http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/ Please use the forum to post cannabis scientific research, results and studies en Wed, 22 May 2013 01:59:38 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/images/misc/rss.png http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/ http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?96682-3-points-about-cannabis&goto=newpost Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:31 GMT Some guy posted this on a news paper website in retaliation to people shouting off at the mouth about shit they don't understand :)
"Podkane Okay, I signed up and made an account just to post this reply.


Three points I want to make about the supposed link between cannabis and mental illness, no more.


Firstly, most mental illnesses (ie. Schizophrenia, maybe) have three stages. Prodrome, Active, and Residual; but I'm sure you know that so I won't patronize you by going into any more depth on what they are. A person suffering the prodrome is as of yet unaware they are ill, and their symptoms are not hugely noticeable yet but in this stage they are much more likely to use drugs in an attempt to self-medicate as they don't understand what's going on and want to try and fix it themselves. Using cannabis during the prodrome or active phases of a mental illness can indeed, with heavy long term use, make symptoms worse but if the person is healthy, there is a much slimmer chance of this.


I'm sure in institutions there are many people brought down by cannabis use, but as a mentally ill individual is more likely to take drugs than a healthy person, the rate of problems caused by cannabis are a lot higher in institutions than in the general population. On the other hand, how many patients are in institutions from problems caused by alcohol or harder drug abuse? In fact there's speculation that moving from cannabis onto harder drugs might be an early symptom of mental health issues in some people. 70% of hard drug users started with cannabis, but less than 2% of cannabis users ever go on to try anything else. It works both ways.


Finally, there is mounting evidence that cannabis may have powerful anti-psychotic effects. The two main chemicals in cannabis are THC, delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol, and CBD, Cannabidiol. THC is the one that causes you to feel euphoric, gives you the "high" sensation. Funnily enough you don't have to develop receptors to process THC in the brain, we as humans are born with them already. It's like we've evolved for it. CBD is the pain-relieving molecule, which also has built-in receptors in the brain. CBD may also hold the key to future anti-psychotic medications.


You see, the blame for mental illness stemming from cannabis rests on THC, but people are generally under the collective assumption that cannabis is just one thing. THC can aggravate symptoms of mental illness in users who are genetically vulnerable to it or are already ill. At the moment, there are strains of cannabis out there with a THC content of almost 20% which are the more risky ones because it's very easy for somebody to overshoot their comfortable limit with them and have bad experiences which can lead to paranoia, and in turn exacerbation of mental illness.


CBD, on the other hand, does not. It has the opposite effect. THC gets you high, CBD relaxes you and reduces anxiety and paranoia. Currently in the US there are teams working on new strains of cannabis that are THC-free, which can be researched to be developed into new anti-psychotic drugs.


The future is bright with cannabis."

:) ]]> Cannabis Research cannamancan http://www.thctalk.com/cannabis-forum/showthread.php?96682-3-points-about-cannabis