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Link between marijuana and mental health
An eminent University of Melbourne Psychiatry Professor will lead a conference detailing the latest research findings on the link between marijuana and mental health.The conference, ‘Cannabis and Mental Illness’ which is supported by The University of Melbourne, will be held at The Royal Melbourne Hospital on Monday August 16 and Tuesday August 17.
Professor Bruce Singh, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, said research had lead to many important advances over the last decade.
“Over the past few years, there has been extensive research into the link between cannabis use and mental illness. This conference provides a timely and comprehensive update on the psychiatry and neurobiology of cannabis and its effect on evolving and established illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression.”
The University of Melbourne will bring several distinguished speakers to the stage to discuss the major advances that have been made in understanding the beneficial and adverse effects of cannabis on cognition
Speakers at the conference will include:
Professor David Castle, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Mental Health Research Institute, on ‘Does cannabis cause schizophrenia?’.
Dr Suresh Sundram, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, and North Western Mental Health, on ‘The human cannabinoid system’.
Associate Professor Susan Sawyer, Department of Pediatrics, Royal Children’s Hospital, The University of Melbourne, on ‘Cannabis and mood’.
Professor Patrick McGorry, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and ORYGEN Youth Research Centre, and Professor Christos Pantelis, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, will provide expert comments.
Other topics to be covered will include the size of the problem in Australia, the potential existence of cannabis psychosis, the link between cannabis and depression, the effect of cannabis on cognition, weight and smoking and the consumer perception of the drug.
http://www.unimelb.edu.au
My Response
Were all the test subjects on the SAME healthy high raw diet and without any chemical additives and preservatives, the type found in all junk and fast foods. Chemicals which are used in such things as embalming, taxidermy, dry cleaning, pest control and more. Chemicals that many pot smokers regard as daily staples in junk food and unhealthy treats.
Granted, smokers must contend with “the munchies”, but this does not mean that the study quoted in the article “studied” the right thing. It is much more likely that other conditions in the participants life and environment played parts in the findings as well. Conditions like current weight and exercise levels, air pollution in the area (someone from LA is much more likely to mental ill-health than someone breathing clean fresh air daily), mercury fillings (often contributors to mental illness, depression, etc.), exposure to sunshine (deprivation is a known factor in mental conditions) and many more.
However, it is without a doubt, that any data, with findings that do not take into account the participants diets, is without validity. Each participant should be eating high nutritious diets, all the same to really establish the link between marijuana and mental illness.
Before taking the leap that this study took, the amount of garbage snacks and empty foods the participants had consumed prior to the study and during the study. Otherwise the study cannot stand as a true test of marijuana’s part in mental ill-health.
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