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RainDog

(28,784 posts)
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 01:36 PM Dec 2013

Harvard: Marijuana Doesn’t Cause Schizophrenia

cross post from here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101681364

http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/12/10/harvard-marijuana-doesnt-cause-schizophrenia/63148.html

Harvard: Marijuana Doesn’t Cause Schizophrenia
By JOHN M. GROHOL, PSY.D.
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on December 10, 2013

...The new study is the first family study that, according to the researchers, “examines both non-psychotic cannabis users and non-cannabis user controls as two additional independent samples, enabling the examination of whether the risk for schizophrenia is increased in family members of cannabis users who develop schizophrenia compared with cannabis users who do not and also whether that morbid risk is similar or different from that in family members of schizophrenia patients who never used cannabis.”

...The researchers recruited 282 subjects from the New York and Boston metropolitan areas who were divided into four groups: controls with no lifetime history of psychotic illness, cannabis, or any other drug use; controls with no lifetime history of psychotic illness, and a history of heavy cannabis use during adolescence, but no other drug use; patients with no lifetime history of cannabis use or any other drug and less than 10 years of being ill; patients with a history of heavy cannabis use and no other drug use during adolescence and prior to the onset of psychosis.

Information about all first-, second-, and third-degree relatives was obtained, as well as information about any other relative who had a known psychiatric illness. This resulted in information on 1,168 first-degree relatives and a total of 4,291 relatives. The study gathered together information regarding cannabis use, and family history regarding schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and drug abuse.

...“While cannabis may have an effect on the age of onset of schizophrenia it is unlikely to be the cause of illness,” said the researchers, who were led by Ashley C. Proal from Harvard Medical School.

“In general, we found a tendency for depression and bipolar disorder to be increased in the relatives of cannabis users in both the patient and control samples. This might suggest that cannabis users are more prone to affective disorders than their non-using samples or vice versa.” Future research is needed to understand this relationship.


6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Harvard: Marijuana Doesn’t Cause Schizophrenia (Original Post) RainDog Dec 2013 OP
K&R! TeamPooka Dec 2013 #1
I knew that. woofless Dec 2013 #2
You are thinking of multiple personality disorder, which has been kestrel91316 Dec 2013 #3
Jeez, how foolish of me. woofless Dec 2013 #5
Schizophrenia is always a tragedy and never something to kestrel91316 Dec 2013 #6
Well duh. kestrel91316 Dec 2013 #4
 

kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
3. You are thinking of multiple personality disorder, which has been
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 03:06 PM
Dec 2013

shown to not even exist.

Please read up on schizophrenia before you go making light of it. It ruined my mom's life and changed my family forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.nami.org/factsheets/schizophrenia_factsheet.pdf

Positive symptoms are also known as “psychotic” symptoms because the person has lost touch with reality in certain ways.
• Delusions or the belief in things not real or true.
• Hallucinations are hearing or seeing things that are not real.
• Disorganized speech expressed as an inability to generate a logical sequence of ideas.

Negative symptoms refer to a reduction of a capacity, such as motivation.
• Emotional flatness or lack of expressiveness.
• Inability to start and follow through with activities.
• Lack of pleasure or interest in life.

Cognitive symptoms pertain to thinking processes.
• Trouble with prioritizing tasks, memory and organizing thoughts.
• Anosognosia or “lack of insight” being unaware of having an illness.

~~~~~~~~

Nothing whatsoever in there about multiple personalities.

woofless

(2,670 posts)
5. Jeez, how foolish of me.
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 03:43 PM
Dec 2013

I am truly ashamed of myself for pushing your pedant button, while going for a silly and harmless joke. We are sufficienly chastised.

 

kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
6. Schizophrenia is always a tragedy and never something to
Tue Dec 31, 2013, 09:33 PM
Dec 2013

mock or crack jokes about.

I wouldn't wish a schizophrenic family member on my worst enemy, but YOU would perhaps benefit from the experience.

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