UKC

Lots of people saying that there are links between smoking and mental illness - seen anyone go mad? I have.
BN

In reply to BN:

Yes -

but its usually along with other shit...

...however weed can cause mild mental health problems in the long term its been seen


Si

In reply to BN: trust me my bro has schizophrenia from taking pot and so anybody who says minor should think again, also some girl near me smoked pot and thought the TV was speaking ti her the next day she stabbed somebody, she wasn't schizophrenic but had metal illness, so actully it is harmfull, but it wont evect me

In reply to BN:
8 pints of wife beater


I am mad as an hatter

Went in the garden for the first time in three weeks and there are weeds everywhere. Didn't turn me mad but I was pretty pissed off.

F**k thats lame

In reply to BN:
special brew has sent me way madder

In reply to BN: So have I, my baby bro, he was 19 when he had his first episode of bipolar, 6 months getting better, 6 months well then went out with his mates, another spliff and back in for 6 months, been like that for 3 years now.
JUST DON'T DO IT. It ruins lives.

In reply to BN:

Anecdotal eveidence is always hard to refute.

I know a psychiatrist who has smoked dope - does that count as a "link to mental illness"?

In reply to BN: It can exacerbate any underlying problems. I have seen this with friends and family members. Frequently accompanied by denile.

Weed is bad for your head. Long term use impacts in all kinds of ways.

Most of us have been there at some point, but the realisation that canabis is a negative thing takes some people longer to come round to.

In reply to KeithW:

Anyone taking THC - is subject to changes in their mental health ... its a drug that affects certain lobes & has a longer lasting affect on people ...depends on how much U have....

...Si

In reply to BN: i talked to this dude he was a major druggie do you know which drugs is the one effecting him the most weed it f*cks up your lungs, all the tar settles to the bottam of the lungs and STAYS there. this guy was on crack, heroin, lsd

In reply to Lbos:

it turns you into a stoner loser who stands outside the drugstore and sells it to underage kids

In reply to Jon Jones: nice big sweeping comment there Jon

In reply to KeithW: Some of the nurses on the mental health ward do it too, there is not that much MEDICAL PROOF that it causes it, just a some rouge gene, all my bro's mates are OK, well!!

In reply to mac_climb:

I was going to say it turns you into a c*nt!







but didn't

In reply to Jon Jones: Yeah, erm... bollox mate.

In reply to fi:
Nurses are f*cking mental already





(today I will mostly have Tourettes f**king syndrome)

In reply to mac_climb: "by - mac_climb on - 21:42 Sun
In reply to brothersoulshine: but generallisation are good fun "


Ermm?

In reply to Lbos: too f**king right it does!

In reply to Iain Ridgway: yes and thats why i complamented him

In reply to Jon Jones:

No the anonimity and distance created by internet forums does that to people

In reply to fi:

aye, that'll be the red one

In reply to BN: hey jon thanks for calling my schizophrenic brother a c*nt and a drug dealer, makes you feel so good about yourself

In reply to mac_climb:

you weren't complementing me, you were defending your own comment

In reply to Justin: lol

In reply to brothersoulshine: i can take it when im been beaten but im not, i meant to complEment, (spelt it right as well)

In reply to BN: also it is straying from the talk, i fully realise i strayed 2, basically if you have a history of metal illness in your family dont do weed

In reply to BN:
I must admit I like a wee smoke once in a while. Everything in moderation as they say.

In reply to BN: well, thanks to work drug screening / health & safety etc... that particular avenue of pleasure is closed off on a permanent basis....... bugger....

Gordon

In reply to BN:

Heavy Cannabis Use Not Associated With Cognitive Deficits, Study Says

April 14, 2005 - Belmont, MA, USA


Belmont, MA: Heavy, long-term use of cannabis appears to have a negligible impact on cognition and memory, according to clinical trial data published in the current issue of the American Journal of Addictions.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School performed magnetic resonance imaging on the brains of 22 long-term cannabis users (reporting a mean of 20,100 lifetime episodes of smoking) and 26 controls (subjects with no history of cannabis use). Imaging displayed "no significant differences" between heavy cannabis smokers compared to controls.

