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Does weed cause psychosis


Is there a link between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders?

National Institutes of Health

Research Report

Several studies have linked marijuana use to increased risk for psychiatric disorders, including psychosis (schizophrenia), depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders, but whether and to what extent it actually causes these conditions is not always easy to determine.32  Recent research suggests that smoking high-potency marijuana every day could increase the chances of developing psychosis by nearly five times compared to people who have never used marijuana.113 The amount of drug used, the age at first use, and genetic vulnerability have all been shown to influence this relationship. The strongest evidence to date concerns links between marijuana use and psychiatric disorders in those with a preexisting genetic or other vulnerability. 61

Research using longitudinal data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions examined associations between marijuana use, mood and anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders. After adjusting for various confounding factors, no association between marijuana use and mood and anxiety disorders was found. The only significant associations were increased risk of alcohol use disorders, nicotine dependence, marijuana use disorder, and other drug use disorders.62

Recent research (see "AKT1 Gene Variations and Psychosis") has found that people who use marijuana and carry a specific variant of the AKT1 gene, which codes for an enzyme that affects dopamine signaling in the striatum, are at increased risk of developing psychosis. The striatum is an area of the brain that becomes activated and flooded with dopamine when certain stimuli are present. One study found that the risk of psychosis among those with this variant was seven times higher for those who used marijuana daily compared with those who used it infrequently or used none at all.63

Image

Source: Di Forti et al. Biol Psychiatry. 2012.

Whether adolescent marijuana use can contribute to developing psychosis later in adulthood appears to depend on whether a person already has a genetically based vulnerability to the disorder. The AKT1 gene governs an enzyme that affects brain signaling involving the neurotransmitter dopamine. Altered dopamine signaling is known to be involved in schizophrenia. AKT1 can take one of three forms in a specific region of the gene implicated in susceptibility to schizophrenia: T/T, C/T, and C/C. Those who use marijuana daily (green bars) with the C/C variant have a seven times higher risk of developing psychosis than those who use it infrequently or use none at all. The risk for psychosis among those with the T/T variant was unaffected by whether they used marijuana.

Another study found an increased risk of psychosis among adults who had used marijuana in adolescence and also carried a specific variant of the gene for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme that degrades neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine 64 (see "Genetic Variations in COMT Influences the Harmful Effects of Abused Drugs"). Marijuana use has also been shown to worsen the course of illness in patients who already have schizophrenia. As mentioned previously, marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction in non-schizophrenic people who use marijuana, especially at high doses, although this fades as the drug wears off.

Image

Source: Di Forti et al. Biol Psychiatry. 2012.

The influence of adolescent marijuana use on adult psychosis is affected by genetic variables. This figure shows that variations in a gene can affect the likelihood of developing psychosis in adulthood following exposure to cannabis in adolescence. The COMT gene governs an enzyme that breaks down dopamine, a brain chemical involved in schizophrenia. It comes in two forms: "Met" and "Val." Individuals with one or two copies of the Val variant have a higher risk of developing schizophrenic-type disorders if they used cannabis during adolescence (dark bars). Those with only the Met variant were unaffected by cannabis use.

Inconsistent and modest associations have been reported between marijuana use and suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide among teens. 65,66 Marijuana has also been associated with an amotivational syndrome, defined as a diminished or absent drive to engage in typically rewarding activities. Because of the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating mood and reward, it has been hypothesized that brain changes resulting from early use of marijuana may underlie these associations, but more research is needed to verify that such links exist and better understand them.

