Catholicism and Cannabis

[tuffsmurf]

If you have a history of mental illness you should never, ever smoke cannabis. It can cause psychosis.

 

[Bluebright]

You can use cannabis once and have a complete psychotic break down that’s unlikely with alcohol and that is just one of the many mental problems, not to mention the spiritual and physical problems. The fact of it is that it is so unknown, it is basically poison, so could have any reaction or none at all. If you’ve never tried it you won’t know that it can have very different effects and it can leave you extremely vulnerable to spiritual attacks let alone, simple temptation and sin.
If it is used for medical purposes, it usually is prescribed and the toxic component removed so it’s a lot safer to use, though the ‘high’ is also gone, since that’s from the poison.

 

[Thom18]

If Cannabis is evil, or if the Church felt the need to prohibit it, then perhaps God should have never made it to begin with and the Church could have taken that issue up with God directly instead of just arbitrarily making up another rule on something they know nothing about. But the tactics the Church uses is nothing new, it doesn’t understand something, or they can’t figure a way to spin it to their advantage, so lets just make it a sin. The end and no one can say we are wrong because if they do, we can say they are heretics or blasphemers and we still win. Put it like this, you can use posion ivy as Toilet paper if you want. It ain’t good for your body, so ipsofacto why doesn’t the Church make a new rule, saying it is bad or sinful to use poison ivy as toilet paper.

Stupid Analogy for stupid logic and reasoning.

God made everything: there’s some people out there who think that He made everything to be consumed for psychedelic purposes.

Maybe we don’t need to take all of God’s Creation, burn and inhale it for our own use? I don’t know, just a thought.

 

[whatistrue]

You can use cannabis once and have a complete psychotic break down

Is your source “Reefer Madness” by any chance?

Actual research indicates that there may be a link between daily use of high-potency marijuana and psychosis. This is a far cry from a single incident precipitating a psychotic break. There are enough legitimate reasons to avoid cannabis and spouting long-debunked scaremongering tactics can be counterproductive.

 

[Bluebright]

What’s Reefer madness?

My source is having worked in a Medium security mental health facility and other mental health practices and having seen it with my own eyes in their medical notes. Please note, I said you can… not you will, which denotes possibility not probability . Their is no scaremongering, it is simply a potential risk well known and highly possible whether one has mental health issues or not.

 

[CathoRick]

A better comparison would be the one beer a day guy and the guy who smokes weed very occasionally, like once every other monthish or something.

Nah. Going by that math, the guy who smokes weed once a week (“light smoker”) is equivalent to the man who drinks 8 beers a day (“alcoholic”). A weekly high vs. daily impairment… and for a daily smoker, the alcoholic equivalent is death. There’s just no comparison.

Really, the better comparison is one beer vs. the equivalent impairment in smoking (one puff will probably do more for a non-pothead than one beer).

 

[whatistrue]

What’s Reefer madness?

I normally don’t use Wikipedia as a source, but we are talking about pop culture in this specific instance and the question is more basic:

Reefer Madness - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

On a similar note, I prefer to look at peer-reviewed research rather than anecdotal evidence about medical questions, such as a claim of psychosis resulting from a single incident of cannabis consumption.

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

Nah. Going by that math, the guy who smokes weed once a week (“light smoker”) is equivalent to the man who drinks 8 beers a day (“alcoholic”). A weekly high vs. daily impairment… and for a daily smoker, the alcoholic equivalent is death. There’s just no comparison.

Really, the better comparison is one beer vs. the equivalent impairment in smoking (one puff will probably do more for a non-pothead than one beer).

I’m confused. Where did the once a week smoker come in? I said once every other month or so.

I mean, we can move the slider bar back and forth, but I’m just trying to make two points. First, it’s possible to use marijuana occasionally without becoming Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgmont High, just like it’s possible to drink occasionally without becoming a wino. Second, as with alcohol, there are degrees of marijuana intoxication. Being a little high does not mean the complete loss of reason.

