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The serious mental health risks associated with cannabis smoking

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  1. crankyman crankyman is offline

    Louisville, KY
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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:02pm)

    Here is an FYI post for those that didnt read my responses in the pot smokers thread.<SPAN> </SPAN>Marijuana can be extremely dangerous to your mental health.<SPAN> </SPAN>As a bit of background, I run a genetic testing company that tests for psychosis risk and previously worked in the neuroscience area of the leading mental health pharmaceutical firm. <SPAN> </SPAN>

    Studies have shown that weed greatly increases the risk for depression, suicide, schizophrenia and other psychoses, all of which is in addition to the well characterized impact on memory, motivation, initiation, and diligence.<SPAN> </SPAN>Indeed, 25% of pot smokers have a 10X greater risk of developing schizophrenia based on genetic variation in the COMT gene.<SPAN> </SPAN>Other genetic variations likely also have enhanced risk.<SPAN> </SPAN>Additionally, the younger one begins smoking the greater the risk. <SPAN> </SPAN>The same is true for the frequency of use, i.e. the more you smoke the greater the risk.

    For some folks, marijuana use may favorably alter previously disrupted neurotransmitter pathways.<SPAN> </SPAN>Certainly numerous drugs are in clinical trials that target the cannaboid receptors.<SPAN> </SPAN>That said, given the enormous risk of catastrophic mental damage, there is no rationale to support marijuana smoking, and the folks here that glorify its use and relate anecdotal stories of how it has helped their game are committing grievous harm on community through their influence on impressionable minds.
  2. Thatislife Thatislife is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:08pm) in reply to crankyman

    <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=138 height=16 left?> Off Topic</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
  3. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:10pm) in reply to Thatislife

    NOT off topic when other posts here are having this discussion
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  4. Thatislife Thatislife is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:13pm) in reply to crankyman

    the other posts had to do with poker players who get stoned
  5. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:15pm) in reply to Thatislife

    as does this post if you bothered to read it
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  6. Squirrely1 Squirrely1 is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:17pm) in reply to crankyman

    Does paranoia qualify as a "mental illness?"
     
  7. EddieO EddieO is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:18pm) in reply to Thatislife

    cranky man = life of the party
  8. pariah pariah is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:18pm) in reply to crankyman

    See now I realize 25% of potheads have a 10x greater risk of being skitzos, but how do we reconcile this fact with data that suggests 75% of potheads have a 5x less chance of developing brain cells 12x smarter than 44% of the 2/3rds that actually don't smoke with 8x less risk of that 10x chance (obviously including the notion that 15% of the affected 38% of 1/3rd of the populace won't admit to being 3x more likely to lie on 4/5ths of polls)?
  9. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:19pm) in reply to crankyman

    Amazing. A genetic cause for schizophrenia has been discovered? That is news to me.
    And they can actually measure the amounts that certain substances increase the risk?

    LINKS PLEASE.
  10. Juanda 87 Juanda 87 is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:22pm) in reply to pariah

    I started to comment, but was to high to finish off the sentence before becoming paranoid that, I will get a virus from posting in the thread. Ahhh there we go, my alter ego just kicked in, now I'm fine.
  11. allynlong allynlong is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:22pm) in reply to crankyman

    Everything you've pointed out is an absolute truth.. Lots of harmful things seem fun and harmless when your doing it so im never surprised by the posts you talk of.
    Anyone who thinks its harmless need look no further than myself as model of how this ruins your life. everyone who knows me thinks i am perfectly normal yet i cant handle even minimal mental trauma. My mind is a basketcase due to abuse of drugs. and physically its worse than mentally. In a few years we will begin to see an epidemic of cancers involving people in their 30's due to marijuana use. it causes not only lung cancer but abnormal tumor growth in other areas as well..neck, back and colon to name a few.
    Contrary to popular belief prolonged use does not make 1 tend to food cravings but instead turns you away from eating altogether. this promotes the body feeding off itself and leaves the body under nourished and a playground for disease.
    The stats you quote should be enough to stop someone from getting deeper into this trap but if not remember 1 other thing.........YOU COULD END UP LIKE ME!!!!!!
    That alone should be enough to stop all but the most incredibly stupid among us
  12. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:26pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    I just did a search. The latest I could find said this:

    "Several regions of the human genome are being investigated to identify genes that may confer susceptibility for schizophrenia. The strongest evidence to date leads to chromosomes 13 and 6 but remains unconfirmed."

    SO how where they able to measure the increased genetic risk of pot causing schizophrenia, when the exact genetic cause of schizophrenia seems to still be "unconfirmed"?

    LINKS PLEASE.
  13. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:26pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    There are numerous studies out there, but a nice collection of stats and references can be found here http://www.schizophrenia.com/prevent...reetdrugs.html

    As for genetic causes of schizophrenia, there are many genes involved. Several are well known such as COMT, DISC1, NRG1, SULT4A1 (one of my company's genes) and several others that I can't share yet.

