Mental health fears over cannabis may be ‘misguided’
By Government attempts to reduce the use of cannabis by focusing on the harm it could do to users’ mental health may have been misguided, according to new research by the University of Bristol.
Scientists at the university have found that thousands of people would need to stop using the drug in order to prevent a single case of schizophrenia.
Dr Matthew Hickman, along with scientists from the University of Cambridge and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that preventing the use of the drug was still important – in terms of reducing tobacco and drug use, and improving school performance – but that the link between cannabis and schizophrenia was very uncertain.
“Preventing cannabis use is important for many reasons, including reducing tobacco and drug dependence and improving school performance,” said Dr Hickman.
“But our evidence suggests that focusing on schizophrenia may have been misguided. Our research cannot resolve the question whether cannabis causes schizophrenia, but does show that many people need to give up cannabis in order to have an impact on the number of people with schizophrenia.
“The likely impact of re-classifying cannabis in the UK on schizophrenia or psychosis incidence is very uncertain.”
Using data on the number of cannabis users and the numbers of people affected by schizophrenia – a mental disorder which can affect the perception of all senses, and often produces hallucinations, paranoia and delusions – the scientists found that it would be necessary to stop 2,800 heavy cannabis users in young men and over 5,000 heavy cannabis users in young women to prevent a single case of schizophrenia.
Among light cannabis users, those numbers rise to over 10,000 young men and nearly 30,000 young women to prevent one case of schizophrenia.
Last year, the government reclassified cannabis from a Class C drug to Class B, in response to fears that the drug would increase the chances of users – particularly young people – of developing mental health problems.
Professor Louis Appleby, the national director for mental health, told the Home Office’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in February 2008 that “the evidence is pointing towards cannabis as a cause of severe mental illness”.
On the FRANK website – a government-backed portal to provide young people with information on drugs – regular use of cannabis is “known to be associated with an increase in the risk of later developing psychotic illnesses including schizophrenia. If the recent increase in availability of stronger forms of cannabis does lead to an increase in total use by some people, this might also lead to an increase in their future risk of developing mental health problems. Nobody knows the answer to this question yet…”
The research comes a week after Bristol University’s Professor David Nutt was forced to resign from his post of chief drugs adviser to the government for his public views that alcohol and tobacco were more dangerous than cannabis.
The head of the university’s pharmacology unit was accused of “campaigning against government policy” by Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
As reported by Bristol24-7, Bristol-based think-tank Transform said the decision was made because Prof Nutt had spoken “an inconvenient truth” in an “evidence-free” area of policy driven by “fear and propaganda”.
Two members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resigned in protest at Prof Nutt’s removal and the government’s refusal to base policy on science.
From: International Researchers Reveal Medical Cannabis Breakthroughs!
Excerpts from:
International Association for Cannabis as Medicine
IACM 5th Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine
2-3 October 2009, Cologne
Program and Abstracts Copyright by
International Association for Cannabis as Medicine
Am Mildenweg 659602 Rüthen Germany
http://www.cannabis-med.org
METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES, ABNORMAL STRESS RESPONSE AND CHRONIC
INFLAMMATION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA – POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR
CANNABINOID MEDICINES?
In recent years much concern has arisen over the possibility that cannabis smoking in adolescence may be a risk factor for schizophrenia in adult life, although this remains a controversial issue. In contrast, considerable interest in the potential role of the non-psychoactive naturally occurring cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) as an anti-psychotic medicine has also developed. The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of both THC and CBD are well established. A systematic literature review has suggested the intriguing possibility that habitual cannabis use may protect cognitive function in schizophrenia patients, and CBD has been shown to improve a marker of this in healthy subjects.
There are preliminary data to suggest that cannabinoids may have beneficial effects on abnormal stress reaction, metabolic dysfunction and dyslipidaemia. Since the mechanism of action for the anti-psychotic effects of CBD and other cannabinoids almost certainly differs from all existing agents, synergistic combinations withboth typical and atypical antipsychotics are a possibility. Taken overall, these observations lead to the hypothesis that an appropriately formulated medicine containing a combination of selected cannabinoids may have the potential to target all the major components of the schizophrenia syndrome and thereby significantly reduce the need for polypharmacy. (Read More: http://maryjanecannabian.blogspot.com/2009/10/int…
In Layman's terms, Cannabis can help the symptoms of schizophrenia and cuts down the number of prescription drugs a person has to take.
As much as politicians love to use the "Tough on Crime/War On Drugs" platform because it resonates with the sheeple, the unmistakable reality is that drug policy will only be its most successful if we let those experts most knowledgeable about drugs guide our drug policy. Science, along with addressing the root causes of addiction (such as poverty, mental illnesses, lack of education and health services and being a victim of sexual abuse) are the pillars of successful solutions to reduce drug abuse (because all users are not abusers, we don't call people alcoholics because they like to have a few beers on a Friday night) and the crime that results from prohibition.
Illegality automatically inflates prices for drugs which of course attracts organized crime and causes violence in a black market. We learned this valuable lesson during the prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition will never be the answer. Taking drugs is a personal decision and people will use them regardless of law. Most people regulate their behavior due to personal belief, we don't steal or murder not because it is against the law, but because we personally think its wrong. If drugs were legal it would be the same, those who want to experiment will, and those who don't, won't. Regulation will also make it harder for kids to get because proof of age will be required to buy – news flash parents – drug dealers don't ask your kids for ID!
And just imagine, all those police officers that must waste their time, energy and resources chasing down plants will now be able to focus on preventing and solving violent crime. Taxpayers should also be happy to know that it costs less for rehab programs than it does to maintain overflowing prisons and . And people who beat addiction will contribute to the economy through employment, whereas released convicts can't get a job easily with a criminal record leading to increasing rates of recidivism.
Thank You, Professor Nutt, for being brave and speaking the truth, you are right, the people are on your side and support you. We need science and compassion based drug policy and governments around the world must put their ideology aside and recognize that prohibition is unrealistic and harms society more than actual drugs ever could. Education and regulation is the key. http://www.maryjanecannabian.blogspot.com
[...] the original post here: Mental health fears over cannabis may be 'misguided' | Brist… Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by bristol247: Bristol Uni research says that mental health fears over cannabis use may be ‘misguided’ http://bit.ly/1cuQ1l...