Study Debunks Claim That Pot Smoking Causes Mental Illness
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July 1, 2009
Much has made — by the mainstream media and others — of the claim that cannabis use causes certain types of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia and psychosis.Most notably perhaps, a team of researchers writing in the July 28, 2007 edition of the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet, boldly proclaimed that smoking cannabis could boost one’s risk of a psychotic episode by 40 percent or more.
Naturally, this alarmist rhetoric received wall-to-wall coverage by the mainstream press. Even more troubling, the supposed ‘pot-and-schizophrenia’ link was one of the primary reasons cited by British PM Gordon Brown, ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and others as the impetus for reclassifying cannabis (from a verbal warning to a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in jail) in the United Kingdom.
Of course, there was a fatal flaw with The Lancet‘s argument — one that, oddly enough, every single MSM outlet failed to mention. Empirical data did not support the investigators’ hypothesis that smoking marijuana was associated with increased rates of schizophrenia or other mental illnesses among the general public — a fact that even the authors begrudgingly admitted when they declared, “Projected trends for schizophrenia incidence have not paralleled trends in cannabis use over time.”
Which brings us to 2009.
Two years after The Lancet‘s dire predictions, a team of researchers at the Keele University Medical School have once and for all put the ‘pot-and-mental illness’ claims to the test. Writing in a forthcoming edition of the scientific journal Schizophrenia Research, they compare long-term trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia and/or psychoses in the United Kingdom. And what do they find?
“[T]he expected rise in diagnoses of schizophrenia and psychoses did not occur over a 10 year period. This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and incidence of psychotic disorders. … This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence.”
Should we expect an apology — or even better, a change in policy — from the Gordon Brown regime any time soon? Or at the very least, will some sort of ‘correction’ be forthcoming from the mainstream news media?
I wouldn’t hold my breath.
77 Responses to “Study Debunks Claim That Pot Smoking Causes Mental Illness”
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How wonderful , now Mr. Brown can see the modern miracles of Science bashing his Idea to bits. Some times you have to admit you are wrong. I was wrong about thinking Ronald Regan was the driving force behind supporting the Contras in Nicaragua. I was also wrong thinking that the first President Bush should have gone into Bagdad. I thought that he stopped short of Victory. Now I know that he was wise not to go in there.
So in the greater view of things. It is ok to be wrong , as long as we have a chance to accept our failings with grace and move on…. Soon we will be doing the right thing by the People.
Damn I wish I had this information prior to CNN’s week long topic on marijuana being I would have posted it to help the cause. Now we have this knowledge as well as other proof we need to keep up the fight to end this stupid prohibition on marijuana.
I am sure NORML if in the future is faced with another debate if this is mentioned that NORML puts them prohibitionists in their place with the facts as NORML has and shall continue to due..
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And, if you would like to add more, the Cannaboids found in Cannabis have shown to be extremely effective in treatment of many psychotic disorders. Schizophrenia is one of the many disorders that Cannabis helps treat and maintain those patients.
So sad that our own government can’t give the time nor money to research further into Cannabis. Even published articles that have shown Cannabis has a huge potential in Medicine is overlooked by a bunch of old bastards who follow the rules from the 40s era and still dont know what an email is.
We have young doctors, doing research, publishing articles, planning cannabis trials, who have shown the pros out weight the cons by miles, while are country is run by old, stubborn men, who aren’t up to date with any technology and are probably suffering from some elders disease (like alzhimers, which also is positively effected by cannabis use).
The only reason were losing is because were a bunch of youngsters, living in a total youngster world, thats run by the elderly who say they “know better” and are trying to protect us.
I know this is a long rant, but right know our country is in a crisis. The economy sucks, kids get into more trouble because of dealers who deal more then pot, people are suffering from thousands of disorders and diseases. The answer to all of this is simply LEGALIZE CANNABIS SATIVA AND CANNABIS INDICA. In an article, it was said that “cannabis will become Americas number one cash crop by 2015 if legalized by the year 2010″. Problems can be solved, our government just likes to create them.
