* * * * *
                                        
       It. May. Cause. Paranoia. As. A. Side. Effect. How hard is that to
                                  understand?
                                        
> The largest study of the effects of the main ingredient of cannabis has
> shown definitively that it can cause short-term paranoia. The Oxford-led
> research also, for the first time, identifies psychological factors that
> can lead to feelings of paranoia in people who take cannabis.
> 
> The research team, led by Professor Daniel Freeman, found that worrying,
> low self-esteem, anxiety and experiencing a range of unsettling changes in
> perceptions most likely led to the feelings of paranoia.
> 
> 'The study very convincingly shows that cannabis can cause short-term
> paranoia in some people,' says Professor Freeman. 'But more importantly it
> shines a light on the way our mind encourages paranoia. Paranoia is likely
> to occur when we are worried, think negatively about ourselves, and
> experience unsettling changes in our perceptions.'
> 
> The study, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), is the most in-
> depth investigation ever of the paranoia-inducing effects of the main
> psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol). …
> 

“How cannabis causes paranoia | University of Oxford [1]”

I shouldn't be posting this. Posting this is pouring salt onto a papercut
already soaked in lemon juice, but the friend I lost over posting this on
MyFaceGoogleTwitterBookPlusSpace (as a comment in another friend's post about
an NPR (National Public Radio) [2] report on the “War on Police [3]”)
probably won't listen to me any more and I feel this is actually important.

It's not like I want all drugs to be illegal (quite the opposite in fact, I
want them to all be legal, and tax the crap out of it) nor do I like the
resulting “War on Drugs [4]” (Prohibi tion [5] ultimately failed, giving rise
to organized crime) but drugs do have side effects, and for marijuana [6],
paranoia [7] appears to be a valid side effect.

[1] http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014
[2] http://www.npr.org/
[3] http://www.npr.org/2015/09/17/441196546/is-there-a-war-on-police-the-
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)
[7] http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/paranoia

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

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