Smoking weed while having schizophrenia

[SzAdmin]

@Multatuli

So yeah. I smoke weed sometimes. And in periods I have smoked it alot. My psychologist advises against it.

You have a smart psychologist. Read up on what its doing to your brain:

Cannabis Use when you have Schizophrenia - the Negative Problems and Impacts

Continuing the discussion from We need a chat room (instant messaging): I think the vast majority of the research suggests that cannabis (with moderate or higher levels of THC) is a bad idea if you have psychosis / schizophrenia. I think most psychiatrists who are working to help their patients try to get them to quit. Here is a quote from a current study in Europe: “Cannabis use by people with schizophrenia is associated with family distress and poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, an Family Motivational Intervention (FMI) was developed to help parents to motivate their child with a diagnoses of recent-onset schizophrenia to reduce cannabis use.” source: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct…

New Study shows how Cannabis / Marijuana damages White Matter in Brain of people with First Episode Psychosis / schizophrenia

The team explored the impact of cannabis potency in inducing psychosis. They used an MRI technique to look at the white matter of 99 people, 56 of which had reported a first psychotic episode. They found that white matter damage was significantly greater among heavy users of high-potency cannabis compared to occasional or low-potency users. Dr. Paola Dazzan, reader in neurobiology of psychosis from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, and senior researcher on the study, said in a statement: “We found that frequent use of high potency cannabis significantly affects the structure of white matter fibres in the brain, whether you have psychosi…

Smoking skunk cannabis triples risk of serious psychotic episode, says research

Smoking powerful skunk cannabis triples the risk of suffering a serious psychotic episode, scientists have found. In the population studied by the researchers in South London, where cannabis use is widespread, the drug is linked to one quarter of all new cases of psychosis, the team found. The findings add to a compelling body of evidence that smoking strong cannabis “tilts the odds” towards a person developing psychosis, which leads to schizophrenia in about half of cases. The study found that those who smoked skunk every day had five times the normal risk of experiencing extended episodes in which they heard voices, suffered delusions or demonstrated erratic behaviour. Sir Robin Murray…

Cannabis and psychosis: understanding the smoke signals

From @firemonkey (thanks for pointing us towards this!) There is no cure for schizophrenia. Accordingly, clinicians must do their best at managing the various symptoms that emerge during the course of the disease. Therefore, identification of putative risk factors that trigger relapse and contribute to poor prognosis is crucial. Because cannabis might contribute to the development of schizophrenia, The continued effect of the drug on the course of the disease is of great clinical interest and a focus on how to improve outcomes in this disorder is essential. In their observational study, Tabea Schoeler and colleagues investigated the effects of different patterns of cannabis…

Social Functioning Trajectories of Young First-Episode Psychosis Patients with and without Cannabis Misuse: A 30-Month Follow-Up Study

Summary: On the whole, this study shows that cannabis misuse was highly prevalent (> 50%) within a sample of FEP patients after the remission of acute psychotic symptoms. While an overall improvement in social functioning was observed in this sample, in the context of an early intervention service, those patients with baseline cannabis misuse did not improve their long-term social outcomes during the study period. Therefore, there is a need to develop effective interventions to reduce cannabis misuse and, ultimately, to improve social outcomes, which is an essential goal for specialized services that provide care for young people with psychosis. Source: (full paper)

How harmful is cannabis? – podcast

What has convinced some researchers that the risks of heavy cannabis use now warrant public health campaigns to warn people of potential harm? How real is the risk of psychosis among vulnerable users of the drug? And why has the number of young people receiving treatment for cannabis-related problems seemingly been on the rise in the UK? Ian Sample is joined by Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King’s College London, Suzi Gage, senior research associate in the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at Bristol University and Ian Hamilton, a mental health lecturer at the University of York.