...Papers Cannabis use in adolescence and risk for adult psychosis: longitudinal prospective study Louise Arseneault, Mary Cannon, Richie Poulton, Robin Murray, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E Moffitt Editorial by Rey and Tennant Papers pp 1195, 1199 SGDP Research Centre, King’s College, London SE5 8AF Louise Arseneault lecturer Avshalom Caspi professor Terrie E Moffitt professor Division of Psychological Medicine, King’s College Mary Cannon Wellcome Trust advanced fellow Robin Murray professor Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Richie Poulton director, Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development study The strongest evidence that cannabis use may be a risk factor for later psychosis comes from a Swedish cohort study which found that heavy cannabis use at age 18 increased the risk of later schizophrenia sixfold.1 2 This study could not establish whether adolescent cannabis use was a consequence of pre-existing psychotic symptoms rather than a cause. We present the first prospective longitudinal study of adolescent cannabis use as a risk factor for adult schizophreniform disorder, taking into account childhood psychotic symptoms3 antedating cannabis use. Methods and results The Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development study (a study of a general population birth cohort of 1037 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972-3)4 has a 96% follow...
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...professor snyder 31 July 2012 Proof for cannabis addiction derives from a number of causes including epidemiological analyses, studies of long-term consumers, clinical trials of individuals seeking treatment, skillful experimentations on withdrawal and tolerance and laboratory studies on cannabis brain mechanisms. Scientific and epidemiological analyses show that cannabis dependence is a comparatively conjoint occurrence linked with substantial psychosocial irregularity. Rudimentary exploration has recognized a neurobiological method particular to the actions of cannabinoids. Human and non-human studies have established an effective withdrawal condition that is relatively conjoint among heavy marijuana users. Also, experimental trials calculating treatments for cannabis dependence specify that, amongst other substance habits, cannabis dependency is reactive to interference. Even though Cannabis is one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the biosphere; controlled trials for cannabis use disorder has only been stated in literature in the last past 15 years or so. Only a small quantity of cannabis users pursue therapeutic help with addiction, but request for management for cannabis use condition is growing worldwide. Despite cannabis being one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world; controlled trials for cannabis use disorder have only been reported in literature in the last 15 years. Only a minority of cannabis users seeks medical assistance with addiction...
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...from prescription medication overdose in the United States each year. By federally decriminalizing medical marijuana, these statistics can be changed. Prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medications are the leading causes of accidental overdose related death in the United States. Logistically speaking, it makes no sense for an ancient herb, with known medical and physiological benefits to be federally criminalized. By legalizing medical marijuana at the federal level, certain crimes have shown a decrease. Similarly, states with medical marijuana legalization have also shown a decrease in prescription pain killer addiction and overdose related deaths. In fact, there have been no known deaths which could be directly contributed to marijuana use. Statistics show that cannabis is a safer and smarter alterative to prescription medications. Maintaining a federal prohibition on marijuana for medical use not only unethical, it is inhumane. Marijuana must be federally decriminalized, not only to improve lives, but to save them as well. The benefits of using medical marijuana are astounding. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC (delta-9-tetracannibidnol) has been proven to slow the growth of tumors in cancer patients. Studies show that tumors found in the lungs, breasts, and brain showed a substantial decrease when treated with marijuana. Traditionally, physicians treat cancerous tumors with chemotherapy, a treatment first discovered in the 1920s, by poisoning people with mustard...
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...with me and that I deal with and fear on a daily basis. It wasn’t until years later that I sought professional help and found out how common this very personal, ground-shattering experience actually was. I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. I. Introduction Throughout history, anxiety and fear have been recognized as an inherent part of man’s existence. However, in antiquity, as well as late in the Middle Ages, anxiety phenomena were seldom described in a medical context, despite the fact that Hippocrates related obvious cases of phobic avoidance in a book dated around 400 BC (Hippocrates, translated in 1780). Hippocrates described the case of a man who ‘could not go near a precipice or over a bridge, or beside even the shallowest ditch; and yet he could walk in the ditch himself’. It was only in the 19th century that panic emerged as a fundamental problem, and since then, anxiety symptoms in the context of phobic avoidance have become firmly embedded in a medical context. (Den Boer, J.A., S3) II. Defining Panic There have been some revisions to what constitutes panic attacks and panic disorder in recent years. Panic attacks were first defined in 1980 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, as “the sudden onset of intense apprehension, fear, or terror, often associated with impending doom”. (Barlow, David H., p. 553) This definition was revised in 1987 to include a minimum of 4 out of 13 panic symptoms...
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...Introduction Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide despite evidence suggesting a number of harmful effects (Caspi, 2005). It has attracted copious amounts of media attention regarding the possible long-term effects of smoking cannabis, as it has been suggested it can mediate a number of mental health issues, ranging from psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations (visual and auditory) and to the chronic clinical disorder, Schizophrenia. There has been great discrepancy about the harmful effects of cannabis use, reflected in the constant debate about whether it should be classified as a class B or class C in the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act (Mcleod, 2010) whereas some even believe it should be legalized. Legalizing cannabis has caused uproar within in social and even scientific settings because some believe its use provokes Schizophrenia, however, there a large number of users who never develop this psychotic illness. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness characterised by delusions (loss of contact with reality) and hallucinations (visual and auditory) i.e. perceiving stimuli which aren’t present. Schizophrenia has a global prevalence of 1.5%, although, it is unclear what percentage of this is caused by cannabis use. It is huge financial public health issue in both human and material aspects (Murray, 2003) and although it has been reported for many years, ts aetiology is still poorly understood This article aims to evaluate recent evidence concerning this...
