Studies by scientists have shown that people after regular smoking of marijuana, mental disorders occur on average 2.7 years earlier than people who do not use marijuana.
Marijuana and mental disorders
Meanwhile, we cannot deny some connection between smoking conventional cigarettes and the manifestation of mental illness, however, there are studies that prove that neither alcohol consumption provokes the development of dementia praecox, nor cigarette smoking provokes hallucinatory-delusional seizures in patients with schizophrenia .
The study showed that young people are more likely to use cannabinoids with the development of schizophrenia at an early age than women. And young people, including adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia, are more likely to use cannabinoids than the older generation. Thus, previous studies seem to have slightly overestimated the bar for the onset of psychosis by age criteria.
The symptoms and effects of smoking marijuana vary. The most common effect of marijuana is mild sedation and relaxation, up to and including drowsiness. Also, one of the effects of smoking marijuana can be the occurrence of hallucinations, because. itself is a mild hallucinogen. When hallucinatory effects occur, people can see various objects that do not actually exist, reality can appear in a distorted form. The main active compound in cannabinoids is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
In one published study, researchers linked cannabinoid use to early onset psychosis, and supported the hypothesis that the consequences of cannabinoid use play a key role in the development of acute psychosis in some patients.
Another study showed that out of 190 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, 121 used marijuana. In 44 patients in this group, cannabinoid use caused psychosis. In some patients, psychosis occurred after a month of marijuana use, in some patients, a deterioration in mental state was observed after the next cannabinoid use.
A person who is psychotic from marijuana exposure may experience hallucinations, voices, or delusions . A sharp change in personality and disturbed thinking are striking. Depending on the severity of psychosis, a person’s behavior can change, from lethargy, apathy and drowsiness, to excitement and aggression. Social adaptation is disturbed, it becomes difficult for patients to find a common language with former people and work partners. There is a depreciation of the life values of the foundations and aspirations that were before the onset of the disease.
Various diseases of the central nervous system, exogenous effects in the form of toxins, endogenous background, all this can cause the development of psychosis when using cannabinoids.
Studies have identified a gene that is responsible for sensitivity to cannabinoids. Research in this area would help explain why some people who abuse cannabinoids do not develop schizophrenia on a daily basis, and those who do not get worse when using cannabinoids.
However, all these studies do not find a causal relationship or cannot explain why the prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia has been approximately unchanged since the 1950s, even showing a slight downward trend, while the distribution and use of cannabinoids has increased significantly. For example, addiction to smoking and the likelihood of cancer are directly proportional , while there is no correlation between marijuana use in society and the incidence of schizophrenia.
According to foreign studies conducted from 1990 to 2005, 20.5 million people annually use marijuana. In 2002, there was a peak of cannabinoid use, which was 20.9 million people. The lowest figure was in 1992, at 17.4 million.