psychosis

Yury Fedatov's reefer madness

In a recent interview Yury Fedatov, head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), made an outlandish statement about cannabis leading to “irreparable brain damage.” Hilarious if it wasn’t frightening.

This followed on from the heavy focus on cannabis and mental health in the World Drug Report with references to psychosis and dependency. Great efforts are made in the report to make it appear that cannabis is dangerous.

    Cannabis Vs. Psychosis

    A team of researchers led by Professor Jim van Os of Maastricht University in the Netherlands began to study the association between cannabis use and incidence and persistence of psychotic symptoms over 10 years. The study shows that there may be a link with psychosis at a very early stage of drug use among young people who previously never experienced such symptoms. They could include paranoid ideas, hallucinations, hearing voices or bizarre behavior.

      Trauma, sleep deprivation and cannabis

      I'm very sensitive to the effects of drugs, as well as a lot of other things e.g. medications, essential oils, even food and drink. I think I am sensitive to drugs because I had a rather traumatic childhood and people with a troubled upbringing tend to be on alert all the time, even unconsciously, it's a skill they develop to stay out of trouble. Knowing that something unpleasant or scary is going to happen to you but never knowing when, can cause you to develop a high sensitivity or intuitiveness to minimise your risk of harm.

        Drug Induced Psychosis

        There are many different effects of drugs. Long term and short term. One of the effects of drugs such as cannabis for example, is that it can bring on drug-induced psychosis. Drug induce psychosis occurs when there is a chemical imbalance in the brain.

         You may have something called a psychotic episode. This is when you believe something that isn’t necessarily true, or happening. It can be awfully scary and emotional for loved ones to watch. A psychotic episode can last for any amount of time, days, weeks or months and needs medication to be treated.

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