and change the outcome of it.

Omnius 9y ago

This is dangerous though because then the reaction is always "oh well yeah they must have been redisposed" with no real evidence other than hear say. It was a side effect, a bad one, that requires more study. This thinking though will lead to "I am fine this won't happen to me" and it could and people should know that.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago
This is exactly why we need factual drug education prudent age restrictions where legal (drinking age = smoking age), and the normalization of affordable psychiatric checkups and basic information about mental health. Factual drug information would include these warnings, plus giving lots of folks information about what to do if it should happen. Prudent age limits - ones that can be enforced reasonably - help folks know themselves a bit more before they try it out. Psychiatric care being normal can help catch a few folks along the way, and knowing what to do (per the drug education) hopefully means more folks get help. It won't stop the "I am fine, it won't happen to me" sort of thinking, but this sort of thing can prevent a bit of it and change the outcome of it.