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...Tobacco and alcohol are legal in our country and controlled and distributed by our government yet there are more deaths related to tobacco and alcohol compared to marijuana; therefore, the laws against personal marijuana use does not make sense and marijuana should be legalized. • “Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose.” (5) • “Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use.” (5) • “According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."…” (5) If marijuana were to be legal and controlled responsibly, the state and taxpayers would benefit because the cost to enforce the drug is very high and yet marijuana is still very easy to obtain. • “Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually and results in the arrest of more than 829,000 individuals...
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...herb is called marijuana also known as pot, cannabis, weed, and God’s medicine in today’s society (Norml). Marijuana is a cannabinoid which is a chemical compound that naturally affects the immune and nervous system of humans and animals. It has been used for centuries as a natural therapeutic substance. This mysterious plant combats nausea, cancer, leukemia, and many other variants that still cannot be cured with prescription drugs. No one knows where this plant comes from, but findings of this plant’s DNA reach up to Northern China, thousands of years ago. For many decades this plant has been looked down upon. Media analysts and government officials in the United States give it a negative approach which allows the public to think negatively about it. Many people assume that weed is deadly because of what authority wants the public to believe, but what many do not know is the positive scientific evidence and facts that proves how effective it really is. The social policies regarding marijuana have changed throughout the years in the U.S. Although, several states have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, the issue still stands because federal officials have not yet legalized weed in all fifty states. The outcome of legalizing marijuana will be positive, but it’s up to the citizens to take action against the social policy and get it legalized by acting together. I believe the legalization of cannabis will decrease deaths related to...
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...Medical marijuana creates new jobs. In Tarragona, a municipality will soon be exporting a new type of commerce. The town has a population of 1,000 citizens and is also facing a crippling debt. The municipality is expected to create 40 jobs and bring in over $1.7 million. The process of growing cannabis in Spain is legal if it used for medical or personal use. It is said to be no different than tobacco or alcohol. It will regulated, controlled, and taxed just like any other type of commerce. Medical marijuana has also been proved to treat veterans with PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress disorder is a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of an injury. Mark Thompson writes about a particular veteran that lost three limbs to a land mine. That veterans name is Jose Martinez. Jose was prescribed many prescription pills and he claimed to be “numb to the world”. Taking up to 150 pills a day he later found better way to cope. According to Jose, medical marijuana has “tamed his demons”. It eases his racing and apprehensive mind and also helps him sleep at...
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...EARLY ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA Samuel Wilson III April 19, 2015 Introduction to Early Onset Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that has long been a taboo in American society. Schizophrenics have been perceived as being crazy, insane, and outcasts in society. People suffering from this disorder lose touch with reality and often experience hallucinations. One very unlooked aspect of this disorder is the children who are diagnosed with the illness. Early onset schizophrenia (EOS) describes children and adolescents identified with having some form of schizophrenia before age 18 (American Psychiatric Association 2000). Although early onset schizophrenia is very rare, it is important to acknowledge the aspects of this disorder within children. Discovering patterns in the development of mental illnesses among children can drastically enhance the understanding and treatment of the illness. Until recently very little research was done involving children and adolescents dealing with schizophrenia (Nillinghouse and Trotman, 2009). There has been an increased understanding of the onset appearance of schizophrenia in recent years. Frequently, the age of onset schizophrenia is between 16 and 35 years. EOS is usually identified during school age years and the rate of the disorder usually escalates during adolescence (Li, Pearrow, & Jimerson, 2010). There are two forms of onset schizophrenia: childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) is a very rare...
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...tremendous number, approximately one quarter are children under that age of eighteen years and over 40 million are adolescents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001a). For the purpose of this examination, we will define adolescents as individuals between the ages of ten and eighteen years, although it is important to keep in mind that there are many different definitions and understandings of adolescents, most of which are not as directly related to chronological age (Santrock, 2001). Adolescents are a very special population because these are often the years in which childhood and adulthood become blurred, roles, expectations and needs change, as well as significant physical and psychological growth. As we also know, experimentation is often characteristic of adolescence and this experimentation can be physical, sexual or philosophical; all of which may possibly lead to drug use. This paper seeks to examine the question of whether or not drug abuse is related to psychosis in adolescents. Literature Review Adolescent Drug Use According to a national study in 2006, over 60 percent of reported that drugs were used, kept and sold on their school campuses on a regular basis. These drugs included popular illicit drugs such as marijuana and Ecstasy as well cocaine and prescription drugs (Eaton, 2006). While many people appear hopeful at the minor decrease in use of illicit drugs by adolescents in recent years, many fail to recognize the corresponding increase in teens using and abusing...