"These findings are consistent with recent literature suggesting that cannabis use is not associated with structural changes within the brain as a whole or the hippocampus in particular," authors concluded.

In reply to stp: Not so sure that because the brain does not look diffrent, there is no damage, I smoked cheech from the age of 18 to 22, quiet heavily for 2 of those years, my short term memory is now very poor. Long term is unaffected, which is some saving grace. I gave up when I realised I was forgetting stuff too often. Now of course its different, there are much stronger strains available, I used to buy of small time 'hippy' dealers, now its controlled by violent nasty scum, even if the person you buy off seems sound, there is someone up the food chain who is not. Supports warlords in Afghanistan, arms trade, and good knows what else. Are you ready kids? JUST SAY NO!

In reply to stp:


How did they remember?


Your quotation appears to come from that well-known and unbiased source, onlinepot.org ! I can't access the full paper, but the abstract only talks about structural changes and doesn't mention memory and cognition at all.

Structural changes are one thing, but an MRI scan is a pretty crude measure of what the brain is up to. It's good for spotting major problems like tumors or strokes but might well miss more subtle damage. Smoking weed when you're young does make you more likely to suffer from psychotic episodes later in life. For a good review see:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/phpnews/wmview.php?ArtID=543

In reply to ICE:

Interesting coz it quite different from all the heavy smokers I know. Their experience is that memory is definitely affected whilst smoking it but after quitting for a few weeks there is no long term effect.

I wonder if your short term memory could be poor because of habit or focus. You just got out of the habit of trying to remember stuff or focusing on what's going on.

As for buying it I guess it depends where you live. Here in Sheffield most weed seems to be locally grown, small scale with hyroponics systems in houses by sound people.

But think imported resin is not only dodgy coz of crime. It can also be cut with stuff too so not as good. I've seen stuff that smells of diesel oil.

In reply to stp:

One of the good things you can say about dope is that you can't OD on it like alcohol and all the others.

I just love seeing people trying to say that any of the drugs/intoxicants aren't bad for you. Just wake up - they all are!

It's so funny;

Person A: It sent my mate mad

Person B: Well I smoke 1kg a month and I hold down a steady job that does not require cognative skills, so I'm fine.

Person C: Here are some biased statistics.

Person E: It's better for you than alcohol even though I am too paranoid to go across the street and buy some more rizzlas.

Dah ha haaaaaaaaaa.

Stoners.

Fex.

In reply to Fex Wazner:

Weed makes you go gay.

All the gay people I know smoke weed. Ergo, weed loves teh cock.

It is a gaytway drug.

Jmaes

In reply to Rothermere:

Funny you should say that, there has been a fair bit of credible research done that suggests it does.

It always makes me feel a little queer. (Que short people gay people jokes)

Fex.

In reply to BN:

I think the gateway argument is always funny as most people with have had a beer long before they get exposed to cannabis. Once they are aware that altered states of consciousness can be pleasurable then it is not that great a link to try others, depending on how deterred the person is by the legal and possible health issues. I've seen to many people beaten up by drunks to harbour any illusions that alcohol is a "good" drug, but I've seen people get into a self-destructive cycle with cannabis use. I think in both cases though there are underlying problems and the drug becomes more of a form of self-medication.

In reply to Fex Wazner:


If you use a vapouriser (so you don't get any smoke, just thc vapour), or eat it, weed may well not be bad for you at all. And by helping you see things from new perspectives you can learn things. It can lead to new insights - you might say wisdom. So it can be good for you.

I love seeing people try to argue that everything is one way or another. Real life is never so black and white.

In reply to BN:

What an utter bollox statement!
All of my friends are stoners and most of the ppl I know are too, Ive been smoking for 17 years and Ive never expirenced anyone going mad from weed!
Ive seen a few go mad because of the pressures of society/ modern living.

Uri

In reply to uriel:

you really should set a better example....

like totally chill out dooode

In reply to uriel:
have to agree. know lots of people who smoke, some for over 20yrs, and all are perfectly normal. it's just a handy scapegoat for underlying psychological imbalances.

