BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis raises psychosis risk
Reviewed • 4 reviews • war on drugs, cannabis psychosis • bbc.co.uk
It is difficult to know where to start with stupidity like this. Let's try with the notion of "increased risk". Given that the baseline prevalence of psychosis is between 1 and 3% in the normal population, the fact that cannabis use increases risk by 40% means that the net risk rises from 1-3% to 1.4 to 4.2%
Next, lets deal with the intended implications. viz that the increased risk is justification for its continued illegality. It is easiest to see the insanity of that argument by comparison with other increased risks:
For example, women using HRT are 100% more likely to develop Breast Cancer.
Tobacco users are 2600% more likely to develop Lung Cancer
Those suffering adverse socioeconomic conditions are 270% more likely to develop psychosis
5 Cups of Coffee a day increases risk of miscarriage or stillbirth by 100%
Long term aspirin use increases risk of pancreatic cancer, in Women, by 58%
Western Diet increases risk of sudden deafness by 82% (among Japanese)
Cycling increases risk of death in road accident by 12,666% - compared to travelling same distance in a bus
or "only" 1357% compared to driving same distance in a car
(and Walking same distance is even more dangerous than cycling!)
Alcohol increases risk of many forms of cancer by up to 1000%, not to mention its effect on accident rates, psychosis and brain damage.
Are we getting the picture? Increased Risk JUSTIFIES NOTHING. If it did, we would have banned all forms of private transport decades ago. We would ban HRT, tobacco, alcohol, fast food, rock climbing, etc etc
Next, the announcement is dangerously misleading. Buried in the surveys is data which actually reveals a vastly greater level of risk than the 40% headline - but only for those who are subject to the primary risk factors.
Those risk factors are
1) 2 copies of a particular variant of the COMT gene
2) Heavy ADOLESCENT use
If you can tick both of those boxes, your chances of psychotic illness are 1000% higher than the rate for the population as a whole. But the important point which the media, including the BBC are pointedly not mentioning - with the honorable exception of this Times article is that:
"Neither the drug nor the gene raises the risk of psychosis by itself"
Next, lets deal with the intended implications. viz that the increased risk is justification for its continued illegality. It is easiest to see the insanity of that argument by comparison with other increased risks:
For example, women using HRT are 100% more likely to develop Breast Cancer.
Tobacco users are 2600% more likely to develop Lung Cancer
Those suffering adverse socioeconomic conditions are 270% more likely to develop psychosis
5 Cups of Coffee a day increases risk of miscarriage or stillbirth by 100%
Long term aspirin use increases risk of pancreatic cancer, in Women, by 58%
Western Diet increases risk of sudden deafness by 82% (among Japanese)
Cycling increases risk of death in road accident by 12,666% - compared to travelling same distance in a bus
or "only" 1357% compared to driving same distance in a car
(and Walking same distance is even more dangerous than cycling!)
Alcohol increases risk of many forms of cancer by up to 1000%, not to mention its effect on accident rates, psychosis and brain damage.
Are we getting the picture? Increased Risk JUSTIFIES NOTHING. If it did, we would have banned all forms of private transport decades ago. We would ban HRT, tobacco, alcohol, fast food, rock climbing, etc etc
Next, the announcement is dangerously misleading. Buried in the surveys is data which actually reveals a vastly greater level of risk than the 40% headline - but only for those who are subject to the primary risk factors.
Those risk factors are
1) 2 copies of a particular variant of the COMT gene
2) Heavy ADOLESCENT use
If you can tick both of those boxes, your chances of psychotic illness are 1000% higher than the rate for the population as a whole. But the important point which the media, including the BBC are pointedly not mentioning - with the honorable exception of this Times article is that:
"Neither the drug nor the gene raises the risk of psychosis by itself"