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...it as a beneficial herb; marijuana should be legalized. ”Cannabis Sativa is perhaps the most recognizable plant in the world.” (Bonsor, 2) The pot leaf is put on clothing, jewelry, bumper stickers and is used in graffiti. “Marijuana is the single most used drug in the United States.” (Bonsor, 2) According to “InfoFacts - Marijuana” 60.4% of 12th graders in 1979 had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime. There were 2.6 million new users in 2001 and 47.8% of 12th graders in 2002 had used marijuana in their lifetime. Thirty six percent of those students had used it in the past year, and 21.5% of those had used it in the past month. We should look to the reason Marijuana is outlawed by the United States Federal Government (USFG). It might be for its terribly addictive nature and ability to destroy the life of those who attempt to use it as a recreational drug. Smoking marijuana is one’s own choice and in some cases a religious aspect. A person can have the freedom to smoke tobacco and drink alcohol, how is that different from smoking marijuana? Some religious rituals even include the of use marijuana. In some places, it is a “Holy Plant” and is said to be a gift from God. In Shintoism (Japan) marijuana was used to bind together couples in marriage. In the Rastafarians (Jamaica and elsewhere) are a contemporary religious group that uses "ganja" as its sacred sacrament to communicate with God (Jah). There are cases of religious people being arrested for possession of marijuana...
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...marijuana Introduction In most regions, the use and possession of marijuana are considered illegal. Marijuana is also known as cannabis. For many years, cannabis has been termed as an illegal drug. Today some countries in the world have legalized marijuana. To be specific, a small amount of cannabis has been legalized in regions such as Europe, South America and North America. In USA, some states such as Washington and Colorado have also legalized the possession and the usage of marijuana for medical reasons. Most countries in the world have great penalties for the usage and possession of cannabis. It should be observed that these penalties range from very simple to severe punishments. The punishment for the small amount of marijuana is not the same as the punishment for the possession of a large amount (Earleywine, 2005). The paper does explain as to why cannabis should be legalized. Lack of evidence The main reason as to why the legalization of marijuana should be lawful is that there is lack of evidence for its legalization. From a philosophical point of view, people have the right to make choices and decision for themselves. Of course, it is the function of the government to limit those choices and decisions if the action that is taken by a person does not affect with the rights of other persons. Persons who choose and decide to use cannabis do so because of their free will. Marijuana should be legalized because for its medicinal values. In addition, it should also be...
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...Name Name of the Professor Course no Date Marijuana Medicine The term marijuana refers to the components of the hemp plant cannabis sativa after they dry .The use of the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its extract is what is called marijuana medicine. According to the U.S Food and Drug Administration, this usage is illegal. The usage of some processed extract is legalized by the federal law. These are Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It is compound of marijuana that increases desire for food and reduces nausea .It also act as an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory drug. The other one is Cannabichromene (CBC) which has the same function in addition of being an antiepileptic drug(Owen, Sutter, and Albertson, 4 ). Marijuana plant has been used for many years as a herbal medicine .In the ancient world marijuana plant was used to treat different ailment .In china it was used to treat menstrual disorder. In Egypt it was used as an antihelmithic drug .There is clear documentation of its use as a herb drug. The argument in the modern medicine is the balance between the benefits of marijuana and the health risk it has to the user(Owen, Sutter, and Albertson). In America, 23 states and Washington Dc has legalized the usage of smoked marijuana in variety of medical conditions. The federal is still clear, that the use of marijuana is illegal. According to the Director National Institute of Drug Abuse, the call for the legalization and the acceptance of usage of marijuana...
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...The description of PTSD diagnostic features, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V, the development of fear-based emotions which usually include feelings of helplessness and horror in reaction to an actual or threatened traumatic experience or abuse. PTSD can also occur as a result of indirect exposure such as learning of or witnessing an event (aside from electronic media sources) that is particularly violent, horrific, or accidental that happens to a loved one or even to people the individual may not know. The individual must also have had repeated exposure to these extreme events and may experience disturbing, tormenting memories and/or dreams that are involuntary, recurrent, and long-lasting. Outbursts...
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...is dried leaves, flowers stems, and seeds that comes from a hemp plant called Cannabis sativa. It contains a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that affects the brain system. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States (SAMHSA, 2014). People smoke marijuana in many different ways. Some method of choice are in hand rolled cigarettes referred to as Joints, water or non-water pipes known as Bongs or emptied cigars known as Blunts. People also bake Marijuana in sweets such as cookies candies and cakes. When an individual smokes marijuana short term the toxic chemicals immediately rushes from the lungs and into the blood stream. The blood steam immediately distributes the chemical to the brain and the rest of the organs in the body. The parts of the brain containing the highest amount of receptors are affected by THC that involves altered senses, sense of time, mood change, impaired body movement, memory, difficulty thinking, and solving problems. Long term use also affects brain development. For example if a teenager use the drug it can negatively affect the building of the brains connections between spaces needed for thinking memory, and learning. These affects could last a long time or perhaps may become permanent depending on the body. For example, a study showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing cannabis use disorder lost an average of eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities...
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