Causal Links Between Cannabis, Schizophrenia: New Evidence

Spark up a spliff for this one, mates, as I'm sure you will want to hear of this new evidence.  We love it when researchers tell us what the ganja is doing to us.  (Science Daily:  Causal links between cannabis, schizophrenia: New evidence)

The study from the University of Bristol comes on the back of public health warnings issued earlier this year by scientists who voiced concerns about the increased risk of psychosis for vulnerable people who use the drug.  Those warnings followed evidence to suggest an increased use of particularly high potency strains of cannabis among young people.  However, experts cautioned that the risks should not be overstated given the need for greater research into links between mental health and illicit drugs.

This latest study from Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology sheds fresh light on the issue, while still cautioning that the results ought to be considered in the wider context of other contributing factors of mental health.

- Science Daily

Does that sound like charges of Russian hacking to you, mates?

Ed:  as in lacking a shred of credible evidence?

Negatory on the credible evidence, Cap'n.

While some evidence was found to support hypotheses that cannabis use is a contributory factor in increasing the risk of schizophrenia, the researchers were surprised to find stronger evidence that the opposite was also likely.  This adds weight to the idea that the drug may be used as a form of self-medication.

"The evidence suggested that schizophrenia risk predicts the likelihood of trying cannabis," said Dr Suzi Gage, Research Associate with the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit. "However, the relationship could operate in both directions.  Our results don't really allow us to accurately predict the size of the effect -- they're more about providing evidence that the relationship is actually causal, rather than the result of confounding or common risk factors."

- Science Daily

After about a year of political doubletalk, our capabilities toward discerning such content have been tediously enhanced quite sufficiently to recognize the above as a word dance.

Just to ensure you know you have completely wasted your time in the reading, they present their closer:

Dr Gage added: "Our results use a novel method to attempt to untangle the association between cannabis and schizophrenia.  While we find stronger evidence that schizophrenia risk predicts cannabis use, rather than the other way round, it doesn't rule out a causal risk of cannabis use on schizophrenia.  What will be interesting is digging deeper in to the potential sub-populations of cannabis users who may be at greater risk, and getting a better handle on the impact of heavy cannabis use.

- Science Daily

It goes this-a-way or it goes that-a-way anda we don'ta rightly know whicha way it will go.

The statement of 'a causal link' needs far stronger evidence than they presented in the article which is not much more than hearsay and harrumphing, albeit with more impressive vocabularies than we saw in "Blazing Saddles."

I've been schizophrenic since I was a kid and wrote a bit a long time ago entitled "A Schizophrenic Talking to a Wall" which Barbie subsequently took to my ol' Dad.  He said write more on this theme.  Of course I didn't because that would give it away and the whitecoats would come.

The ganja didn't cause something which was already there.  The ganja just makes it more entertaining.

Something which really bites my ass is their pseudo-scientific euphemism of 'self-medication' which is immediately judgmental and dismissive yet adds no significant descriptive value.  That implies the value of ganja is strictly in terms of Huxley's soma, as a pacifier for the masses, but even a slight knowledge of Ithaka reveals pacification of anything is rather less than a hallmark.

Absence of the ganja is disturbing in some mystical way since I'm fully functional and have been for years on end without smoking it but that's being rational in a world which isn't rational and that makes no sense to me whatsoever.  The lying, cheating, and stealing of the corporate world are accepted as business as usual with the only consideration being caveat emptor.  If that behavior truly is the real nature of humans then someone's been telling some ferocious lies about religion because it doesn't add up.

Here at the Rockhouse, we do believe it's the nature of humans to be good and generous and loving, all the things we see at Christmas ...

Ed:  but forget the rest of the year?

I haven't watched "Scrooged" yet and I'll leave it to give Bill Murray to deliver that one.  That may hold until Christmas Eve since what's better than Bobcat Goldthwaite with a shotgun on the night before Christmas.

Ed:  you're crazy!

I think we had already established that.  The question is which part is crazy, isn't it.

Ed:  I don't recall asking but I'll go with all the parts

Fair enough.  I don't know and we see above the researchers don't know so crazy top to bottom works for me.