No Stupid Questions

Scaremongering.

There’s a correlation between cannabis use and psychosis, though it’s not clear whether cannabis causes/accelerates psychosis or whether people with tendencies towards psychosis are more likely to self-medicate with cannabis.

yes it's real. It's incredibly rare. In most cases, harmless.

You could get unlucky though.

Literally any drug that is psychoactive can induce psychosis.

Yes. It is real.

However, not "causal". Marijuana doesn't cause psychosis (in the same way that 'guns don't kill people, people kill people'). Psychoactive drugs can induce psychosis is the accurate way to articulate this.

This will be unpopular but I have found Marijuana users to be extremely biased against any negatives raised about the drug and conversely very biased towards accepting anything positive. Because of this and the fact that psychosis is rare, i.e. not the typical experience, the answer you are mostly likely to get here is that Marijuana doesn't cause it. You can only trust their personal "had it or didn't have it" but not what they say about never seeing it in others.

Imagine that it causes psychosis in 1 in 1000 users (I don't know the real ratio this is just for example). That would mean, based on personal experience alone, you would get 999 answers saying it's totally fine, and 1 saying it causes psychosis. You walk away thinking it's safe when maybe for you, it's not. Even if it was 1 in 10 you'd probably still think the consensus is that it's safe the 1 saying its not is going against the consensus so must have an agenda. Not what if the rate in the general population is 1 in 1,000,000 but the rate for people with a family history of mental illness is 1 in 3? Both can be true but which is the one that matters to you? Here you'd only be finding the 1 in a million number when you really want to know the one in 3 number.

Things like this are not about opinions they are about statistics. As someone else said, don't ask social media for medical matters, science is not about consensus it's about evidence. The laws of physics don't change based on how many people believe something.

Many comments here are the equivalent of saying "I've never seen a car crash so they must be made up, it's just fear mongering by the auto industry to put useless air bags and seat belts in the car to charge you more".

DO NOT ASK SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT MEDICAL QUESTIONS. CONSULT AN EXPERT.

Almost all of the replies here are wrong or missing important information.

Everyone saying that cannabis induced psychosis is fearmongering or does not exist is unfortunately wrong. Especially for a vulnerable subgroup the risk is definitely there. There are a multitude of studies on the subject, eg this (nature) one. Also check out the cited papers or look for cannabis psychosis in any medical database yourself. Alot of good info out there. The chance it will happen to the average consumer is quite low, after all it is one of the safest drugs out there, if consumed the right way. Thou saying cannabis induced psychosis does not exist is just plain misinformation.

I was on a week bender with heavy alcohol drinking. My body was at a bad place. I smoked one blunt and that triggered a psychosis. Took me years to work through it. I had two more psychosis' not related to marijuana use, 1 year and 1 1/2 years later.

I have zero training in this field but once read a paper on this. I think it essentially said that ganja was ok (?) on its on but for people with “brewing psychosis” it could trigger/enable that breakdown.

The other problem might be that simply thinking about the possibility of an episode will freak you out - the existential dread would be very draining.

I haven't experienced it myself though I have felt it close sometimes. Almost everyone in my family has some mental health issue.

But I have seen a friend having one. While he wasn't aggressive he was weird and unpleasant. At the end he had estranged most of those around him and we no longer have contact lol. Oh and that was the second time he had one, the first time he jumped from a balcony.
No idea if they have mental illnesses in their family though.

Just don't smoke heavily and you should be fine.
Like once in a month maybe.

I believe it's real. But somewhat rare. I have been a 20+ years smoker and despite a myriad of issues, cannabis-induced psychosis or chs aren't among them. I realize this information is highly anecdotal.

I'm not sure on the psychosis part specifically, but it took me many, many years of trying it over and over with different friends in different ways before I finally figured out that it just doesn't work for me. My body's endocannabinoid system appears to be in great balance and marijuana of any kind throws it completely out of whack.

