Posted on 12/02/2004 11:33:12 AM PST by DTaggart
Teenagers and young adults who frequently use cannabis are increasing their risk of suffering from psychotic symptoms such as bizarre behavior and delusions later in life, Dutch scientists said on Wednesday.
Young people with a family history, or pre-existing susceptibility to mental instability, are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of the drug.
“Cannabis does not act in the same fashion on psychosis risk for everybody. There is a group that is particularly susceptible,” Professor Jim van Os, of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, told a news conference.
He and his colleagues studied 2,437 young people aged 14-24 and identified those with a predisposition for psychosis. They also questioned them about their cannabis use and followed them up for four years.
“The results show that in the group without vulnerability to psychosis, there was a small effect of cannabis on the onset of psychotic symptoms four years later,” Van Os said.
“But this risk was four times bigger in individuals who had a personal vulnerability to psychosis.”
Van Os said the study also showed the odds of experiencing symptoms of psychosis were higher for people who smoked cannabis more frequently.
The findings, which are reported online by the British Medical Journal, are consistent with the results of other studies.
Doctors do not understand how cannabis increases the risk of mental illness but they suspect it affects the dopamine system in the brain which is associated with pleasure.
Mike
Harumph. I'm perfectly capable of achieving psychosis without the help of weed, thank you.
Hey! Dutch scientists! I used to smoke pot, and it didn't give me any psychosis. You keep talking like that, and I'd be sleeping with one eye open if I were you...
Index
I'll never understand how someone purposely wants to make themselves dizzy.
Careful with that ax, Eugene........
Who is DTaggert??
This doesn't pass for the scienfific method in your average high school.
Mariajuana
I think I dated her once.
Any word of the effects of mariajuana on spelling?
The Source information isn't showing up in the title for some reason.
I am NOT psychotic!!!
And you all need to just QUIT LOOKIN' AT ME!!!!
Then that is the problem with the lefties in the USA!
"I'll never understand how someone purposely wants to make themselves dizzy."
try it... you'll like it. aside from the psychosis.
"I'll never understand how someone purposely wants to make themselves dizzy."
I'm with ya - I don't understand why people get drunk either.
"Who is DTaggert??"
That's me.
Dude, you better watch out, or Spider Man will open up a can on you.
DO NOT MESS with Spidey's woman. :D
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