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To: exDemMom
One of the documented effects of marijuana use by young people is that it precipitates psychotic/schizophrenic disorders.

No, all that's documented is a correlation - which is equally well explained by disorders precipitating pot use or (as some research suggests) a genetic factor increasing both the likelihood of pot use and the likelihood of disorders.

My sense is that as the casualties grow in the form of increased numbers of young people incapable of doing anything productive, this vast experiment with legalizing marijuana will end.

As pot use has grown over the past decades, schizophrenia has remained flat.

14 posted on 01/14/2015 7:58:43 AM PST by ConservingFreedom (A goverrnment strong enough to impose your standards is strong enough to ban them.)
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To: ConservingFreedom
No, all that's documented is a correlation - which is equally well explained by disorders precipitating pot use or (as some research suggests) a genetic factor increasing both the likelihood of pot use and the likelihood of disorders.

First of all, let me point out that I used the word "precipitates" and not "causes" for a reason, and that is because the causative effects of marijuana use on these disorders is still unclear. However, the evidence that it causes their manifestation is strong. This could mean that these disorders would happen anyway, but not normally manifest until later, in which case it could exacerbate their severity. Or it could mean that people in the early stages of those disorders tend to turn to marijuana use for whatever reason (the phenomenon often termed "self-medication").

MRI studies that show changes in brain structure hardly qualify as "correlation." Furthermore, that saying "correlation does not equal causation" is meant to inform those who see X and Y happen in close temporal proximity and automatically assume that Y is a result of X, when there is not necessarily a relation at all. OTOH, when you grasp that correlation does not always equal causation, it does not mean that you can automatically reject a causative relationship--because some correlations ARE a result of causation. When two observable variables show a strong correlation, and there is a mechanism by which X can cause Y, then correlation tells you to what extent X is involved in causing Y. Other relationships can also be analyzed through correlation--for instance, X and Y might both be related through some other variable or series of events.

There is a strong correlation between marijuana use and schizophrenia. There is also some evidence that marijuana actually causes psychotic disorder. That is, it is well established that marijuana causes transient psychotic episodes, but how much it might contribute to permanent psychosis is still under investigation.

I am well aware that those who have advocated for legalized marijuana love to spread the story that it is perfectly safe, and often compare it to alcohol (as if, somehow, the effects of alcohol have any bearing on the effects of marijuana). However, this vast experiment in legalization has inspired many researchers to conduct studies, so that where information was lacking before, it is now accumulating at a rapid rate. The often touted "safety" of marijuana is not supported by actual evidence, and more evidence is piling up against it all the time. www.pubmed.org, search term "marijuana", a lot of suggestions come up as to specific sub-topics.

This book is 16 years old, so some of the information is out of date, but still gives an idea of some of the research that has taken place: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK230716/

16 posted on 01/15/2015 3:49:30 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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