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Photo by ©getttyimages.com/Fuse

Acute (present during intoxication)

  • Impaired short-term memory
  • Impaired attention, judgment, and other cognitive functions
  • Impaired coordination and balance
  • Increased heart rate
  • Anxiety, paranoia
  • Psychosis (uncommon)

Persistent (lasting longer than intoxication, but may not be permanent)

  • Impaired learning and coordination
  • Sleep problems

Long-term (cumulative effects of repeated use)

  • Potential for marijuana addiction
  • Impairments in learning and memory with potential loss of IQ*
  • Increased risk of chronic cough, bronchitis
  • Increased risk of other drug and alcohol use disorders
  • Increased risk of schizophrenia in people with genetic vulnerability**

*Loss of IQ among individuals with persistent marijuana use disorder who began using heavily during adolescence

**These are often reported co-occurring symptoms/disorders with chronic marijuana use. However, research has not yet determined whether marijuana is causal or just associated with these mental problems.

Cannabis and psychosis: Neurobiology - PMC

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How marijuana affects mental health and is it possible for people with mental disorders to smoke - Knife

Scientists warn of an increased risk of developing severe mental disorders such as psychosis, mania and even paranoid schizophrenia. At the same time, other researchers believe that it is too early to talk about a causal relationship, and the brain of heavy smokers is completely restored in just a month after the start. There are still others who even suggest using weed for the treatment of mental disorders. We understand what to fear.

How marijuana affects the brain

Marijuana is the most widespread drug and the fourth most common way to slightly poison your body (immediately after alcohol, tobacco and coffee). Its effect on the body is complex: the active substances mj do not directly disrupt its work, but indirectly affect many vital processes.

Cannabis resin contains more than 80 active substances (cannabinoids), but the characteristic effect of smoking is caused by a combination of two main ones, the action of which is opposite.

1. Tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC )
Causes euphoria, revitalization and pleasant excitement, and also increases anxiety, restlessness and agitation.
2. Cannabidiol (CBD)
Has an inhibitory effect, reduces anxiety, calms.

The interaction of these two substances explains the excitatory effect from small doses (THC is a more active substance) and the subsequent inhibitory effect from large doses (CBD is larger in volume).

Cannabinoids simultaneously affect several parts of the brain and processes in the body:

- the limbic system, which is responsible for emotions, which can cause both euphoria and fear;

- the hippocampus that controls memory and attention: memory becomes weaker, attention becomes scattered, thinking becomes chaotic. Consumers may describe these sensations as intuition and insight, but in reality it is a chaotic wandering of thoughts and emotions;

- the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which begins to react sharply to external sensations: sounds, colors seem brighter;

- affect the feeling of hunger, increasing appetite;

- enhance the release of dopamine, which explains positive emotions.

Experiments on mice described the "popcorn effect": under the influence of marijuana, nimble rodents became quiet and lethargic. But at the same time, their nerves were overexcited: they literally bounced in place from sounds and touches.

In different plant varieties, the content of THC varies significantly: from 1% to 20%. In some, it is so high that it can provoke a real psychosis. The average buyer, of course, is usually not aware of the specifics of the chemical composition. On average, the joints that were smoked in the hippie era are weaker than those sold now. For example, a popular variety called "skunk": it is grown in greenhouses or hydroponically, it acts on the brain quickly and, along with euphoria, can cause nervousness, panic attacks and vomiting.

Is there an addiction to marijuana

Contrary to popular belief, there is an addiction to cannabis. But the risk of its development is lower than from hard drugs, tobacco or alcohol. Marijuana causes addiction in about 9% of users (for alcohol and cocaine users, this risk is higher, 15%). For those who consume several times a week, the risk of addiction reaches 30%.

In the US, marijuana addiction is listed as a mental disorder and affects more than four million people, and in England there are hotlines and support groups for addicts - you can check yourself right now, answering 12 questions about marijuana use.

The state of the addict is described as a "motivational syndrome": weakening and slowing down of mental abilities, decreased interest in the outside world, passivity, lack of ambition and motivation, fatigue, shaky mood. But scientists are still arguing whether such a “vegetable” state is caused by years of abuse, or by an overly relaxed lifestyle itself.

