10 ms·

It's not clear whether the schizophrenia induced is stimulated or just aggravated—i.e., was the person already a schizophrenic with a high threshold for psychos

by duaneb 13y ago

It's not clear whether the schizophrenia induced is stimulated or just aggravated—i.e., was the person already a schizophrenic with a high threshold for psychosis that the weed lowered? I don't think we'll know for a long time.

S_A_P 13y ago
to add to that, its also highly likely (no pun intended) that someone who is schizophrenic would be aware something is not right and try to self medicate...
- duaneb 13y ago
  From what I'm aware, Schizophrenia develops in the mid 20s—it's entirely possible someone could become a regular user before realizing they were schizophrenic. And (as I mentioned below) I've witnessed a weed-induced psychotic episode. I think it's highly unlikely someone would wish to continue after experiencing that.
- hexagonc 13y ago
  Actually, I suspect that pre-schizophrenic people might use marijuana not for self-medication, because they think something is wrong, but rather because early onset schizophrenia may intensify the pleasurable effects of marijuana.
foobarbazqux 13y ago
You can't "already have" schizophrenia without having the symptoms of schizophrenia (assuming you aren't on medication that completely controls the symptoms). The reason is that schizophrenia and almost all other mental illnesses are diagnosed on the basis of behavior. The current thinking is that there's a genetic predisposition, and then certain environmental factors like child abuse (linked to mental illness in general) and exposure to hallucinogens will increase the chance of the condition developing.
- vacri 13y ago
  Psychosis is not required for a definition of Schizophrenia, or at least, it wasn't in the late 90s when we looked at it in the DSM. The most frequent symptom of Schizophrenia at the time was 'hearing voices', and that struck 69% of diagnoses. Have a look at the DSM-IV criteria. And certainly, it's possible to have a lighter form of schizophrenia that is worsened by whatever factor.
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    Auditory hallucinations indicate psychosis; psychosis itself is not a symptom but a catch-all state of mind that refers to many different symptoms, including auditory hallucinations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia#Criteria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia#Criteria Agreed that schizophrenia could be aggravated by pot; I was just disputing that you could "have" schizophrenia without having ever presented any of the symptoms. I may have incorrectly inferred this claim from the original post.
- duaneb 13y ago
  > You can't "already have" schizophrenia without having the symptoms of schizophrenia (assuming you aren't on medication that completely controls the symptoms). Yes you can, you can be genetically predisposed before the symptoms appear.
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    a) I used the words "genetic predisposition" in my reply; b) just because you are genetically predisposed to having breast cancer doesn't mean you have or will have breast cancer.

by duaneb 13y ago

S_A_P 13y ago

to add to that, its also highly likely (no pun intended) that someone who is schizophrenic would be aware something is not right and try to self medicate...

duaneb 13y ago
From what I'm aware, Schizophrenia develops in the mid 20s—it's entirely possible someone could become a regular user before realizing they were schizophrenic. And (as I mentioned below) I've witnessed a weed-induced psychotic episode. I think it's highly unlikely someone would wish to continue after experiencing that.
hexagonc 13y ago
Actually, I suspect that pre-schizophrenic people might use marijuana not for self-medication, because they think something is wrong, but rather because early onset schizophrenia may intensify the pleasurable effects of marijuana.

foobarbazqux 13y ago

You can't "already have" schizophrenia without having the symptoms of schizophrenia (assuming you aren't on medication that completely controls the symptoms). The reason is that schizophrenia and almost all other mental illnesses are diagnosed on the basis of behavior. The current thinking is that there's a genetic predisposition, and then certain environmental factors like child abuse (linked to mental illness in general) and exposure to hallucinogens will increase the chance of the condition developing.

vacri 13y ago
Psychosis is not required for a definition of Schizophrenia, or at least, it wasn't in the late 90s when we looked at it in the DSM. The most frequent symptom of Schizophrenia at the time was 'hearing voices', and that struck 69% of diagnoses. Have a look at the DSM-IV criteria. And certainly, it's possible to have a lighter form of schizophrenia that is worsened by whatever factor.
- foobarbazqux 13y ago
  Auditory hallucinations indicate psychosis; psychosis itself is not a symptom but a catch-all state of mind that refers to many different symptoms, including auditory hallucinations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia#Criteria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia#Criteria Agreed that schizophrenia could be aggravated by pot; I was just disputing that you could "have" schizophrenia without having ever presented any of the symptoms. I may have incorrectly inferred this claim from the original post.
duaneb 13y ago
> You can't "already have" schizophrenia without having the symptoms of schizophrenia (assuming you aren't on medication that completely controls the symptoms). Yes you can, you can be genetically predisposed before the symptoms appear.
- foobarbazqux 13y ago
  a) I used the words "genetic predisposition" in my reply; b) just because you are genetically predisposed to having breast cancer doesn't mean you have or will have breast cancer.