In reply to simmo:

I an I is chilled dewd!

Its just that sweeping generalised statements like the op's just rag me as their unfounded.

All the evidence from research has chased its tail around and around and not proved anything other than weed is Weed.

Its not like alcohol Everone knows its harmful and yet most carry on drinking.
Uri (chilled)

In reply to uriel:

My recent observations have lead me to the same conclusion as the OP and the article mentioned above. I didn't used to think this way but I have now reached the opinion that long term use can drive people who are already a bit shaky to go over the top. It may not be true for everybody though... I'm stopping drinking myself.

Reality is as much as I can manage without "enhancing" it!

In reply to uriel: well that's not exactly true is it?

Alcohol is not harmful in moderation, in fact it is beneficial. binge drinking however if very harmful, and you are right people still do it.

Re there's no evidence that weed is bad for you.

well of course it is, for a start you are inhaling smoke, forget the rest thats harmful for a start. Sit in an old bothy with a fire for a week, then when you go running you are blowing ash out of you nose, with coal, black snot, it does stay down there, and cannot be healthy.

Re other side affects, well there has been many studies, paranioa is the obvious widely reported side affect, and in many studies it has been shown to initiate mental disorders that the smoker may be predisposed to. I thought that was now widely understood?

In reply to stp:

It will stick wreck your lungs and mash your brain, even though it is a little better for you.

Fex.

In reply to Iain Ridgway:

I have been observing someone sinking into paranoia recently (as much as I understand the sense of the term, that is) and it is truly alarming. What I don't know is if dope smoking is the cause or not. It could be just the person's way of fighting against the condition, a pathetic attempt to make an unbearable world bearable.

It would be somewhat tricky to carry out a statistically valid experiment to find out. You might not have too much trouble finding volunteers for the research but dealing with the consequences if it turned out to be true might put a strain on the researcher's insurance policy!

In reply to stp: It is something that does my head in, not being able to remember stuff short term, I would love it if there was another cause. Aye had some foul resin in my time too, brother-in-law smokes stuff that just don't smell nice at all, I remember the smell of red leb though, thats how resin should smell.

In reply to BN:

I dont know 'owt about medical research. the only experience on the matter is my own personal experience, which i will offer, and you can choose to ignore/shoot down...

I smoked kg's of dope in my teens to early twenties, and also suffered serious bouts of depression on a few occasions, lasting months each time. I'm pretty certain that dope did'nt cause the lows initially, but weeks on end of heavy using did'nt help to lift my mood, thats for sure.

I truely believe that heavy use, especially in isolation, and especially with todays stronger stuff, does affect the mindset. maybe not in everybody, but certainly in me, and close friends of mine also.

my best friend gets through about 1/2 oz skunk per week. this is a lot, and he will get home from work and smoke all night, and right through the weekend. over the past few years i have seen him turn from a bubbly outgoing social chap, into a reserved introvert. He knows that the green isn't helping, but cannot stop. ok, its not physically addictive, but any hardcore habitual dope smoker will struggle to stop the habit.

I very rarely smoke now, as it makes me instantly clam up, and become very self conscious and introverted. even a few drags has this effect. i beleive that for certain individuals it has a very negative effect on their mental health, while others can cane all day long every day and be unaffected. not enough is known about it yet to be sure, so it should not be legalised or downgraded in my view.

and more should be done to stop youngsters today seeing it as a soft drug.

I'd never thought i'd be sounding off about the weed like this, but from personal experience, it has a negative effect.

I truely beleive that i would be a very different person today, with a much healthier state of mind if i didn't smoke dope for so long.

whatever you do, decide for yourself, and don't be led into anything.

n

In reply to ICE:

With all due respect, maybe because you just didn't use your brain that much for cognitive tasks between the age of 18-22, you didn't exercise short term memory? Maybe you are just getting older? Maybe you just felt you used your short-term memory more prior to that age.

Correlation does not imply causality.

In reply to BN:


I used to cane the skunk for about 4 years until it made me so paranoid I had to give up.

