CALMING EFFECTS OF CANNABIS CAN HELP PSYCHOTICS

A recent Province editorial brought to mind my experience as a young
counselling intern working in the mental-health-services field.

I had observed that my clients were tobacco consumers at a rate several
times that of the general public.

I wondered if it was possible that something in tobacco actually caused
schizophrenia? Turns out the phenomena had already been well studied.

Results showed that nicotine wasn't causing mental illness. Instead,
clients who were already mentally ill were using nicotine to self-medicate
their symptoms.

The same is true for cannabis. One limited New Zealand study documents a
slightly higher rate of psychosis in daily users of cannabis when compared
to non-users.

The calming effects of cannabis are well known. So, is it surprising that
persons suffering a psychosis would be more likely to use this natural herb
to reduce their own symptoms of anxiety and disorientation?

The only thing the New Zealand study demonstrates is the danger of using
raw data to justify pre-conceived biases.

Greg Francisco,

Paw Paw, MI