Posted by AnneL on December 26, 2002, at 9:50:40
In reply to Re: Marijuana triggered my schizophrenia, posted by BeardedLady on December 26, 2002, at 5:55:12
Beardy,
If I had more time (I'am late for work), I would do the research for you. Although I do not have the exact statistics available to me at this very moment, at least two recent scientific journals came out with this study that statistically linked marijuana smoking (they did not quantify how much MJ was smoked) linked to triggering SZ. Do a Google or Medscape search and you will find the journal articles explaining the "trigger" effect with MJ usage for those who would eventually get SZ irrespective of MJ usage or not.
If one is going to get SZ, MJ will cause it to surface earlier in teens/young adults. SZ is a very disabling, devastating disease for both the patient and family. God forbid, SZ is not in the picture for my two teen daughters, but who knows? I think both patient and family would prefer as much time on this earth illness-free. Since mental illness/past drug use runs in our family for both my husband and myself, our teens are at a higher risk for eventually developing a mental illness. As parents who both have depression and one parent who also has had the privelege of sobriety, our message to our teens is that they are at higher risk and therefore to use chemicals is "russian roulette". We keep the message alive
and keep our communication open about our own illnesses and past drug use. After all is said and done, who knows what will happen? But the responsibility lies on the parent for informing their children without the use of "scare tactics" which never work anyway. Anne :)
poster:AnneL
thread:133136
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021223/msgs/133237.html