Bad Effects of marijuana

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Written by: Martin Winkler First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest revision: 22 Jul 2008.

What are the bad effects of marijuana? can it cause paranoia? Answer: Working in a psychiatric ward you will very often see patients with a first onset of paranoia or other psychotic symptoms after a chronic use of cannabis. A recent research paper discussed the following hypotheses for a possible relationship: There is a causal relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia (psychotic disorders). The cannabis use precipitates schizophrenia in vulnerable persons. Cannabis use exacerbates schizophrenia -> symptoms are more severe. Patients with psychotic disorders are more liable to abuse cannabis This Australian study found a rise in the prevalence of cannabis use and a decrease of the age at the beginning of regular cannabis consumption over the last 30 years. They found no clear increase of the prevalence of schizophrenia in Australia in this time span. We know that cannabis abuse is rather common among patients with schizophrenia, maybe sometimes a rather bad attempt to cope with psychotic symptoms or irritability or hallucinations. So the authors of this study think that cannabis use is not the main causal factor for the incidence of schizophrenia, but seems to precipitate the onset of psychotic symptoms / paranoia for vulnerable persons. So if you have a high vulnerability for schizophrenia the abuse of cannabis will most likely lead to severe paranoia and a worse outcome! The co-occurrence of substance abuse and schizophrenia is one of the worst problems in psychiatry! It is very difficult to offer a good treatment approach for this group of patients. Special treatment programs are available for schizophrenic patients with cannabis dependence or other types of substance abuse.

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Question(s): Written by: Wendy Moelker, Psychologist in charge, tutor, Emergis center for mental health care, Goes, the Netherlands. First version: 22 Jul 2008. Latest revision: 01 Dec 2008. What are the negative effects of long-term use of cannabis/hashish/marijuana? Answer: Smoking one or more joints a day during a year or longer is considered long-term use. However, this varies from researcher to researcher. The health risks of this long-term use are: In some cases high quantity users can experience feelings of anxiety, depression and be seriously unwell. Cannabis influences driving ability. Smoking cannabis causes carcinogens to enter the body. During pregnancy, cannabis can have negative consequences for the fetus. Long-term use of cannabis may affect thinking, emotions and feelings. In some cases, long-term use of cannabis can lead to dependence and abuse. Cannabis can provoke a psychosis in people who are sensitive to it. More. Some researchers are of the opinion that: Cannabis is a first step to the use of hard drugs. Cannabis has negative effects on the immune system. Cannabis influences fertility. Cannabis causes schizophrenia. More. Cannabis leads to apathy and loss of interest. Cannabis can cause anger, especially when trying to stop using Cananabis. However, there is no proof for these statements.