Thursday, September 15, 2005

Cannabis - Marijuana & Mental Health

Pot-Smokers:"Netherlands, coffee shop's are something of a euphemism, most of its customers go there not to drink coffee but to buy and smoke dope. Van Os isn't too keen on these places. He is a psychiatrist at the University of Maastricht who investigates the effect of marijuana on people's brains, particularly adolescents brains. And the findings of his research make him worry about the effects of all this dope smoking on kids. Smoking cannabis leads to serious mental health problems in later life, including schizophrenia. It is a frightening conclusion, and one that is already starting to shape the debate over the legal status of cannabis. By politicians, tabloid newspapers and mental-health lobby groups who want drug laws tightened up. Compared with substances like heroin and crack cocaine, cannabis is seen by many people as relatively harmless. But doctors have long known that cannabis cause symptoms of psychosis, one of the hallmarks of schizophrenia. I don't think we can deny it any longer, says Epidemiologist Mary Cannon of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Cannabis is part of the cause of schizophrenia. ...Sorry I'm not a pot Smoker. I have always told people I know that smoked it...WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CALL IT DOPE!! Because that's what you become when you smoke the shit... STUPID!!"

No comments: