It’s lack of balance that makes skunk cannabis do harm
The effects of cannabis on mental health have attracted much attention over the years. As far back as the 19th century it was recognised that cannabis could induce a transient psychosis which mimics the symptoms of schizophrenia. Despite this, until the last decade or so, most psychiatrists regarded cannabis as essentially benign.
This, however, is at odds with recent research which concludes that in a susceptible minority, cannabis use can push the brain towards long-term psychosis requiring mental health treatment. Susceptible young people who use cannabis increase their risk of developing a chronic psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia, and the more cannabis they consume, the higher the risk.
Additionally, people with schizophrenia who have a history of cannabis use tend to go through their first breakdown up to five years earlier in life than those who do not use the drug. Psychotic patients who fail to give up cannabis experience more symptoms, more relapses and end up in hospital more often.
These discoveries about the link between cannabis and psychosis have been widely reported in the media, often accompanied by warnings that street cannabis has risen in strength in recent years and therefore poses a major health risk to the susceptible minority.
This, however, is too simplistic: the type of cannabis taken is an important factor. Street cannabis has indeed changed over the years. So-called “skunk” does contain higher than normal concentrations of the main psychoactive compound, a molecule called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). What is less well known is that another constituent, cannabidiol (CBD), has been eliminated from skunk through selective breeding to increase the THC content.
The elimination of CBD may play a key role in the development of psychosis. Laboratory studies have shown that pure, synthetic THC causes transient psychosis in 40 to 50 per cent of healthy people. In stark contrast to THC, CBD appears to have an anti-psychotic effect, at least in animals. Studies in humans, though few in number, have produced similar findings.
Posted in Psychedelic Society
February 17th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
[...] It’s lack of balance that makes skunk cannabis do harm [...]
February 17th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
I was a cannabis smoker for many many years. At first tokers had a MENU of choice, but the ‘war on ‘drugs” put a stop to it in that the cannabis became taken over by the gangsters and they began ripping people off, mixing the cannabis and making this foul toxic substance called ‘formula’–which god forbid I sometimes smoked, in depsair, after giving over a good portion of my hard-worked wages for what I thought was proper hashish.
They ALSO mixed grass, often totally replacing it with non psychoactive herbs. SO–if you were not a gangster and could get good ganja you were fucked, and thats when skunk took over
People were DRIVEN to that because whoever brought it onto the market was obviously rakin in big profits, and didn’t have to mix it etc. So in other words it was the war on drugs that forced people onto the more powerful skunk! JUST like they forced people onto the harder drugs which were ‘purified’ like heroin, coke, crack etc–and THEY get mixed with toxic substances too
Now, about ‘psychosis’–they dont say that about their promoted alcohol do they? Nor the shitty places and lives people have to live in this shitty system. And what IS this ‘psychosis’ anyhow? Dig their mental illness myth where they spush the drugs THEY love to push which also are toxid and addictive but they never mention that. It is such a big MESS, the quicker people wake up to whats going on the BETTER!!
Also the real drug pushers are very high up pf course. So its a very duplicitious game going on–checkout Drug War
btw I quite all smoking 3 years ago and feel MUCH better for it
))