30/04/2007 16:00:00
New Marijuana Study Discovers What Potheads Have Known for Years
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Did you know that marijuana can trigger temporary psychotic symptoms
such as hallucinations and paranoia?
Yep, it's true.
According to a recent study, fifteen healthy volunteers were given small
doses of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as a
placebo. During such time, their brains were scanned.
CBD is the active ingredient in marijuana that relaxes the user, while
THC brings on the fun- temporary psychotic symptoms such as
hallucinations and paranoid delusions.
A placebo is the medical term for faking the patient out through the
power of suggestion (and also the name of an amazing rock band from the UK).
"We've long suspected that cannabis is linked to psychoses, but we have
never before had scans to show how the mechanism works," said Dr. Philip
McGuire, a professor of psychiatry at King's College, London.
McGuire and his colleagues will present their findings and physical
evidence at an international mental health conference in London next week.
What they found: The inferior frontal cortex, which keeps our natural
paranoia under control, is being compromised by the THC.
"THC is switching off that regulator," McGuire said.
In addition to their findings, mental health experts will discuss their
findings in a connection between cannabis and mental health. According
to scientists, marijuana worsens the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenics.
During a different study, doctors at Yale University tested the impact
of THC on 150 healthy volunteers and 13 people with stable
schizophrenia. After sampling a little THC, almost half the group
experienced psychotic symptoms.
The results from those with stable schizophrenia, however, kind of threw
the doctors off since they had expected to see the THC provide a
relaxing effect. This was in fact, not true.
"I was surprised by the results," said Dr. Deepak Cyril D'Souza, an
associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University's School of
Medicine. "In practice, we found that cannabis is very bad for people
with schizophrenia," he said.
The study was to include more patients with schizophrenia, but was
halted much sooner since results thus far were so pronounced. Continuing
further would have been considered unethical.
I have friends that get unethical every weekend.
"One of the great puzzles is why people with schizophrenia keep taking
the stuff when it makes the paranoia worse," said Dr. Robin Murray, a
professor of psychiatry at King's College.
Experts, who are in all likeliness correct in their theories, claim that
schizophrenics are placing the "fun" part of marijuana consumption over
the not-so-fun effects.
Could this mean that millions of Grateful Dead, Phish and Still Willis
fans are actually on to something?
Future studies plan to focus on a better understanding of the
relationships between paranoia, anxiety and psychoses in their relation
to brain responses. Ideally this will help further the medicinal needs
and cures in relation to the brain.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/230587/new_marijuana_study_discovers_what.html?page=2
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12508
Author:
The People's Media Company via UKCIA
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