Saturday, September 19, 2015
It. May. Cause. Paranoia. As. A. Side. Effect. How hard is that to understand?
The largest study of the effects of the main ingredient of cannabis has shown definitively that it can cause short-term paranoia. The Oxford-led research also, for the first time, identifies psychological factors that can lead to feelings of paranoia in people who take cannabis.
The research team, led by Professor Daniel Freeman, found that worrying, low self-esteem, anxiety and experiencing a range of unsettling changes in perceptions most likely led to the feelings of paranoia.
'The study very convincingly shows that cannabis can cause short-term paranoia in some people,' says Professor Freeman. 'But more importantly it shines a light on the way our mind encourages paranoia. Paranoia is likely to occur when we are worried, think negatively about ourselves, and experience unsettling changes in our perceptions.'
The study, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), is the most in- depth investigation ever of the paranoia-inducing effects of the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol). …
How cannabis causes paranoia | University of Oxford
I shouldn't be posting this. Posting this is pouring salt onto a papercut already soaked in lemon juice, but the friend I lost over posting this on MyFaceGoogleTwitterBookPlusSpace (as a comment in another friend's post about an NPR report on the “War on Police”) probably won't listen to me any more and I feel this is actually important.
It's not like I want all drugs to be illegal (quite the opposite in fact, I want them to all be legal, and tax the crap out of it) nor do I like the resulting “War on Drugs” (Prohibi tion ultimately failed, giving rise to organized crime) but drugs do have side effects, and for marijuana, paranoia appears to be a valid side effect.
![[The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades]](https://www.conman.org/people/spc/about/2023/1023.t.jpg "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades")