Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'

[JusticeLeauge]

Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'

Scientists have shown how cannabis may trigger psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

A King's College London team gave healthy volunteers the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

They then recorded reduced activity in an area of the brain which keeps inappropriate thoughts at bay.

THC levels are thought to have doubled in street cannabis in recent years - at the expense of other ingredients which may have a beneficial effect.

If something has an active effect in inducing the symptoms of psychosis after one dose, then it would not be at all surprising if repeated use induced the chronic condition
Professor Robin Murray
Institute of Psychiatry

A separate study has shown that one of these ingredients - cannabidiol (CBD) - has the potential to dampen down psychotic symptoms, and could form the basis of new treatments.

The research will be discussed at a conference on the impact of cannabis use to be held at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College this week.

Dependency

Although figures are not kept, it is estimated that as many as 500,000 people in the UK may be dependent on cannabis.

Increasing numbers of people are seeking help for cannabis problems at specialist clinics. In 2005, only heroin users accounted for a greater proportion of patients.

Experts are concerned that street cannabis is becoming increasingly potent. It is thought that average THC content has risen from 6% to 12% in recent years.

The Institute of Psychiatry study gave THC, CBD or placebo capsules to adult male volunteers who had not abused cannabis.

They then carried out brain scans, and a battery of tests, and found that those who took THC showed reduced activity in an area of the brain called the inferior frontal cortex, which keeps inappropriate thoughts and behaviour, such as swearing and paranoia in check.

The effects were short-lived, but some people appeared more vulnerable than others.

In a second study, a team from Yale University administered THC intravenously.

Even at relatively low doses, they found 50% of healthy volunteers began to show symptoms of psychosis.

Volunteers who already had a history of psychotic symptoms appeared to be particularly vulnerable.

Side effects

A third study, by the University of Cologne, compared the effect of CBD and a commonly used anti-psychotic medicine, Amisulpride, on 42 patients with a history of schizophrenia.

After four weeks both groups showed a reduction in psychotic symptoms, but the CBD group were less prone to side effects, such as muscle stiffness and weight gain.

We strongly urge the government to heed the growing evidence and take urgent action to warn young people that some of them are risking lifelong mental illness
Marjorie Wallace
Sane

The researchers warned that THC and CBD compete with each other biochemically, so a rise in THC levels would blunt any positive impact of CBD.

Professor Robin Murray, a consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Psychiatry, said the research provided the strongest evidence that cannabis had a significant impact on the brain.

He said proving a long-term effect was extremely difficult, as it was not ethical or feasible to stimulate long-term psychosis in volunteers.

However, he said: "If something has an active effect in inducing the symptoms of psychosis after one dose, then it would not be at all surprising if repeated use induced the chronic condition."

Professor Murray also warned that the high potency cannabis now widely available was likely to pose a much bigger risk to health than the significantly weaker formulations of previous years.

"It is similar to comparing the effect of drinking a glass of wine at the weekend with drinking a bottle of vodka every day."

Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity Sane, called the research a "significant contribution" to the understanding of the dangers of cannabis.

"Sane has been saying for years that there is a link between psychosis and the drug, particularly in its more potent forms.

"We strongly urge the government to heed the growing evidence and take urgent action to warn young people that some of them are risking lifelong mental illness - that they are playing Russian roulette with their minds."

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'

Published: 2007/04/30 12:05:13 GMT

© BBC MMVII

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So let me get this straight...swearing and paranoia are inappropriate thoughts and therefore one who swears or is paranoid is psychotic?

Wow...never thought 1984 principles would be used to demonise weed.

[The Rev]

Yeah, God help us if the stoners don't keep those pesky inappropriate thoughts at bay.



The Rev

[Xil]

Hmmmm it makes you swear and become paranoid, i wasn't aware those were totally illegal...

[Ego Tripping]

They were actually studying 4 black guys in Philly smoking a J on the corner and waiting for the "fuckin' po-leece."

[OldMan&TheWeed]

I smoke marijuana so I can have a few "inappropriate thoughts." Every once in a while when I'm stuck in a rut, I take a few hits, blow out the cob webs, and see things in a whole new way.

[JusticeLeauge]

what pisses me off is that they classify inappropriate thoughts as psychosis.

[verklingen]

Who can tell me what's an inappropriate thought, and then tell me I'm wrong for having it? For shame.

[koshiva]

I see they administered 'THC' in capsules and one would suspect that its effects would not be the same as the effects one would get from smoking a joint. Which strain did they use? Was it hydro? Was it organic? Was it harvested early or late? Or was it not derived from cannabis at all but rather a synthetic form of THC where the other cannabinoids were absent in the sample given to the test subjects? What was the dose like? One joint? Two joints? One hit or two hits?

Cannabis does have an effect on the brain, 'of course', thats why people use it! Seems it took these researchers all this time to realise what has been known for thousands of years.

'Inapropriate thoughts'? It would be interesting to know what they deem inappropriate apart from their claims of paranoia. Maybe the 'test subjects' became irritated by the men in white coats and just wanted to have a good session after they dropped?

In the other study they gave the 'intravenous THC' Like thats going to be at all useful for comparing how 'smokers' react to smoking god given cannabis buds.

Up to 50% have psycotic symtoms? What like looking over your shoulder because mr policeman wants to persecute you? Put you in a cage?

This one takes the cake

"It is similar to comparing the effect of drinking a glass of wine at the weekend with drinking a bottle of vodka every day."

Drinking a fucking bottle of vodka every day is similar to or the same as smoking high potency cannabis every day?

As the Gov would say 'fucking monkeys'.