An experiment with students (volunteers smoked 11 joints a day and were still paid for it) showed that their learning abilities recovered when the experiment ended. So far, no irreversible changes in the brain directly caused by marijuana have been identified. Science says that if you quit, on average, after a month, mental abilities will return to normal. But this is not accurate: research is ongoing, and there is already evidence (still requiring clarification) that some consumers, even months later, are less able to make informed decisions and are more prone to risk and impulsivity.

Despite rumors, there is a withdrawal syndrome when using marijuana: a person on withdrawal may lose appetite, experience nausea, sweating, restless sleep with nightmares, emotional swings.

What negative effects are observed when using marijuana

The effects of marijuana are very individual and depend not only on the type of grass, but also on the reactions of a particular organism. So it is almost impossible to predict it in advance.

In various studies, from 5 to 20% of mj users experienced panic attacks, anxiety, depression, obsessive thoughts, loss of energy, apathy.

A survey in a community of young people with mental health problems found that almost 15% of participants (out of 120 respondents) admitted to experiencing negative effects from smoking weed, ranging from irritability to panic attacks.

J: “Smoked a couple of times to relieve depression and seemed to help. But then, against the background of use, anxiety began to go off scale, up to painful spasms from fear, so I don’t want to continue the experiments.”

He also showed that the "pipe" is indeed a common means of self-medication of the psyche among teenagers and young people: 50 out of 120 (that is, almost one in two) admitted that they had an experience of using it.

L.: “I sat on the grass for six months. I found that after getting up, the depressive phase always begins, and it is harder than it usually happens. At the same time, the usual antidepressants do not remove it.”

These phenomena are unpleasant, but temporary. Nevertheless, cannabis can provoke mental disorders that can stay with us for life. Diseases of "big psychiatry" are considered incurable: a person can stay in remission for many years - but at any moment he can be overwhelmed by a new attack.

Can marijuana cause psychosis? A large dose of cannabis (or a small one, but with a high content of THC) can cause acute psychosis - a mental disorder in which a person loses touch with reality and the ability to behave adequately, he can see hallucinations, hear voices, and express crazy ideas.

In medicine, there is a special term "hashish psychosis" ( Cannabis induced psychosis) . It is accompanied by bouts of fear (they are caused by terrible hallucinations) and aggression (a person tries to protect himself from them).

Even a twilight disorder of consciousness may occur, in which the patient runs, aimlessly, not reacting to those around him, and after hours he does not remember at all what happened to him. The risk of getting such an experience, according to various studies, is from 1.5% to 5%, and it is higher the higher the dose you took. Usually after a few hours the patient fully recovers. But there may be long-term consequences as well.

Is there a link between cannabis use and schizophrenia

Hundreds of studies involving tens of thousands of people have been devoted to the relationship between marijuana abuse and schizophrenia, and most of them have concluded that there is such a connection, and quite strong.

One of the largest studies was conducted in Finland: for 15 years, doctors examined 18,000 patients with acute psychosis caused by drugs or alcohol, which eventually developed from single psychotic attacks into schizophrenia.

46% of cannabis-induced psychotic patients developed some form of schizophrenia within 8 years. This is much more common than patients who have abused alcohol or amphetamines.

In most cases, the disease manifested itself in the first three years after the first hospitalization.

Danish researchers led by Mikkel Arendt came to similar conclusions (published in the British Journal of Psychiatry). Of the patients with hashish psychosis they examined, almost a third eventually fell ill with one of the most severe forms of schizophrenia - paranoid. With this disease, the level of intelligence is preserved, but consciousness is completely captured by hallucinations and delusional ideas.

Adolescents addicted to cannabis and adolescents suffering from schizophrenia showed similar brain features: hyperactivity of the centers of vision and hearing. It is with this feature that the symptoms of anxious listening to non-existent sounds (for example, voices in the head), frightening obsessive images, hallucinations are associated.

But correlation does not mean causation: just because cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia does not mean that it causes the disease.