I believe I’m done and sorry if this is too much.
Well, DUH!!
The American Psychiatric Association has for many years, classified marijuana users as a mental condition. Oh yes, your a mental case from the first toke of smoke or intake of eatable MJ treats, according to your psychiatrist schooling. I think it’s only fare that I give a reference here as we expect our opponents to do the same or they’re considered full of sh** as usual. My next comment below will display a link to this information.
http://www.revver.com/video/514098/smoking-marijuana-mental-disorder-psychology-with-sandy/
Mental Disorder #292.89 as listed by the American Psychiatric Association, is the reference for you that I’ve mentioned in comment #5 above, the marijuana user’s classification. The above link will take you to a video featuring a very nice lady, “Sandy,” who will explain everything. The bottom line here in the video is that you’ve been classified for a long time as a mental case if you use marijuana. Well hell, put us all in the same room and watch us be happy. Shit, who the hell wants to be sad, depressed, etc., when we can enjoy cannabis for the reason it was put upon the face of the earth for! God thought of everything when he made this place we call earth.
Enjoy!
Two things…and…”that’s that”
1. Liars are liars…no matter where they are on the planet.
2. The Data Quality Act…and…the President’s Memo to Executive Heads of Departments and Agencies.
If We the People don’t enforce number 2…it’s our own damned fault…and…We should shut up!
[...] post: Study Debunks Claim That Pot Smoking Causes Mental Illness Share and [...]
Prohibitionist are trying very hard, but in some cases it doesn’t matter. They still got money and support. Where did all that money go?
You are finally seeing the big picture.
Smoke that chronic! CHRONIC BABY.
Doesn’t matter, the government doesnt care about facts, they dont want to risk their source of income by losing political power. Just look at all the EX leaders, like mexico. In power they do NOTHING to change marijuana policy, once they are out of office they suddenly URGE everyone to legalize. Just look at Senator Obama, vs. President Obama. He admitted to smoking pot “frequently!”, i think he should show how much he believes in marijuana prohibition and say on national tv, “Im a criminal, i should be in the big house, not the white house” if its such a criminal thing to do…
Good play.
I have been diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disease for 9 years now. They thought i was schizo, when diagnosed.. Was false.
i was a part time user for 12 years before that.
Any who.. I have been a doctor monitored cannabis patient for over 3 years now, and i have never found a better combination of psychiatric medicine and cannabis, to balance my moods. I have been inside hospitals by my own volition, as well as against my will.
I have seen a lot, and one thing stemming from my experience, was that the balance between my racing thoughts, and depressed moods, seems to be ever so present with cannabis.
Viva La 420.
David, Pres.
Soge Shirts – Funny Graphic T-shirts
Psychology is my field of study. One reason I stopped at a 4 year degree is the damn pills they were pushing on everyone for every ******* mental illness out there.
MJ should be an option for most if not all mental illnesses. They call us crazy in Cali because our medical MJ laws include mental illness.
I for one would welcome a bunch of stoned mentally ill people. It’d be a lot cheaper and easier to take care of them!
weak in thought, totally lacking in logic, do the math. If true the amount of hard core mental illness would be wide spread in the cannabis friendly states.
Without freedom and liberty, life in this country is at best a police state prison in a gilded cage. People who have their minds made up rarely allow themselves to be confused with the facts. Cannabis prohibition is “the law” just like slavery was once “the law.” Prohibition did not work in the Garden of Eden, and it has not worked since. What is the point of having a Constitution if it is not abided by, or a brain if it is not used? Prohibitionists are suffering from a mental disorder wherein they feel entitled and compelled to try and run other people’s lives. American patriots used to stand and fight for freedom and liberty, now the masses are hearded like sheeple.
Prohibition and lies cause schizophrenia and psychosis not consumption!
FOLLOWERS CAN’T TELL LEADERS WHAT TO DO!…not until We take ourselves off the leash. Until We lead our leaders…who are directed by the Will of the People
…We can’t advance. We must bring those leaders out of the past by leading them into the future. If those leaders don’t respond to the Will of the People…We simply remove them from office at the ballot box. We have to show them that “WE MEAN BUSINESS”…and…”WE CAN’T BE EFFECTIVE IF WE WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT ELECTION.” we must put a choke chain on them “RIGHT NOW” and yank it to get their attention. “WE MUST NOT PUT OFF UNTIL TOMORROW WHAT WE CAN DO TODAY. “In essence…We have to put them down on the ground, like a pack of dogs would put down a dominating dog. Ya! dogs are smarter than us…they’re in the moment!
LEADER WILL CHANGE!…but…We have to change too! Anyone familiar with collective bargaining knows what I’m barking about…grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
17 Mike Stroup
AMEN BROTHER! You are absofuckinlutely right!
This is just another bullshit lies that the drug companies are feeding the people about Cannabis. Just recently the drug companies are being forced to put warnings on such drugs as Zyban and Wellbutrin that they causes depressions and suicidal thoughts. I was on Wellbutrin myself for a month before I flushed the damn thing in the toilet because I became depressed and suicidal. I had to get back into smoking Cannabis to get myself out of that depression mode that the drug companies put me through. They are saying that Cannabis causes mental illness? I say they are full of shit.
I hate the MSM.
Seriously, is there some kind of massive governmental conspiracy going on here?
What the hell is going on. Why all the lies in the media? Why put science behind opinion? Why is Marijuana still illegal?
if people like me who have bipolar 1, adhd and skitophrintic episodes..since 1993, could get help by weed, insted of the perscribion seditives..i wouldnt have to take so maney pilss..but IN has so maney damn “churches” who are stoping it from passing the law..im forced too take 8 perscribtion meds a day..to stay a mentally stable mother. the problem with this is..smokeing pot works so much better than the xanax or vistirel..they give me for my anxiety, but i cant smoke it..cause i will be a felon in the stae if i get caught with 1 more possesion. so.. im forced to take these freakin pills insted..so i dont go to prison. bunch of consperisy gov. b.s. if u ask me.its all a big money scam, and im forced to follow to be able to raise my teen boys,in a somewhat stable home. they are tired of their mother being a jailbird, and they are tired of me wakeing up from the anxiety meds the next day..and am the biggest asshole of the year, too. soo what do i do?social securtiy amm. says im just a pot head and that i dont need their help. yet i have been in and out of instutions from ca. to IN-since 1993..yet my 2 possession of marijuana arrests have kept me and my kids liveing with my parents for the 7 yrs since my divorce.i got a attorney, took the case as far as i could..and was denied..SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY all because of my arrests.yet i havent been able to work since 2000, even my shrinks have reapededly ,on paper, said so! still here i am..liveing of my support checks and food stamps, takeing so maney pills i cant afford..all for what? so i can be a mentally stable person in a state that rejects me for being mentally ill and wants me inprinson. what a fucking joke!-kimmy mcvey
I wish information like this would make it on the major news networks…sigh…
Everyday people, even those that use cannabis, would become more empathetic with the idea of marijuana if myths such as these were dispelled and the evil tinge associated with marijuana was removed.
The only way to combat the prejudice that continually impedes the legalization movement is the mass ignorance on the issue. Many people in the United States don’t use MJ and therefore don’t look for scientifically supported arguments for cannabis, they only recieve the propagandist BS the mainstream media feeds them…
Extreme Marijuana Prohibitionists will never have their minds persuaded. That is something people who are in favor of marijuana legalization must remember. Politicians who are firm in their stance will neither sway. This is going to be one hell of a long process still… Even with information like this. Just look at our “toking” President.
Marijuana is the one substance so simple to keep American citizens at a stall. Many use it in the privacy of their homes and never have any problems with it. You always hear about the delinquents who do. This is exactly why marijuana is illegal still. It is a substance used to hold down the stupid and ignorant. If you risk using marijuana, you are either rational and responsible enough to use it; or you are the one who is undereducated and get your picture taken and a nice news paper article with your name in it.