[Christoffer]

Originally Posted by Ego Tripping

They were actually studying 4 black guys in Philly smoking a J on the corner and waiting for the "fuckin' po-leece."

[Jimmy Coonan]

If the weed's stronger you smoke less of it to get to the same level. I'm sick of hearing people talk about weed nowadays like it's some crazy new thing that can't be compared with the shit available in the 60s. Kind of like how, if you got vodka and you just want one drink, you'd drink an ounce or two, not a whole glass like you would with wine.

[tokinGLX]

the problem with these kinds of studies is that they are done by people with absolutely no common sense when it comes to the good herb. what stoner shoots up their pure, concentrated thc?? yeah...they need to lay off the heroine, and fire up a vaporizer.

[OldStoner]

Well if it effects some people differently DON"T DO IT.
Its all about choice!
Alcohol is poison I am an alcoholic.
I feel that it is discrimination against alcoholics.
Alcohol KILLS POT CHILLS
Been dry 19 years I need my pot. As a drunk I destroyed
my first marriage was violent.
2nd marrage was headed in the same direction.
So I stopped drinking. Been married 22 years.
But I was not happy I was pissed because I can NEVER come home and kick back and have a drink to relax.
So I started smoking pot again and it was so much better because it made
me calm and I felt normal. I have a chemical imbalance. I do not like the way I feel when I an not stoned. I think marijuana has saved my second marrage

I wish I knew if there was a way to pull off a discrimination law suite
against the DEA

I will Smoke or die.

[Patrick Rue]

I would love to experience intraveneous thc.

I bet i would be out of my fucking gourd.

[Rubix]

i know one thing's for sure, i think a hell of a lot more rational when im high

[OldStoner]

Home > News Archive > 2007 > Pot Use Doesn’t Exacerbate Symptoms Of Schizophrenia, Study Says

Pot Use Doesn’t Exacerbate Symptoms Of Schizophrenia, Study Says

May 3, 2007 - London, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom: Marijuana use is not associated with heightened symptoms of schizophrenia, according to data to be published in the journal Schizophrenia Research.

Investigators at London’s Institute of Psychiatry assessed whether the prior use of cannabis in patients with schizophrenia was associated with appreciable changes in schizophrenic symptoms compared with patients who had no history of marijuana use. Researchers performed logistic regression analysis on 757 volunteers with cases of first onset schizophrenia. Of these, 182 (24 percent) had reportedly used cannabis in the year prior to diagnosis, while 552 (73 percent) had not. (The remaining three percent had no data available.)

Investigators reported no statistically significant "differences in syptomatology between schizophrenic patients who were or were not cannabis users" after controlling for patients’ age, sex, and ethnicity.

Researchers also failed to find "any evidence that cannabis users with schizophrenia were more likely to have a family member with the disorder."

These findings "argue against a distinct schizophrenic-like psychosis caused by cannabis," authors concluded.

The study is the largest trial ever conducted to compare cannabis using and non-using schizophrenic patients, investigators said.

Although investigators did not assess whether cannabis consumers had greater odds of contracting schizophrenia compared to those who did not have a history of smoking pot, prior reviews have downplayed such an association. Most recently, Britain's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) concluded in 2006, "For individuals, the current evidence suggests, at worst, that using cannabis increases lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia by one percent."

A separate 2006 report by Britain’s Beckley Foundation speculated that cannabis may "precipitate schizophrenia in people who are already vulnerable" to the disease, but it also acknowledged that the "increased rates of cannabis use in the last thirty years have not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the rate of psychosis in the population."

NORML Advisory Board Member Mitch Earleywine, author of the book Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence (Oxford University Press), said: "Schizophrenia is a rare and heterogenous disorder that requires both biological and environmental contributors. I hope this latest work helps to counter the idea that there exists a distinct psychotic disorder related to cannabis as well as other equally simplistic, and often inaccurate, notions regarding the use of cannabis and mental illness."

A study co-authored by Earleywine and published in the journal Psychiatry Research in 2005 reported that cannabis use typically follows rather than precedes behavior suggestive of schizophrenia. "These findings do not support a causal link between cannabis use and schizotypal traits," the study concluded.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "A comparison of symptoms and family history in schizophrenia with and without prior cannabis use: Implications for the concept of cannabis psychosis," will appear in the journal Schizophrenia Research. A discussion of this study may be downloaded from the May 2, 2007 edition of the NORML Daily AudioStash at: NORML 's Daily Audio Stash. Additional information may be found in the NORML paper, "Cannabis, Mental Health and Context," available online at: Cannabis, Mental Health and Context: The Case For Regulation - NORML.

updated: May 03, 2007

[anaujiram]

I'd like to see some studies on how much it fucks up your brain if you drink proportionally to how much you smoke.

[The Second Law of Thermodynamics]

Originally Posted by lillarry518

If the weed's stronger you smoke less of it to get to the same level. I'm sick of hearing people talk about weed nowadays like it's some crazy new thing that can't be compared with the shit available in the 60s. Kind of like how, if you got vodka and you just want one drink, you'd drink an ounce or two, not a whole glass like you would with wine.

the point is that more potent forms offer more mind altering potential. if youre only going to drink one ounce, then there isn't that much difference between vodka and wine. however, it must be considered that many people will drink more than that and for those people, vodka is more dangerous than wine. i am willing to bet the majority of people who die from alcohol poisoning do so after consuming distilled drinks.

[The Second Law of Thermodynamics]

Originally Posted by anaujiram

I'd like to see some studies on how much it fucks up your brain if you drink proportionally to how much you smoke.

but what is the proportion? how many drinks equals how much weed?