Psychosis, and even more so manifestations of schizophrenia, are observed only in a relatively small part of active marijuana users, so the scientists made a cautious conclusion: cannabis abuse provokes an accelerated development of the disease and its more severe and more frequent attacks, provided that the initial predisposition: in cannabis users symptoms of schizophrenia appear earlier by an average of 2.7 years.

Schizophrenia itself develops quite slowly. Changes in the psyche can take up to 10-15 years before the first psychotic episode occurs. The narcotic substance can act as a trigger that starts the active phase of the disease.

What is a predisposition to a mental disorder

First of all, this is a hereditary predisposition - that is, an innate hypersensitivity to certain substances, a violation of the metabolism of neurotransmitters in the brain.

There is no one gene for schizophrenia that will surely drive you crazy if you were born with it, but there are many genes that each slightly increase your chances of getting the disease.

Second, difficult social conditions. Belonging to economically and socially disadvantaged sections of society, constant stress, experienced violence - all this increases the risk of a “roof congress”. Finally, personal psychological characteristics. For example, highly pronounced anxiety traits can develop into a full-fledged anxiety disorder.

Each of these factors in itself is not a sentence: a trigger is often needed to “trigger” a disease. It may never appear, but often it becomes a drug.

It cannot be ruled out that people predisposed to schizophrenia use the herb as a self-medication to get rid of constant mental discomfort. People with mental disorders are indeed more prone to different types of chemical addictions.

There is another view on the relationship between these two phenomena. Doctors from King's College came to the conclusion that the same combination of genes causes susceptibility to both schizophrenia and marijuana addiction.

Large studies have been criticized for not always taking into account the effects of other harmful substances, since a significant proportion of users are not limited to cannabis. It is quite possible that marijuana itself would not have had such an effect.

The fact that the incidence of schizophrenia has practically not changed over the years, while marijuana has experienced a real boom in the last 30 years: the number of users in many countries, in particular in the USA, Canada and France, has exceeded 10% - but while the number of patients with schizophrenia in society remains at the level of 1%.

Can marijuana make mania worse? But several recent studies have shown that cannabis use in adolescence is a risk factor for the development of bipolar disorder (BD) at an older age.

A team at Warwick Medical School found that teens who use marijuana at least 2-3 times a week are more likely to show symptoms of hypomania (a mild form of mania), one of the manifestations of bipolar disorder, later on.

Smokers with bipolar disorder, like those with schizophrenia, often justify themselves by saying that the herb helps them cope with the most severe symptoms: anxiety, depression. But the scientists did not take their word for it and found that patients usually use grass not when they feel bad, but when the mood is already upbeat to increase euphoria. This is just fraught with an attack of mania.

Moreover, it turned out that people with BAD who abuse marijuana are more likely to attempt suicide . In addition, the disease starts at a younger age than in "teetotalers". This is bad, because bipolar disorder, which began in adolescence, is more severe and more dangerous than in adults.

For cannabis to cause mania or the onset of bipolar disorder, there must also be a hereditary predisposition. It was even possible to establish the genes that are responsible for it. If you have a certain variant of the AKT1 gene, your risk of manic psychosis is higher. “If you have bipolar disorder and use marijuana to relieve symptoms, ask your doctor to refer you for genetic testing,” the study authors thoughtfully suggest.

What other troubles are associated with marijuana

There are other mental disorders that are more common among cannabis users. First of all, these are anxiety and depressive states.

Studies show that regular marijuana smokers are 4 to 6 times more likely to have depressive episodes. In Australia, 1,600 schoolchildren were followed for seven years using cannabis at 14-15 years old. Those who smoked daily during this period of their lives were five times more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in adulthood. In addition, the active substances in cannabis often provoke attacks of paranoia: a person feels that he is being followed, or he is being pursued, wanting to cause harm.

Who is at risk of developing mental illness when smoking mj

A portrait of a person in the “risk group” is formed from various studies. That is, someone who is at great risk of paying for a relaxed mental health.

