Current Events > Cannabis related psychosis and addiction on the rise

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https://www.inquirer.com/health/marijuana-addiction-adolescents-psychosis-abuse-vaping-penn-state-20191223.html

Not long ago when Joseph Garbely, chief medical officer for the Caron Foundation, reviewed younger patients starting drug or alcohol treatment on his unit, he usually saw people shaking, sick, and seizing from alcohol or opioid withdrawal. Marijuana was seldom what put them in those medical beds.

That has changed.

A few years ago, it was rare to see a young person enter Caron with marijuana-induced psychosis, said Garbely. Now we see it on a regular basis. Older teens and young adults approximately ages 18 to 26 are the most impacted. We see a significant misperception about the safety and efficacy of marijuana among our teen and young-adult patient population.

Marijuana, legal for medical uses in well over half the states in the country and as a recreational substance in ever more states, is generating increasing concern as a dependency-causing drug capable of serious impairment and harm, particularly among its youngest users. New Jersey voters will get to decide in 2020 whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use for people age 21 and over.

While it was once doubted as an addictive substance, treatment professionals now say they are seeing more adolescents and young adults with cannabis use disorder. Often starting in their early teens, many graduate to daily use.

The majority of cases we see of substance use disorder are marijuana, said Ned Campbell, medical director of Rehab After School, an intensive out-patient program for adolescents in Southeastern Pennsylvania, including the Philadelphia area.

Terri L. Randall, medical director of Childrens Hospital of Philadelphias Substance Use Disorder Clinic, said it has become more common for young patients to experience such bad reactions as extreme anxiety and even detachment from reality from cannabis use and continue using.

The fact that kids continue to use, even despite an adverse experience or unpleasant experience with marijuana, is really concerning to me, Randall said. Not only are they having difficult consequences of their use, but they also are finding themselves using more and are unable to control their use. That really is at the heart of the diagnosis of addiction.

I've said it before and I'll always say it, the problem with marijuana is that it's "acceptable" (or even encouraged) to smoke it every day. If some one drank alcohol at the level people think it's okay to smoke pot, people would tell them they have a problem. But if it's pot, you're fine!

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Zurkon posted...

*takes a hit*

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I've been saying for a while that people get way too carried away with how benign they think pot is. You know your argument sucks if the best point you can make is "alcohol is worse".

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pinky0926 posted...

I've been saying for a while that people get way too carried away with how benign they think pot is. You know your argument sucks if the best point you can make is "alcohol is worse".

Far from the best point. Now squirm away.

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pinky0926 posted...

I've been saying for a while that people get way too carried away with how benign they think pot is. You know your argument sucks if the best point you can make is "alcohol is worse".

for most people id say it is benign dawg. has a positive effect on most people who use it with little negative. and thats not really the best point; and alcohol really is much, much, much worse:


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Yeah, weed actually does cause psychosis in a very, very small amount of people. I discovered years ago that I am part of that group. It's not fun.

That being said, it doesn't have that result on most people, so when my state had the question, I voted for legalization.

Well fucking duh.
Its legal in a lot of states so of course you're going to see a rise in marijuana related illnesses.

Still, this only occurs in a very small percentage of folks.

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i lol at people who treat weed like its no issue and non addictive. Weed should only be used for medicinal reasons or for mental trauma once in a while.

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George Harrison had lung cancer, that spread to his brain, and all he did was smoke pot. Some people have this misconception smoking weed is safer than cigarettes, well, yes, and no. But that yes is negligible. It's still addictive, and you're still inhaling smoke into your lungs. There will be people that will get lung cancer from it. I'll say Cigar is safer than those two(If you know what you're doing). Moderation is key, but most people choose to do that shit multiple times per day, like smoking a pack or two of cigarettes a day.

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SSJCAT posted...

for most people id say it is benign dawg. has a positive effect on most people who use it with little negative. and thats not really the best point; and alcohol really is much, much, much worse:

I'm targeting the 3 joints every day crowd here, essentially.

I'm no conservative, I've done every drug under the sun including some of the really nasty "never ever" ones. I still think pot is not good for your health or benign in large doses as some claim.

