{"id":1374,"date":"2016-07-07T11:56:55","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T01:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/pot-related-psychosis-linked-to-early-dangerous-use\/"},"modified":"2016-07-07T11:56:55","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T01:56:55","slug":"pot-related-psychosis-linked-to-early-dangerous-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/pot-related-psychosis-linked-to-early-dangerous-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Pot-related psychosis linked to early \u2018dangerous\u2019 use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers trying to understand what triggers psychotic episodes in some users say it&rsquo;s a myth marijuana is risk-free.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>Dr. Romina Mizrahi, a psychiatrist and director of the Focus on Youth Psychosis Prevention Clinic, says young people who use marijuana before the age of 16 have a higher risk of having a psychotic experience.&nbsp; (KEITH BEATY \/ TORONTO STAR)<\/p>\n<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/authors.jimenez_marina.html\" target=\"_blank\">MARINA JIMENEZ <\/a>Foreign Affairs Writer &#8211; Mon., June 6, 2016<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>At first, the voices he heard in his head were pleasant. But then, they turned malevolent. Jean Thibodeau, a 19-year-old University of Toronto student and avid pot smoker, became convinced he was possessed by the devil. He could see blood gushing down his chest and feel a deep gash in his neck. &ldquo;I remember thinking, I&rsquo;m going to die,&rdquo; said Thibodeau in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>His roommate became so concerned he took him to the emergency department of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They told me I was having a psychotic episode brought on by cannabis,&rdquo; said Thibodeau, who requested that the Star use his grandmother&rsquo;s surname as he is still recovering from the breakdown.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I was shocked. We live in a society where there is such a culture around smoking dope that people think it is cool to be a stoner. Nobody ever talks about the pitfalls.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Researchers have established a link between cannabis and psychosis among young people, although they cannot predict who will be triggered, or why.<br \/>Youths who are especially at risk are those with a family history of mental illness, or who have suffered sexual or physical abuse. Thibodeau, who went to private school and has a supportive, intact family, doesn&rsquo;t fit any of these categories.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When people start smoking before the age of 16, there is a higher risk of having a psychotic experience. We know that early use is dangerous,&rdquo; said Dr. Romina Mizrahi, a psychiatrist and director of the Focus on Youth Psychosis Prevention Clinic at CAMH. &ldquo;The brain continues to develop until the age of 25.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/news\/world\/2016\/06\/06\/pot-related-psychosis-linked-to-early-use.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"button\">For complete article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers trying to understand what triggers psychotic episodes in some users say it&rsquo;s a myth marijuana is risk-free.&nbsp;Dr. Romina Mizrahi, a psychiatrist and director of the Focus on Youth Psychosis Prevention Clinic, says young people who use marijuana before the age of 16 have a higher risk of having a psychotic experience.&nbsp; (KEITH BEATY \/ [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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