Dennis RomeroThe potent marijuana of today's medical marijuana world in L.A. can make you insane in the membrane, if only temporarily (and that's the point, isn't it?).
But new research suggests there really is a link between mental illness and weed smoking. The question is, do the mentally ill toke up to cope, or is there a causal relationship here?
Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health who analyzed data from 43,000 adult pot smokers in the United States concluded this month that ” … people with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness,” according to a summary of the work.
Dr. Shaul Lev-ran, adjunct scientist at CAMH, suggests the answer to the question we asked earlier is the latter — that the mentally ill like to toke up. However, this isn't necessarily a good thing, he says:
Credit: Katheirne Hitt / Flickr
This can be of concern because it could worsen the symptoms of their mental illness.
Bipolar disorder and personality disorders were particularly prevalent among those who smoked at least weekly, according to the study being published in the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry.
The cure, according to the summer, could be …
… screening for frequent and problem cannabis use among those with mental illness, so that targeted prevention and intervention may be employed.
Or — dare we say — just smoke less and keep your feet on the ground?
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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