Contents
Medical marijuana is used for many ailments in various fields of medicine, including psychiatry. How does marijuana affect the psyche? Can it cause schizophrenia? Not surprisingly, the conflicting information available on the Internet can be troubling for patients.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects approximately 0,4-0,6% of the population. Symptoms appear in early adulthood, that is, between the ages of 18 and 30. The term «schizophrenia» literally means «split mind», but it should be emphasized that patients with schizophrenia do not have multiple personalities (also known as split personalities).
The image of schizophrenia consists of a split («izida») between emotions, thoughts and what the sick person does, how he behaves and what he says. This is manifested in the fact that the patient’s behavior is not adapted to the situation in which he is.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia progresses gradually. At first, the symptoms may not be noticeable even among the patient’s relatives. Rule 4A is used to diagnose schizophrenia. These are the so-called background symptoms, which must be present constantly for at least a month.
- Autism: the patient begins to isolate himself from family, friends, he is focused on experiencing his feelings.
- Disorders and socjacji — relaxation of the associative process and the disorder of thinking associated with it.
- Disorders and effect — impoverishment, stiffness and lack of emotions.
- ambivalence — heterogeneity of experiencing, thoughts and feelings.
Additional symptoms:
- delusions and hallucinations
- fallacies
- catatonic symptoms,
- certain memory impairments, changes in speech and handwriting, as well as personality traits (especially self-esteem),
- acute psychotic syndromes, temporarily attached to the picture of the disease as relapses, exacerbations or side effects of the disease process itself.
The effect of marijuana on the psyche
Marijuana, due to the modulation of the endocannabinoid system, has an effect on our psyche. This can cause bad mood and depression. Research supporting this thesis concerns long-term uncontrolled cannabis abuse, which can impair the functions of the dopaminergic system. One of its functions is to provide the body with positive stimuli related to motivation and reward.
Marijuana withdrawal syndrome in case of dependence caused by uncontrolled use of marijuana (studies on recreational users) will be manifested by sleep disturbances, apathy, anhedonia, a feeling of sadness.
Marijuana and schizophrenia
As you read this article, you are probably wondering if marijuana therapy can negatively affect your psyche? Does marijuana cause schizophrenia? There is no scientific evidence to support the thesis that marijuana use can cause schizophrenia. The fact is that in the case of a predisposition, such as genetic load, regular use of cannabis can affect the earlier and faster detection of the disease. Prof. Hall and colleagues at the University of Sydney have reported an association between marijuana use before the age of 18 and the onset of depression, but there is still no evidence of a direct causal relationship between marijuana use and schizophrenia.
In summary, studies show that the rational use of therapeutic marijuana therapy under the supervision of a physician, adherence to recommendations and appropriate dosage does not affect the occurrence of schizophrenia.