Marijuana Prohibition helps keep the “status quo” of idiot and intelligent. I am sad to say I believe marijuana legalization has picked up much support… but the debate will go on forever and nothing done about it.
It is simple, marijuana prohibition doesn’t matter if the majority of the people are in favor of ending it. This country is ruled by a select few… not the many.
We live in Babylon. Money is the root of every legal/political issue. If we didn’t have currency but had common sense, cannabis would have been “legal” a long time ago. But what the hell is legal anyway? Who has the right to restrict a vital part of mother nature? Oh, that’s right – the fat, old, money/bloodsucking politicians you vote for. And not to mention the Wall Street puppets that are benefiting from this, and in turn benefitting our regime. Our country is poor but Wall Street is rich, and our regime must keep Wall Street satisfied.
They don’t believe that cannabis regulation would be a multibillion dollar industry because, frankly, they have never tried it. A DRUG WAR is a multibillion dollar industry, my friends. They love it. And it’s fun to make people feel bad for using outlawed nature. Ah yes. Don’t you people know the plan of power?
They will outlaw nature, and in then synthesize its benefits and hand them to you at a large cost. Ever heard of Marinol? This is control and this is power, and this is the age we live in. Morphine is OK, but poppy plants aren’t.
It has already begun and they are moving slowly so as not to stir any suspicious thoughts up. Because, you know, we are all crazy individuals!
Gordon Brown is the same idiot who squandered his country’s gold reserves back in 1999 to suppress the gold market. It did not work and he is considered a fool today with gold prices pushing $1000.
His scam with cannabis is no different. He used the mental illness nonsense to push an agenda. I think he knew Britain was/is heading for harder economic times; and throwing people in jail is a solution to unemployment. What a tool!!
oH yeah number 14 David: i was diagnosed with bi polar disorder in ’96. Pot helps wonders eh? I live in kansa now and sometimes i got herbs sometimes not. When i do i feel great. When i dont i take depakote which jacks my guts up. Doesnt do near the same. I enjoy a kik ass family alot of popularity and decent intelligence. But few of my freinds know the hell that goes on in my head at times. This may sound fucked up but i woulda killed myself by now if pot didnt exsist. Before herb i went to the pueblo mental health institution with about 100 inch deep cuts on my arms and legs. I also tried to shot myself when i was 18 but my pistol jammed. With pot im almost normal. (lol) i wanna kik the ass of the men who started and continue to lie about pot. When its legal ill finally be healthy
While I love the study, so many reefer madness claims are debunked just with a bit of common sense.
When they say that cannabis hurts reproductive organs, just note, “Yeah, that’s why the Rastafarians died out and you never see hippie kids in tie-dyes anymore.”
When they say that cannabis use increases schizophrenia risk, say, “That’s why, when pot use peaked in 1979, we saw so many more schizophrenics. Maybe that explains disco.”
When they say that cannabis use leads to hard drug use, just say, “Yeah, I was just reading about that in Heroin Times Magazine,” or “Yeah, remember Bill Clinton’s, Al Gore’s, John Kerry’s, Barack Obama’s, and George Bush’s awful heroin habits?”
When they say that cannabis is so much more potent than the ’60s and ’70s weed, say, “OK, so if that weed was so much weaker, why is it still illegal, too?”
The amazing thing about marijuana is its ability to addle the brains of those who don’t use it.
# Russ Belville Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
…”The amazing thing about marijuana is
its ability to addle the brains of
those who don’t use it.”
RE:
Touche!
Mr. Belville
well, this debate was begun in 1913 when cannabis was added to a list of banned substances along with opium at a convention to control opium trade. Originally it was not even going to be mentioned but the British Egyptian representative (eygpt at this time a major cotton producer) claim that it caused mental illness. In an attempt to cause disorder and form sides the Eygptians claimed that europeans were being racist because cannabis did not pose a threat to them. It is true cannabis was not a problem for the europeans, but it wasn’t a problem for anyone, it is a half-truth.
You might wonder why would those egyptians want cannabis controlled? The answer is dresden cotton, a cheap cotton of good quality which began to compete with cotton around this time. Dresden cottons of was half the price of the cheapest cotton product. This ploy was for specific economic goals of a few people, and used in order to enrage the emotions of those present and created a situation out of nothing for this single purpose.
1913 is also the year income taxes (paying the gov for the right to work, what are we serfs?), and the Federal bank of the U.S.(let’s give some wealthy bankers control of every aspect of money, what could go wrong right?) was established. so in retrospect it is not surprising cannabis was attacked like this, 1913 is the year america died.
note dresden cotton is made from cannabis fiber not cotton sorry
Suggestions for a better society:
1) Re-institute true trial by jury, where natural law reigns supreme and only an equal can judge/run the trial.
2) get rid of the federal reserve, the power to print money should be given back to the government once the people have brought it under control
3) Abolish the income tax, Charging people on their wages is like paying protection money. We are not serfs of the government
4) Cannabis should be legal, Our resource base should and must be cannabis, the most efficient and fruitful gift from above.
5) education should be restructured, schools today seperate reality and the classroom so much that it’s a sin, the desire to learn is being silently put to death.
6) Preventive medicine should be the norm, people need to be informed of what they put in their bodies on a daily basis, instead of waiting to crash why not actively maintain like you do a house?
People need to be taught the basics by the time they’re ten. Basic reading, math, fundamental ideas of the sciences, Their rights, general good health, and history. After this point we should ask what they wish to learn more about until about 18, ask once every year for 8 years. After this time if they simply choose nothing they can always be taught cannabis cultivation. Beyond this point people should attend specialized schools for what it is they desire to learn. The goal would no longer be money, money would be most plentiful. Rather the goal would simply be to better ourselves and create something better for our children, they are the only real testament of our exsistence, and they are the vessel in which our ideals travel through the vast sea of time.
Say wtf? schizoprhenia? my father was schizophrenic and he didnt smoke weed, but he took alot of priscriptions…maybe if he smoke marijuana he wouldnt have tripped out and bounced on his family because he lost his job?
Greed, power, money, Greed, power, money, Greed, power, money, Greed, power, money, Greed, power, money, …. when can we get off this ride? Its making me sick!!
. I have smokin for about 38 years. According to their research, I should be psychcotic by now or mentally challenged . What about the research that goes into BIG PHARM DRUGS to treat people for their mental problems. When something new comes on the market we are the guinea pigs. Look at all the times you watch the boob tube and there are drug recalls or new warnings put on boxes and labels that this does this and this does that. In a lot of instantces the drug reactions are worse than the condition itself and creates more problems. No wonder people are switching to marijuana to control their mental capacities. The side effects are minimal to almost non-existant and more relieving and non- toxic. When the doctor gives you one drug and it does’nt work and then they give you another and compounds the problem. Basically there are a lot of individuals who do not not need this BIG PHARM GARBAGE. If you feel the need to have to go that course, choose wisely. Remember that there are a lot of BIG PHARM DRUGS a doctor would not use. SYNTHETIC DRUGS CREATE PLASTIC MINDED PEOPLE. Where has MOTHER NATURE gone? HAIL TO THE NEW MOTHER NATURE FOR SHE IS GETTING US ALL NATURALLY.
I can’t say it enough…We the People should be screaming our asses off for the Data Quality Act and The President’s Memo to Executive Dept Heads and Agencies. If we don’t…we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves, for the dissemination of false and misleading information.
If we want laws in our favor…we have to protect those laws on an individual basis before we protect them as a
constituency.
Now I know our leaders have lost thier minds. I just heard they are talking bout forcing americans to buy health insurance or they have to pay 1000$ or more in fines! How the hell is a person gonna pay the freakin fines if they cant pay for health insurance in the first place. Whats next? Jail if you dont pay the fine. We are in serious danger here people. This little hell they are creating is for us not them. Damned if we do damned if we dont.They are slowly lawing people right into a cage.
