Substance Use and Addictive Disorders Read the following article and create a discussion based on your opinion and reaction to this article. Please provide supportive evidence such as citing information from research articles.
Substance Use and Addictive Disorders
Read the following article and create a discussion based on your opinion and reaction to this article. Please provide supportive evidence such as citing information from research articles.
Up in Smoke
Public attitudes toward marijuana have changed substantially in the last 20 years, as many states have legalized marijuana for the treatment of medical conditions and decriminalized or legalized its recreational use. This has created the impression among the public that marijuana is a relatively benign consciousness-altering substance. That change in attitude has led to dramatic increases in marijuana use and in the numbers of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for marijuana use disorders. From 2001 to 2014, the percent of U.S. adults using marijuana in the past 12 months more than doubled from 4.1 percent to 9.5 percent. In that same period, the rate of marijuana use disorders (i.e., abuse or dependence) increased from 1.5 percent to 2.9 percent.
This increase in cannabis consumption is particularly troubling because of marijuana’s link to psychosis and schizophrenia. A number of studies have found that cannabis use is associated with the later development of psychotic symptoms. Large-scale, longitudinal studies from countries around the world, including Israel, Sweden, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, have found that cannabis use during childhood and adolescence doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. Because these individuals began using marijuana several years prior to their developing psychotic symptoms, this research suggests a causal role for cannabis in the development of psychosis. The link between marijuana use and schizophrenia has been documented in individuals with and without a family history of the disorder, though it appears that the risk is greater for those individuals who have family history of schizophrenia.
Researchers in Scotland have documented changes in brain volume among psychosis-prone individuals who have used marijuana. In this longitudinal study by Welch and colleagues (2011), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from a group of 57 at-risk individuals. These individuals were rescanned two years later, and interviewed about their drug use during that two-year period. Approximately 40 percent of the participants had used marijuana between the two MRI assessments, and the researchers found that this marijuana use was associated with bilateral decreases in thalamic volumes. For those participants who did not use marijuana during this two-year interval, there was no observed change in brain volume. Other studies have found that marijuana use produces changes in the nucleus accumbens and the brain’s reward circuitry, and cannabis exposure has been linked to abnormal epigenetic modifications within the brain and the periphery in both human and animal studies (Szutorisz & Hurd, 2016).
It should be noted that these negative effects are more pronounced among individuals who begin using marijuana in childhood or adolescence, when the brain is still developing, and are not just limited to an increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia. Hurd and colleagues (2014) reviewed some 120 published studies on cannabis use in adolescence and reported a number of sobering findings. Beyond documenting the link to developing schizophrenia, they found that some 25 percent of early marijuana users go on to develop substance use disorders. Marijuana usage also increases the likelihood of an individual developing an addiction to other drugs. They also reported that while many marijuana users use cannabis as a means of self-medicating their feelings of depression and anxiety, cannabis use actually seems to increase those feelings in users. Data also suggest that long-term use of marijuana increases the risk for the later development of depression and anxiety, and usage leads to increases in suicidal ideation and an increased risk for suicide attempts. Likewise, marijuana usage has been linked to a loss of motivation among users, and this amotivational syndrome persists long after the individual discontinues the cannabis usage.
As if all that isn’t enough to keep you up at night, research also shows that any history of cannabis use is associated with increases in sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, experiencing nonrestorative sleep, and daytime sleepiness (Chheda et al., 2014).
The main focus of the article is the legalisation of marijuana in many countries has a negative impact on the public. As the consumption of marijuana is doubled in one year and reaching up to 9.5%. By legalising marijuana, the usage is decriminalised surely but it is granted access to the early users as well. which have severe developmental effects. Many researchers show findings of how marijuana is the main substance involved in increasing psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and many marijuana usage-based problems like dependency and abuse. The early usage of it also increases the cases of depression and suicidal thoughts among long time users. Also, insomnia and irregular sleep can be seen with the user. Cannabis and marijuana are often used as recreational drugs to normalise anxiety and it is self meditated that thought to be a not harmful effect due to legalisation.
One longitudinal study in many countries concluded that the early use of marijuana in adolescents results in developing psychotic disorders and schizophrenia. Also, the possibilities are more increase if the adolescent and child have a history of schizophrenia in the family. Many results are proving the association of cannabis and the development of schizophrenia for longe time users. also, one more study from Hurd and colleagues shows that marijuana often increases the possibility to have an addiction to other drugs. Also, it effect motivation as long time user may also feel a lack of motivation even after withdrawing from the usage of marijuana. One scientist from Scotland has also proved that constant usage of cannabis for two years, decrease the bilateral thalamic volumes here non-user does not have any effect on the brain. Also, another finding also proved that cannabis usage changes in the rewarding system of the brain and epigenetic modification is encountered in CNS and PNS in animals as well as humans.
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