Everybody that has used cannabis knows that an ordinary meal can
taste like a culinary treat and that it can enhance sexual experiences.
But these are enhancements that are right there on the surface. Once
one becomes more experienced with cannabis he or she can experience
or appreciated phenomena in another way.
time, especially many young people, but they do it
Exactly right. They have, as I said, to diagnose cannabis
because they did not figure out yet what to do with
users as addicted people or miss their reimbursement.
their lives. I used it for more than four decades, almost
But you can't compare cannabis with opiates or alcohol.
everyday, when there were times I could not use it I
Especially the alcohol addicts can have severe withdrawal
would not encounter any problems. Once I had to go to
symptoms. But you will not have those with cannabis.
Malaysia for ten days to meet with a man that was caught
with drugs over there and who was sentenced to death.
Can cannabis cause psychosis or schizophrenia?
Of course I did not bring cannabis with me and I felt
Absolutely not. Schizophrenia is a disorder which one is
good. I missed it but I felt nothing more.
born with but it doesn't always manifest itself. Usually it
is during adolescence that it starts showing. The one way
So cannabis addiction is just a myth?
that the use of cannabis could be related to schizophrenia
I don't believe there is such a thing as cannabis addiction
is when people who are not used to cannabis start
but common people are very concerned when they
smoking and become anxious or paranoid which is, of
discover that their college kid is using cannabis. They will
course, uncomfortable. That's why people have to learn
get upset and take him to the psychiatrist. This doctor
smoking it. I can imagine that with someone who is new
has no other choice than diagnosing the youngster as
to cannabis and has that kind of experience it can occur
cannabis addicted, as is mentioned in the DSM, because
as a precipitating event. Many schizophrenics say their
without putting a label on the 'patient' he will not be
psychotic episode started after such a precipitating event.
reimbursed. Afterwards people use this data to show
Those events can range from an automobile accident
that 9-10% of the cannabis users are addicted, but that
or the death of a loved one. And I can imagine, I have
is simply not true. I remember that one of my students
never seen this, that the naive use of cannabis can act as
who smoked cannabis decided one day to stop using it to
a precipitating event.
prove to himself he was not addicted. I thought it was a
good idea and I said to myself let's stop for 40 days and
But then the use of cannabis is not the cause of
see how it goes. I had no problem at all.
the schizophrenic disorder. The person was born
The people who insist that cannabis is addictive are
with it?
on very thin ice. Another thing is that you can smoke it
Look, it is a very simple exercise. The prevalence of
safely, there is no pulmonary bronchial noxious effect.
schizophrenia is 1% around the world, across all different
Even if you smoke it straight without using a vapor iser.
cultures. Given the amount of people who started
Doctor Tashkin, a pulmonologist, published articles on
smoking cannabis, including adolescents which I wished
that issue and made it very clear that there was no
wouldn't do it because their brain is not fully developed
danger.
yet so they would better wait until their twenties, no
scientist picked up even the tiniest increase in the
Do you think that doctors and therapists that work
prevalence of schizophrenia. So the people who write this
in rehab hospitals have a conflict of interest? I
can not prove it.
mean, if a cannabis user is not longer labelled
and treated as an addict a lot of them would find
With the latest data that is available now, what do
themselves without a job, no?
you know about cannabis in relation with cancer?
ODYSSEY 53
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DIGIMAG