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This is why you shouldn't smoke all day every day for like months at a time. Everything needs to be done in moderation.

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Awesome posted...

i lol at people who treat weed like its no issue and non addictive. Weed should only be used for medicinal reasons or for mental trauma once in a while.

People should be able to smoke weed for whatever reason. They just need to stop pretending it's risk-free.

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Ive smoked pretty much every day for like 7 years now and never been sick or anything from it


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Pot definitely has long term side effects and anyone who thinks it's 100% safe is a moron >_> It's shown to diminish short term memory and increase anxiety and paranoia
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hockeybub89 posted...

People should be able to smoke weed for whatever reason. They just need to stop pretending it's risk-free.

Exactly

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thronedfire2 posted...

Ive smoked pretty much every day for like 7 years now and never been sick or anything from it

How have you not built up a tolerance?

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It mentions in the teen and young adult population. It's probably not good to take drugs of any kind (this includes prescription ones like SSRIs and ADHD meds) that will have a marked effect on the developing mind. Your brain isn't fully formed until 25-26 iirc, so any regular drug use before then might have a lifetime of complications.

That being said, weed isn't 100% safe or side effect free as some proponents would claim. Is it safer than most other drugs or vices? You could certainly make an argument for that.

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The positive effects far out weigh the few negative effects. Not once have i had a negative experience when using.

I use it for chronic pain due to daily migraines and other spinal issues. It's safer than pain pills and unlike pain pills your less likely to get addicted to it. I still don't believe you can get addicted to marijuana.

It also helps me heal, had i not had some when i was recovering from gallbladder surgery then i don't think i would have recovered as fast.

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Not surprised.

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Mr_Karate_II posted...

The positive effects far out weigh the few negative effects. Not once have i had a negative experience when using.

I use it for chronic pain due to daily migraines and other spinal issues. It's safer than pain pills and unlike pain pills your less likely to get addicted to it. I still don't believe you can get addicted to marijuana.

It also helps me heal, had i not had some when i was recovering from gallbladder surgery then i don't think i would have recovered as fast.

Comments like these are dangerous.

It's good that it is helping you with several health issues, but to say it's not addictive? Gtfo.

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LampChop posted...

George Harrison had lung cancer, that spread to his brain, and all he did was smoke pot. Some people have this misconception smoking weed is safer than cigarettes, well, yes, and no. But that yes is negligible. It's still addictive, and you're still inhaling smoke into your lungs. There will be people that will get lung cancer from it. I'll say Cigar is safer than those two(If you know what you're doing). Moderation is key, but most people choose to do that shit multiple times per day, like smoking a pack or two of cigarettes a day.

Smoking weed should be heavily stigmatized. Smoke is not good for lungs.

Edibles for life.

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I have pretty bad anxiety and panic disorder and the only thing that's worked for me is a very specific 1:1 blend of both CBD and THC (distillate). Unfortunately it's very expensive and often sold out at dispensaries. I would vape daily, but only at night, and I experienced pychosis after stopping.

I've been on two different SSRIs which didn't work and only made things worse. It really sucks because nothing seems to help.

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Wait you're telling me inhaling a burning leaf into your lungs has negative effects? Why don't they teach this in schools?!

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Wonder how many of these people are coming in from wax or shatter or edibles or resin or any of the crazy other things other than just regular normal flower.

But as with everything theres always different cases. Ive seen people that have smoked very heavily for 10-15 years and whenever they need to stop for whatever reason theres not an issue at all.

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Great..these fuckers are gonna ruin it for everyone else. Lol

I can imagine that it would cause issues in some people if overused. I've gotten REALLY messed up before and noticed that my spatial perception was off for a couple of days after. Like rooms felt...smaller or something? Hard to describe.
But if someone was leaning toward psychosis then I could really see it messing with them. So, as with anything, I wouldn't take massive amounts of it every day.

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CRON posted...

How have you not built up a tolerance?