[...] very recent study also debunked the “pot causes mental illness” claim. I also talked about depression and schizophrenia in an earlier post in which I discussed a few [...]
39 R.O.E Manny here!
“Wait til they make chicken soup a schedule I substance.
Greetings from England. I’ve been waiting for this study to be published for over a year – it actually dates from April 2008 and has been suppressed by the UK government until now.
Interestingly the quote you show – and which others have also highlighted – from the abstract isn’t actually there – has it been changed?
There has been absolutely no coverage of this in the UK media, as you might expect.
Thanks for breaking the story, we’ll do what we can to get the story out over here.
Derek
webmaster ukcia.org
#41 Manford Mantis Says:
July 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
39 R.O.E Manny here!
“Wait til they make chicken soup a schedule I substance.”
RE:
Don’t forget about…
Allium sativum
(Sometimes added to chicken soup
to enhance its restorative-properties…).
- It has an “illegal-sounding”
binomial-nomenclature,
AND
an objectionable odor,
(by the opinion of certain individuals…)
#27 Joe Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:37 am
“…Who has the right to restrict a vital part of mother nature? …”
RE: Those who consider themselves greater than the Creator…
“…And it’s fun to make people feel bad for using outlawed nature. Ah yes.
Don’t you people know the plan of power?
RE: I know, all TOO well…
I remember,
(from many years ago…),
an OTC cold-remedy advert
deriding those choosing to use,
(still legal, fortunately),
garlic, instead.
- Same tactic used by medi-cann FOES to
likewise, dismiss its efficacy, also.
“They will outlaw nature,
and in then synthesize its benefits and
hand them to you at a large cost.
Ever heard of Marinol?
This is control and this is power,
and this is the age we live in.
Morphine is OK, but poppy plants aren’t.”
RE: ‘Crude plants’,
(with the exception of GM cultivars),
aren’t ‘patentable’,
therefore, don’t satisfy their
‘LOVE of MONEY…’
“It has already begun and they are moving slowly
so as not to stir any suspicious thoughts up.
Because, you know, we are all crazy individuals!”
RE: Only crazy for lack of specific,
botanically-obtained, nutritional-factors…
(…including cannabinoids…)
- Ever notice that those studies ‘proving’ that pot causes mental-illness
and suicide refer back to someone who has been cannabis-abstinent
for 6 months PRIOR to killing themselves / becoming ‘psychotic’?
- This is like withholding water from
a person, then claiming that it ’causes’ dehydration.
#18 Victor Spencer Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:41 am
Prohibition and lies
cause schizophrenia and psychosis
not consumption!
RE:
All too true, Victor.
- Just like when a computer or android
in a Star-Trek episode is deliberately
fed illogical-information,
and then, in turn,
self-destructs…
ER-ROR! ER-ROR! AN-A-LYZE!
Sarah Palin just said:
“Only dead fish go with the flow.”
That to me means:
“If you are a up-streamer…you’re a part of the solution…If you’re not an up-streamer…you’re a part of the problem and you’re washed away with the flow.”
So!…What’s it gonna be? Are we going to be the flow, or are we gonna be the wash. It’s up to you!
Sarah palin just said:
“Only dead fish go with the flow.”
That to me means:
If you are an “up-streamer” you’re a part of the solution. If you’re not an “up-streamer” you’re a part of the problem, and are washed away with flow.
So!…What’s it gonna be…it’s up to you!
Sarah Palin just said:
“Only dead fish go with the flow.”
She’s dead-ass right:
If you’re an “up-streamer” you are a vital part of the solution.
If you’re not an “up-streamer” you’re a vital part of the problem, and are washed away with the flow.
What’s it gonna be? It’s up to you!
Study debunks mental illness from smoking pot? Maybe some of these prohibitionists need to try it themselves. This lady (leslee5) basically rats out on her family members with her comments today at: http://www.ohercregister.com/articles/marijuana-says-medical-2484916-use-california
sorry here’s correct url to read:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marijuana-says-medical-2484916-use-california