In many ways, marijuana intoxication is preferable. Alcohol can make people violent; the so-called “angry drunk.” The worst thing a person who is a little stoned is likely to do is devour a bag of potato chips.

Lest anyone think that I’m just rationalizing my weed habit, I should mention that I’ve never used marijuana. Not because of a moral objection, just because I’ve always been in jobs that require a security clearance/drug test. But I have plenty of friends who use weed occasionally and in moderation and all are functioning adults in respected jobs.

 

[blackforest]

This is what I read, as well. Sometimes the right medical intervention can help set us on the straight path.

Amphetamines are routinely prescribed for mental health with nary a CAF controversy. Cannibiphobia, by contrast, reigns supreme.

If you have a history of mental illness you should never, ever smoke cannabis. It can cause psychosis.

It depends on the mental illness, and I don’t think any of us should be providing medical advise here.

 

[tuffsmurf]

The OP mentioned mood stabilizers, which is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder. To say that someone with bipolar disorder shouldn’t smoke cannabis is no more controversial than to say that someone with cirrhosis shouldn’t drink alcohol.

 

[Anrakyr]

If you have a history of mental illness you should never, ever smoke cannabis. It can cause psychosis.

The problem with that is correlation does not equal causation.

What has been documented is that teens AKA people with developing brains who use marijuana early are usually people who have developed psychological conditions.

So your point that weed can cause madness is only based on the concept that someone who has spinal problems was caused by aspirin.

If your brain is finished developing and you reach the age of 21 to 25 it’s really harmless.
Substance Abuse and Health Services 2012
The Stranger Oct 2014

 

[Randolph]

I know several psychiatrists who say using pot increases the likelihood of mental illness like schizophrenia.

The article below provides more insights:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-gateway-drug

Excerpts from the article:

“… Some research suggests that marijuana use is likely to precede use of other licit and illicit substances45 and the development of addiction to other substances. For instance, a study using longitudinal data from the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol Use and Related Disorders found that adults who reported marijuana use during the first wave of the survey were more likely than adults who did not use marijuana to develop an alcohol use disorder within 3 years; people who used marijuana and already had an alcohol use disorder at the outset were at greater risk of their alcohol use disorder worsening.46 Marijuana use is also linked to other substance use disorders including nicotine addiction.

Early exposure to cannabinoids in adolescent rodents decreases the reactivity of brain dopamine reward centers later in adulthood.47 To the extent that these findings generalize to humans, this could help explain the increased vulnerability for addiction to other substances of misuse later in life that most epidemiological studies have reported for people who begin marijuana use early in life.48 It is also consistent with animal experiments showing THC’s ability to “prime” the brain for enhanced responses to other drugs.49 For example, rats previously administered THC show heightened behavioral response not only when further exposed to THC but also when exposed to other drugs such as morphine—a phenomenon called cross-sensitization .50

These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a “gateway drug.” However, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, “harder” substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs51 and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances…”

 

[Chickadee]

Not proud to admit it, but years ago in college I did try marijuana several times. I also had a few acquaintances that were regular smokers. What I learned is that for someone who does not smoke regularly, it takes a lot more “puffs” to get the same high as someone who is regularly smoking it.

All that to say that I’ve never experienced much after only 1 puff, but that’s just my 2 cents. I also graduated with good grades and still went to Mass every Sunday. Take it as you will but I chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

[TheIttyBitty]

I’ve noticed pain relief and emotional benefit (anxiety and anger) when I was having some cannabis candies, and they had only trace amounts of THC. It may not be necessary for those with mild conditions to consume THC for therapeutic benefit, and that would be something to discuss with your doctor anyway.

As it is, I think it’s possible to have lower THC strains and not get crazy high from an edible or one puff, but it depends on the reason. Many times the cannabis strains are bred specifically for high THC, but there are some people out there, I’m certain of it, that are going the more moderate THC cannabis breeding route, especially for use by those that would benefit from it therapeutically.