devonrevenge wrote: |
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Out of ten friends who smoked weed all their lives two are institutionalized for being schizophrenic and scared of the world |
IIRC there is a link between schizophrenia and weed, but it's not been established as causal. As in any case where A and B correlate, there are at least four explanations:
1. A causes B: smoking weed increases the risk of developing schizophrenia in those predisposed to it.
2. A and B are both caused by C: the same genes that predispose people to schizophrenia also predispose people to drug use. There's evidence that "addictive personality" is related to the personality dimensions of high "openness" (the tendency to seek and accept novel situations/stimuli) and low self-control. Both are related to drug use, and both could be related to schizophrenia.
3. B causes A: schizophrenic people use drugs to deal with the negative symptoms (depression, emotional withdrawal, social stigma, social isolation). Schizophrenia starts with emotional detachment, social withdrawal and cognitive deficits; psychotic symptoms start later. It's possible that schizophrenics start using drugs to deal with the earlier symptoms.
4. A and B are unrelated and the correlation is a coincidence: schizophrenia symptoms typically appear in the late teens and early 20s, around the same time people usually start experimenting with drugs.
It doesn't have to be any single one of these explanations. All four could be at work, even in one person, which is the view I tend towards. Some drugs probably do increase the risk, especially amphetamines and cocaine which can induce a schizophrenia-like state by themselves, but most drug use is probably because schizophrenic people are often depressed and alone - partly due to social stigma and partly due to the disease itself inducing social withdrawal and flattening of emotions.
I also believe the hippy upbringing creates a lot of angst and us and them state of mind |
Maybe, if they're bad hippies. Typically hippies have a very inclusive mindset.
MDMA theres an interesting drug, is it available in america? |
It's available pretty much everywhere but I think in America it's usually sold in pill form as ecstasy rather than as crystals. Ecstasy is usually MDMA with amphetamine (speed).
I would avoid MDMA if I were you. The effects are pleasant but there's evidence of neurotoxicity with long-term use.