I thought getting the spins and vomiting for hours the very first time I tried it was just because I was already drunk so I only did it after that when I was sober. But the effect was always bad and I never felt good on it, no matter what kind it was or what the social situation was.

It wasn't until I tried some really strong stuff with a friend who was a big stoner that I realized I just shouldn't have it because different people react to it differently and my body fuckin hates it. Every time I would do it, I would have a kind of hangover afterwards that would last for at least a day where I would just be depressed for no fucking reason. Then one time we did some really strong stuff, and I ended up sitting on the bathroom floor for hours with the spins, nearly unable to control my thoughts or communicate. It literally felt like my consciousness was drowning and it was trying to tread water just to utter a single word out of my mouth.

So, CIS? I have no clue. I've never asked a doctor about it, but even if it wasn't, I wish all the propaganda around weed wasn't just about how amazing it is and that it's a miracle drug for everyone, because just like any substance, it truly affects different people in different ways; not all of them good.

I will happily stick to my alcohol for mind and body altering experiences because my body loves that and only has positive reactions to it.

I mean, it's a thing. You can look it up and find documentation on it. It's in the DSM-5, the main diagnostic tome for mental health. Here's an overview in a reputable source. It's listed as cannabis induced psychosis though.

It isn't exactly a super common thing relative to total population, and there's a good bit of debate about exactly how much of it is purely an affect in people already prone to psychosis or schizophrenia, and how much is causative. However, I've never seen any research into whether it's 100% about the weed, or if it's related to other things that are in the weed, and/or if it would be set off by anything that tweaked dopamine in a similar way.

There are other drugs known to trigger psychosis and schizophrenia, and they don't necessarily work the exact same way. So there's a good chance that if you don't have an unusually high chance to end up there, that you won't, no matter how much you smoke. But there's just not enough data to be certain.

What is certain is that it isn't just scaremongering. It may be used to try and scaremonger, but that's a different thing.

The numbers I've seen are low enough that you might go decades in ER work and never see it because it isn't instant. You won't really know if it's CIP until a patient history has been taken, other tests run, etc. So the comments talking about ER veterans not having seen it are irrelevant. They wouldn't be in on the diagnosis. Now, someone in a psych unit might have a useful anecdote about never having seen it during their career. But it's also not an all day every day thing.

It's a relatively infrequent event. Even in a big city, you might see a hundred cases a year that can be definitely diagnosed, and it won't all be at the same hospital.

However, if anyone working in an ER says they've never seen anyone in for any cannabis related issues, they're either lying, or didn't work there long. People get greened out, or get a bad trip, or get stuff that's laced often enough that you'll see it if you even do part time in an ER. It won't be every day, or even every week (or it didn't used to), but the rate of such occurrence is increasing as legalization spreads access and the willingness to both seek help and be honest. That's a fact you can look up, you don't have to trust anyone.

Cannabis is a plant with around a dozen potent psychoactive components. That's why people use it. To assume that everyone is going to react the same to them, in varying proportions, at betting varying levels is just stupid. You can have something as mild as aspirin, perfectly controlled during manufacture for potency, and still have the occasional weird response.

Doesn't matter how you take it in, you can't accurately predict your response until you've taken it in the first time, and even then you'd need more use to really call it accurate. Then you can still run into weird shit, or laced shit, or shit that's just way stronger than you're used to.

Me? I have unpleasant reactions to the stuff, so I don't use it. I wish I could because it can do great things for people. If I had a history psychosis or schizophrenia in my family, I wouldn't even stay around where it's being smoked or used in a way it could get into my system. Just not worth it, because it can happen, and it is most definitely a real thing, no matter how poorly researched it is currently.

Induced is the key word. it can't flip a switch that isn't there.

If you are primed for it drinking could send you over the edge.

I've seen it twice. In two people who are prone and had some mental instability issues. I am almost certain a mentally healthy person would never have any kind of an issue.

I'm not a doctor or scientist, but here is what I saw and what I believe happened.