I actually smoke less now than I used to

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the tragedy of spending decades demonizing cannabis is that opposition would espouse all the great things about it

there was no nuance in discussions on the matter, and now we're having to come to terms with the fact that it is neither terrible nor a miracle drug

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I've been clean 12+ years now from drinking and smoking weed among other things.....yes pot can do different things to you. When I wasn't high and wanted to be I was an asshole to be around for sure...like alcohol you can be a laid back person doing it or it could do other things to you like make you anxious and overly excitable. Every body is different with the way they react to drugs. Some people can't drive, others can and even claim they're more focused driving than when they're sober.

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pinky0926 posted...

I've been saying for a while that people get way too carried away with how benign they think pot is. You know your argument sucks if the best point you can make is "alcohol is worse".

hockeybub89 posted...

People should be able to smoke weed for whatever reason. They just need to stop pretending it's risk-free.

Yes. We don't need people dying in car related deaths because people are high af and driving because "lol I'm still good." We don't accept that in society with drunk drivers do we? No. And we should not with pot smokers. Do that shit at home and stay home, or get a ride.

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that article doesnt tell us what else those young adult are using in addition to weed lol

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is this legal weed or street weed thats obviously laced with other shit
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BillORileyReid posted...

is this legal weed or street weed thats obviously laced with other shit

idk, is it legal to snort sugar laced with cocaine?
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shockthemonkey posted...

lmao no one wastes money lacing weed

in states where its illegal you dont exactly have a choice in the matter
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LampChop posted...

George Harrison had lung cancer, that spread to his brain, and all he did was smoke pot.

No, he didn't just smoke pot.
Harrison was a huge chainsmoker as well.

MisterPengy posted...

I've said it before and I'll always say it, the problem with marijuana is that it's "acceptable" (or even encouraged) to smoke it every day. If some one drank alcohol at the level people think it's okay to smoke pot, people would tell them they have a problem. But if it's pot, you're fine!

If you drank like some stoners smoke you'd be dead in five years.

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NO I DON'T HAVE AN ADDICTION!!! GET OFF MY BACK!!!

*injects marijuana plant into brachial artery*

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Sherman Hemsley

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Jagr_68 posted...

NO I DON'T HAVE AN ADDICTION!!! GET OFF MY BACK!!!

*injects marijuana plant into brachial artery*

If you manage to inject yourself in that artery you earned it.

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MisterPengy posted...

I've said it before and I'll always say it, the problem with marijuana is that it's "acceptable" (or even encouraged) to smoke it every day. If some one drank alcohol at the level people think it's okay to smoke pot, people would tell them they have a problem. But if it's pot, you're fine!

The problem with marijuana is that people have no idea what theyre talking about and like to compare it to alcohol.

So with your point, theres so many people who smoke every single day and the amount they smoke would compare to someone having 2 or 3 beers or 2 or 3 glasses of wine. I know so many people that drink like that and not one time has anyone thought of them having a problem.

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shockthemonkey posted...

You cant seriously believe that people put expensive additives into weed before selling it, can you?

Where do you live?

In NJ it is a rampant problem. People go out of state to buy it because off the street you never know what you're getting. People get crazy psychotic trips off synthetic shit and laces with PCP/fentanyl.
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The problem with weed is that they spent a lot of money years ago telling people it was bad with no science behind it and now people parrot off its bad without actually researching it. Reefer Madness bullshit is the minority.

Yes, weed can be negative for people, but its not the gateway drug that DARE said it was. No, its not a wonder drug and there are risks associated with it, but people fear monger on the absolute worst-case scenario as if its the norm. Or associate bad behaviors with weed when its really just shitty people who happen to use it.

tl;dr - people that parrot weed being the worst thing ever are just as bad, if not worse, than the people that parrot weed being the wonder drug

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"Oh shit weed's legal now! BINGE!" is an effect that will level off in a few years.

For any given "vice" there will always be a portion of people who just can't handle it. Flat prohibition for everyone will never solve that.

shockthemonkey posted...

Oh yeah drug dealers are definitely mixing in way more expensive drugs and losing money on their weed sales

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/police-issue-warning-after-fentanyl-laced-marijuana-confiscated-in-upstate-new-york

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeadams/2019/04/18/two-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana-embalming-fluid-and-fentanyl-laced-pot-on-black-market/

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2017/11/17/synthetic-marijuana-prevalence-grows-north-jersey-experts-say/873955001/
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