ThePredator said:

Nothing can cause schizofrenia, its a genetical disease. In rats though they have found that it gives a schizofreniform but this has not been observed or reported in humans.

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And what gene would that be?
Yeah of course there are likely to be strong biological factors though, and genetics i'm sure play their part.

In certain people cannabis can be a major factor in onset and outcome of schizophrenia. The main arguement goes that they may have got it anyway and cannabis just aggravates it. Obviously though there is no way of prooving this! Maybe without cannabis use it would never have manifested, who knows?

Now don't get me wrong cannabis is a great herb, a boon to this world, but watch what it does to some people with an already established psychotic disorder. It is rarely pretty.

You can also get a drug induced psychosis from serious over indulgance. This tend to be short lived (a few days), but again isn't pretty. Basically it presents as acute schizophrenia over a short period which rectifies itself quickly with absinance. I beleive this is the human variation of what Predator cites as causing schizophreniform disorder in rats. Some people seem to have high or low tolerance to this, which is one area where genetics kicks in.

Now i have some good friends that smoke tons of gear for years, with no real ill effects, and often some very positive ones. I have some friends who have smoked a ton of gear for years and have developed short term memory problems and a paranoid streak. I have some friends who can't touch the stuff because it makes them very paranoid even with light use.

I think the key facts here are;

1. Use, don't abuse substances, and cannabis is no exception.

2. There seems to be a wide variation about how cannabis use, especially heavy and/or prolonged use, effects people.

3. If you have a established psychotic disorder then i'm afraid you should avoid it like the plague. There is now clear evidence that it effect severity, durtation and outcome.

ph30n1x said:

ive been hearing some things about marijuana causing mental illness/problems. this kid i know said it causes schisofrania. is it true that weed causes mental illnesses of any kind? if so which illnesses? thanks

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Oakbear said:

Also 80% of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are heavy smokers. There are also neurobiological links between both conditionins and nicotinic receptors.

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Deviate said:

i think its possible, 3 times a week isnt all that much. if you smoked 3 times a day then it would be more likely to agrivate it.

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ThePredator said:

Nothing can cause schizofrenia, its a genetical disease. In rats though they have found that it gives a schizofreniform but this has not been observed or reported in humans.

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