Their mental health decline caused them to increase their intake by a decent amount. I think untreated, they would have had the same outcome in less than a year. But the weed sped things up a great deal. What should have taken months happened in just a couple/few weeks. One of them ended up standing on top of a police SUV downtown after giving away pretty much everything he had to homeless people. Including his wallet with his ID, social security card and debit/credit cards. It was the safest and quickest way to get him help so it ended up being a good thing. I tried everything I could in the days before that. Delusions of grandeur, constant tinfoil hat shit, thought he was being directly targeted by the government alphabet agencies because of what he knew.

They're both fine now. But I do believe the increased potency in modern weed negates many previous studies on the effects it can have. I'm not against it in the least. But definitely more wary.

It’s real. I’ve seen it happen with the high concentration dabs. Ended with a hospital stay.

From personal experience susceptible people get paranoid schizophrenia like symptoms with cannabis use immediately, which should be a warning. From a scientific angle there are statistic links, but not a proven causal link. But we do know it reduces hippocampal volume which probably isn't healthy, and hyperemetic syndrome tells that it does have negative lasting effects.

Truth is, you probably should not do it, but likely it's not going to wreck you either. Nobody knows for sure what will happen to you.

A big portion is, but if you've had some sort of "psychotic break" in the past or are prone to it or more "extreme" psychological issues, it's certainly not going to help anything. Better to be safe than sorry, or better yet discuss with a (trusted(Which if I'm being honest, why are they your therapist if you don't trust them?)) therapist if possible.

It is pretty much just scaremongering. Marijuana, like any drug, can put a person in a mental state that can serve as a trigger for a psychological condition that someone is prone to, like if someone with a family history of anxiety gets way too uncomfortably high. It’s not necessarily the drug that’s at fault - it’s having a stressful experience of a bad time. I’ve never heard of psychosis induced by cannabis though.

Marijuana is just about the safest drug there is, and I think most people could safely try it with no ill effects.

Some people function fine with it and others don't. Just like some people get aggressive with alcohol and others become funny or idiotic. I used to smoke weed in my 20s and early 30s but then it started to make me paranoid so I quit. I know people that have smoked it all their life and are fine other than being a bit lazy or boring. It's a good tool if you play an instrument and write music. Some of the strains that are available these days are more akin to taking a psychedelic than smoking the weed I remember.

It's absolutely a thing. Don't you know anyone who went nuts from it? Maybe it's just me, but I've met plenty of them.

My father also used to work in an institution for psychotic patients. He always brought home the artwork that they made and gave him. He had entire box of it, and could basically go through it and say which drug the artist had used just by looking at it.

Many years ago, I offered a girl in my dorm to get high with me and to my surprise she got very freaked out and scared, which I had never seen happen to anyone before. And what we smoked back in those days was much tamer than what they have today. I had to sit with her and keep her calm for what seemed like forever. Really harshed my mellow (from my language in this post, you can guess my age 😄 ).

Point is though, yes--some people can have a negative reaction to it. Was it mj-induced psychosis in this case? I dunno, I don't know the definition. I don't think she actually hallucinated or anything, it was more like a major anxiety attack.

Yes,

Through regular use, psychosis is not unheard of. It is very unlikely to happen if you use it once but regular use will eventually cause psychosis. It will always start with paranoia, which is always the first side effect to appear with marijuana.

Taking too much THC is very unpleasant and can definitely cause someone to spiral, but in moderation it's rare. If you want to try it, I'd recommend no more than 5mg THC, ideally with CBD as it helps mitigate the anxiety, I personally prefer more CBD than THC but a 1:1 ratio is fine.

That said, everyone reacts differently and some people have a sensitivity to it

Asked a lifelong ED RN who grows about this before I started using. She says it's reefer madness and she's never seen it once, not in a buyer, not in a patient. YMMV.

As someone who frequently uses edibles: no.

Whenever I'm high I can still differentiate between what's real and what's fantasy.

marijunana psychosis isn't a thing as far as I'm aware.