Marijuana is the most widely consumed illegal drug in the world, largely because it is considered by many users to be a “soft drug.” And this low awareness of risk causes an illusion of false security, and many people increase their consumption by thinking that cannabis is a harmless drug.
With the regularization of recreational marijuana use in more and more countries, ideas such as that marijuana is an innocent and safe drug are reinforced in public opinion (the same bias that occurs with alcohol, which despite being legal, is the drug that causes the most deaths and social problems in the world).
In recent years, several scientific studies have shown that Frequent marijuana use increases the chances of suffering from psychosis or schizophrenia especially if consumption begins in adolescence (which is the case for the majority of consumers).
On the one hand, marijuana use increases the likelihood of suffering from psychosis, and on the other, people who already suffer from psychotic symptoms or schizophrenia are more attracted to marijuana use as a form of self-medication (as occurs with alcohol and most psychological problems).
What is cannabis psychosis?
What is a cannabis psychotic break? Cannabis directly affects parts of the brain that have many cannabinoid receptors, such as the hippocampus or the amygdala (essential parts in the functioning of memory or emotions). By directly affecting these parts of the brain, excessive cannabis consumption causes distortions of reality
What are the symptoms of cannabis psychosis?
How long does marijuana psychosis last? It usually lasts more than a week and requires abstinence and drug treatment in most cases If the person uses again, it is very likely that psychotic breaks will reappear, or even lead to schizophrenia in the long term.
Can marijuana use cause schizophrenia?
A CSIC research team recently discovered that frequent and excessive cannabis consumption breaks the balance in the transmission of glutamate and dopamine in the brain, which can produce alterations in the nervous system associated with psychosis and schizophrenia.
The key would be found in a malfunction of the NMDAr receptor, related to neuronal plasticity and memory This receptor regulates the action of glutamate, which stabilizes the entire neuronal system and counteracts the effects of the drug. Cannabis use deactivates the NMDAr receptor, which increases the effects of dopamine and can cause psychosis.
Other research has found that marijuana users who have a certain variant of the AKT1 gene have up to seven times the risk of psychosis. That is, a genetic predisposition seems to be necessary to develop psychotic symptoms after marijuana consumption.
Other studies found an increased risk of psychosis in adulthood among people who used marijuana as teenagers and had a specific variant of the COMT gene.
It has also been observed in various investigations that marijuana consumption worsens symptoms among people already suffering from schizophrenia or psychosis Paradoxically, these people are more likely to resort to marijuana use as a form of self-medication, out of the false belief that marijuana will alleviate their symptoms, without knowing that it will probably worsen them over time.
Self-deception among cannabis users
One of the most frustrating aspects for family members and people close to regular cannabis users is that these They are not aware of the risk or the problems it causes in their lives Marijuana is an addictive drug, for which many people have had to enter detoxification centers for months in order to overcome their addiction and return to having a normal life.
However, many people who smoke marijuana are “marijuana risk deniers.” They do not believe that addiction exists, they do not believe that marijuana causes problems, and they even defend that it is all part of some kind of conspiracy. They are the usual delusions in some cases of addiction, in which the person allows themselves to be carried away by self-deception and creates a separate reality in which marijuana only gives them good things, has no risks, and is even the most important thing in their life ( which clearly denotes the problem of addiction).
As I explained previously, many people who already suffer from problems due to marijuana use increase their consumption in the hope that this will calm their symptoms. Which only makes them worse in the long run, Trapping the person is a vicious circle which in many cases ends up ruining the person’s life.