I stick to a bottle of Smirnoff a night now………………………

In reply to wildcountryfriend:

I can back this up. I've witnessed quite a few people smoke themselves into oblivion like you describe, and it's not a pretty sight. However, we are talking extreme use, something like over an ounce a week, so it stands to reason that it isn't good for you. But for the wider debate, I'm not sure that it's a very good example.

Much like alcohol (and many other drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, even heroin), I reckon it does no harm in moderation, but can cause severe problems when used in large quantities, and in combination with other drugs (tobacco, for instance).

In reply to David Martin: you could be right, given the amount I smoking there was in our 'scene', there was certainly no intellectual stimulus like someone at 6th form would be getting from studying, which is just as bad then, as the dope didn't cause it directly, but indirectly. Looking back I sometimes feel I should have been working and getting myself established financially at that age, but then I think of all the parties and good times and it did broaden my horizons in a roundabout way, later in mid 20's travelled through asia and australia, and that I am doing ok now, maybe just one of the lucky ones from that 'scene' as some didn't make it this far. In the final analysis It's not something I would recomend.

In reply to Daz H:

We invented the plunger while at college. It consisted of an 18ft carpet tube with a vacuum cleaner tube at the bottom attached to a tight fitting motorcycle helmet.

A winch system was set up in the loft with a champaign bottle the exact diameter as the tube tied to the end of the rope. As you winch the bottle up, you could pull through an eight ounce of skunk. Once the victim was in position and helmet was snuggly placed, you simply dropped the bottle, compressing about 18 cubic litres of smoke into the lungs.

Needless to say the high was like taking acid and speed at the same time with wild hallucinations, time distortions and paranoia on an incredible scale. I remember ripping an eigth of homegrown white widow skunk and couldn't leave the house for 3 days, not even to go to the pub.

The high off weed, even in small amounts now sends me right back there, crawling around the floor, hocking up into every vessel available and getting severe fractil patterns. Considering the damage it does, I still think its an amazing value for money drug though and should be applied liberally and with plenty of waste.

I don't think anything that can make you halucinate that much can be good for you in anyway though. However, I'd never tell anybody not to keeping doing it if they really enjoyed it. Its just a shame so many people just turn it into a non eventful habit and fulfilling a need rather than creating a special occaision and taking full advantage of its mind expanding properties.

Fex.

In reply to BN:
Lots of people saying that there are links between smoking and mental illness - seen anyone go mad? I have.

You could take from this statement that lots of people with mental illness smoke... wow.. could it be they're self medicating...

In reply to Fex Wazner:

I wanna go on that mofo

I like hallucinating, actually I Love hallucinating

Uri

In reply to uriel:

Never trip of weed. These days when I smoke to much I feel numb rather then high. Still better then decorating the loo!

In reply to Fex Wazner:
Reckon inhaling 18 cu.L of anything in one go will make you go a bit strange, doncha think?

In reply to David Martin:

how many cubic litres can one set of lungs hold?

or is it condensed/pressurised?

thats nuts that is.

In reply to wildcountryfriend:

average lung capacity is about 5 litres but if you're bigger than average or particularly fit might be able to stretch that to around 7.5 litres.
Apparantly the Late Miguel Indurain the Tour De France Winning Cyclist (although only a small chap) had 7 litre lungs. Don't think he would be messing with weed though, probably just the performance enhancing drugs

- must be condensed in some way!

Definitely Nuts - I'm going to unwins for a bottle of Champagne - there's a Carpetworld right next door!!!!

In reply to David Martin:

What's a cubic litre?

In reply to wildcountryfriend:

I reckon it would compress a fair bit, maybe not down to 5.

The worst part was trying to get the bike helmet of while careering around the hall.

Oh, I suppose coughing for 45mins helps get the oxygen out of you too.

Fex.

In reply to BN:

i have seen a friend go mad on it. he even (according to his own words) saw the light and found god, still not sure though if he blew his mind then found god or the other way around.

In reply to Fex Wazner:


Dude that sounds awesome, I want a go on that bad boy! You crazy man

In reply to Monkeys Beat: I dont think I have ever recovered from taking 250 magic mushrooms and watching the news at ten while dyno rod was finding peoples eye balls in Dennis Nielsons drain pipes.