    The website above has lots of information if you are iterested.
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  14. da produca da produca is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:27pm) in reply to crankyman

    wtf is up with this community? someone actually posts some scientific data, yet this thread is full of sh!t.
  15. Thatislife Thatislife is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:29pm) in reply to crankyman

    i am sorry, but what does this have to do with poker?
  16. ChuckSty ChuckSty is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:31pm) in reply to da produca

    you know what's alot more fucked up than smoking pot. fucking huge corporations patenting, ownign and thus monopolizing the research on said genes.
     1
  17. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:32pm) in reply to crankyman

    That is what I thought "BAD SCIENCE".

    "In one example, a study interviewed 50,000 members of the Swedish Army <SPAN class=style35>about their drug consumption and followed up with them later in life. Those who were heavy consumers of cannabis at age 18 were over 600% more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia over the next 15 years than those did not take it."

    So where is the evidence? Maybe people who are more inclined to become schizophrenic, or are already starting to become schizophrenic, are also more inclined to participate in illegal activities like taking drugs.

    I bet if you interview a bunch of people convicted of violent crimes, or people who commit a lot of violent acts, you will find that a lot of them beat their wives. So does wife beating cause violent crimes? I bet a lot of criminals, among their other crimes, also smoke pot. Does smoking pot cause people to commit other criminal acts? BAD SCIENCE.
    </SPAN>
  18. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:33pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    See the link I posted in the thread. There are numerous genes that contribute to schizophrenia risk. In fact, schizophrenia is a bit of misnomer as it implies a homogenous disease state when in fact each there are many different biological problems that manifest as schizophrenia. Also, environment plays a significant role, hence the impact of drug use.
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  19. jalman1 jalman1 is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:34pm) in reply to Thatislife

    Ill take my chances and keep on toking
    107 3
  20. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:35pm) in reply to EddieO

    LOL if you only knew ...
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  21. t1ct0c t1ct0c is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:37pm) in reply to crankyman

    dude.....im so high...
    SHUT THE FUCK UP TOM THE MAN IS TRYING TO HELP YOU!
    dude...u shut up rick
    GOD DAMN IT TOM
    TIMMY IN DA HOUSE YALL
    tom and rick : TIMMY!
    (dialogue in my brain if u didnt pick up)
  22. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:38pm) in reply to crankyman

    You are correct.

    "There is no known single cause of schizophrenia. Many diseases, such as heart disease, result from an interplay of genetic, behavioral, and other factors; and this may be the case for schizophrenia as well."

    So I remain mystified, how they could determine the genetic risk associated with a substance, when the exact genetic cause is unknown, and there are multiple causes. Sounds pretty shaky.

    And how to you seperate the behavior (smoking pot) as a cause and not simply an effect?
  23. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:39pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    Sigh, the factors that you mention are typically corrected for in those types of studies. For something a little more molecular biology based try this http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/...es/001351.html which links to the article regarding COMT and cannabis.
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  24. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:42pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    Giving it further thought, I bet you can find an even stronger link with alcohol than with pot.

    Using these methods, I bet there is a much greater risk of schizophrenia among people who drink heavily as opposed to those who have never drank alcohol. People who regular drink excessively and black out are much more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic later in life, than people who remain sober.

    For my next scientific study, I will prove that the rooster crowing causes the sun to rise.
  25. d2themfi d2themfi is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:47pm) in reply to crankyman

    a)screenname= crankyman

    b)crankyman---> does not smoke the ganja

    c) man is cranky b/c he no smoketh the ganja
     
  26. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:48pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    determining genetic risk is pretty straight forward you look at the frequencies in people with disease and compare that to controls, or normals. There are multiple risk genes for SZ and different ones are important in different families. Also, most schizophrenics will almost certainly prove to have multiple risk genes. You think of it like set of scales. You have things on 1 side that help keep you normal and on the other you have things that make you sick. Pile up enough blocks on the sick side (genes, pot smoking, stress, etc) and you get sick.
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  27. crankyman crankyman is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:51pm) in reply to xTEDFORRESTx

    There is an entire seperate category for alcohol psychosis.
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  28. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:56pm) in reply to crankyman

    Again you are not showing cause/effect.

    Many SZ hear voices in their head. Does hearing voices cause SZ?
    Many SZ smoke pot ....

    One could say hearing voices in your head greatly increases the risk of having SZ.
  29. xTEDFORRESTx xTEDFORRESTx is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 4:58pm) in reply to crankyman

    As opposed to the psychotic who "self-medicate" with alcohol?

    CAUSE/EFFECT or symptom?
  30. Anonymous Anonymous is offline

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    Jul 22nd, 2007 (7/22/2007 5:03pm) in reply to crankyman

    Just like alcohol or other drugs.....

    Any mind altering drug that is used excessively can have negative long term effects on ones mental and physical health...

    Nothing new here and i bet most of the die hard pot smokers around here would agree with that...
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