1. You have a predisposition to mental disorders.

The catch is that you can’t know for sure about this in advance: schizophrenia usually starts before the age of 25, bipolar disorder before 35. If you are young and feel great, you may not be healthy, but the disease has not yet had time to manifest itself - and taking drugs substances you "help" him to do this. If you already have people with mental disorders in your family, it’s definitely not worth the risk.

2. You have pronounced schizoid character traits (withdrawal, vulnerability, extravagance). Marijuana exacerbates not only schizophrenia, but also schizoid disorder - not so severe, but also unpleasant.

3. You started using early (especially before the age of 16, when the psyche is still being formed).

4. You have experienced an episode of psychosis.

5. You use a lot and often. The larger and more regular the dosage, the higher the likelihood of psychosis and its further development into schizophrenia.

Can marijuana treat mental disorders

Speaking of marijuana and the psyche, one cannot ignore the opposite point of view: that the herb can heal.

Almost all drugs in the 19th-20th centuries were used as medicines and produced for this very purpose. Until it became obvious that the side effects were far worse than the disease itself.

In psychiatry, LSD can be called a hit. Several generations of psychiatrists and psychologists experimented with the effects of psychedelics on their patients, from Carl Gustav Jung in 1930s to Timothy Leary in the 1960s. Leary, the psychedelic guru, was arrested in a scandal, and drug experimentation is banned in most countries. But that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Not so long ago, a book was published about how underground psychiatrists treat patients whom official medicine considered hopeless (that is, resistant to known drugs) with the help of the same LSD, amphetamines and, to a lesser extent, marijuana. It’s definitely not worth repeating their methods at home, even if they really help someone: there is a big difference between using a purified substance under medical supervision and an incomprehensible mixture at your own peril and risk.

There is also a completely legal industry for the production of marijuana for medical purposes in those countries where it is legal (for example, in Canada - since 2001). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), cannabis-based drugs can be used as pain relievers, against nausea and loss of appetite. For example, Marinol is prescribed to cancer patients to improve their weak appetite: these drugs do not get high, they just contain small dosages of cannabinoids purified from impurities.

The practice of using marijuana in psychiatry is relatively small, and there are even fewer studies proving its effectiveness. But, as we have already found out, a huge number of patients use it as a self-medication, so the question is more than relevant.

Psychiatrist Julie Holland, author of a fairly popular book on marijuana, says marijuana relieves military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A 2016 study published in the Clinical Psychology Review found that cannabis can also improve the condition of people with depression and social anxiety. True, it soon became clear that these scientists received funding from Canadian marijuana producers, so there is reason to doubt their objectivity.

(Our other article is devoted to the scientifically proven therapeutic effects of marijuana)

Weed smokers are six times more likely to get schizophrenia

Weed smokers are six times more likely to get schizophrenia - Rossiyskaya gazeta

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Weed smokers are six times more likely to get schizophrenia

Vladimir Bogdanov

Canadian doctors, together with colleagues from the United Kingdom and the United States, analyzed data from observations of more than 23,000 marijuana users. Conclusion: there is a relationship between the consumption of "weed" in adolescence and depressive disorder in adults.

Experts are convinced that smoking marijuana is the gateway to heroin addiction or other hard drugs. According to foreign studies over the past 15 years, over 20 million people annually use marijuana. In the United States, marijuana addiction is listed as a mental disorder and affects more than four million people.

Meanwhile, it has been scientifically proven that schizophrenia occurs 6 times more often in marijuana users. Cannabis provokes bouts of paranoia. These people are constantly lowering the psychological barrier against hard drugs. Smoking cannabis causes the greatest harm to the respiratory organs: the dangerous substances contained in the smoke cause lung cancer. In medicine, there is a special term "hashish psychosis". It is accompanied by bouts of fear, terrible hallucinations. One of the largest studies was conducted in Finland: for a long time, doctors examined 18,000 patients with acute psychosis caused by narcotic substances: 46% of these patients fell ill with one form or another of schizophrenia.

Rossiyskaya gazeta - Federal issue: No. 75(7833)

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