Can Marijuana use trigger psychotic illnesses like Schizophrenia?

www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/cannabis-and-psychosis

"Yes. There is increasing research evidence to show that, particularly when someone starts using Marijuana in their Teens and uses heavily, that Marijuana can trigger early onset of Psychotic illnesses. For those do become ill, approximately 15% will continue to have Psychotic symptoms even after they stop using.

For people who are already vulnerable to Psychosis, Cannabis use has been shown to make people four times more likely to become ill with Psychosis. They are also likely to experience their first symptoms at a younger age. The younger a person is when they experience Psychosis, the more severe damage will be, and the more difficult recovery is. The brain is still developing, and therefore much more vulnerable, until a person's mid-Twenties.

According to experts on Psychosis, heavy Cannabis use past or present is involved in 70% of those cases of Psychosis that are very severe or do not respond well to treatment.

What does Marijuana do to the brain of someone vulnerable to Psychosis?

Marijuana stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter (chemical that moves information in the brain and body). Increased dopamine is thought to be part of the problem in brains affected by Schizophrenia.

Brain scans comparing a person whose brain has been damaged by Marijuana with one whose brain has been damaged by Schizophrenia show that Marijuana and Schizophrenia both restrict blood flow in the brain.

Does using Marijuana prevent me from recovering from Psychosis?

Yes. if you want to recover, you will need to stop. For someone with a Psychotic illness, using Marijuana: Makes symptoms worse, blocks the effects of medications, making it necessary to take higher doses, which leads to more side effects. It causes more 'Secondary Symptoms' like anxiety, depression and memory problems and is likely to trigger a relapse and prevent recovery.

We know that most people with Schizophrenia who use Marijuana have worse symptoms, a more difficult recovery and more hospitalizations than people who don't use at all. Of persons with Psychotic illness which don't respond to treatment, 70% or more are using Cannabis or other street drugs."

www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/cannabis-and-psychosis

Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org

"The relationship between Cannabis use and Psychosis has, in recent decades, become a focus of controversy.[1] The National Institute of Mental Health has stated that "research has found increasing evidence of a link between Marijuana and Schizophrenia symptoms."[2] In a report issued in 2000, the National Academy of Sciences noted that some researchers had proposed a link between Cannabis use and Schizophrenia, as well as between Cannabis use and a unique type of Psychosis. They observed that "Marijuana use alone—without the influence of additional risk factors—is unlikely to provoke a Psychosis that persists longer than intoxication."[3] Likewise, a number of reviews have concluded that Cannabis use only results in a significant increase in risk of Psychosis when coupled with additional risk factors, in particular, an underlying genetic vulnerability.[4][5]

There is evidence that the brains of people with Psychosis who previously used Cannabis differ from those of healthy individuals with respect to areas such as the Cingulate and Prefrontal cortex.[6] Research has consistently found that people with Psychosis have higher rates of Cannabis use, and that there exists an association between Cannabis use and Schizophrenia and other forms of Psychosis.[7][8] Some studies have also concluded that Cannabis use is associated with an earlier age at onset of Schizophrenia.[7] However, it is less clear whether this association is a result of the specific effects of Cannabis use.[9] Proposed mechanisms by which this possible link could occur include the effects of dronabinol, a pure isomer of THC, and its ability to induce "acute Psychotic states," which, in turn, have been called "the early signs of Schizophrenia and related disorders."[10] Further complicating the establishment of causation, another Cannabinoid found in Cannabis, Cannabidiol (CBD), is thought to have antipsychotic properties. CBD has been shown to have anxiolytic properties and inhibit the psychotomimetic effects of THC, yet CBD content varies widely and has rarely been accounted for in epidemiological studies.[11] It is believed that Cannabis' effects on the risk of Schizophrenia is especially pronounced among those who begin using the drug early.[12] "

www.wikipedia.org

                             MARIJUANA AND PSYCHOSIS