There are just so many studies out there relating to marijuana. And they continue coming in. We see so many forms of news, both good and bad. One day you’ll see a study that shows how weed can improve depression symptoms, and the next you’ll find one that shows the link between early use of marijuana and psychosis.
Point is, marijuana contains multitudes and can be preventative and harmful depending on how it’s used.
Dr. Drew, a very prominent and influential TV personality, seems to focus mainly on the dark side. On “The Bottom Line,” a show on Fox, Dr. Drew expressed his concerns about the link to psychosis.
“When this first started coming up, I actually was somewhat doubtful. It seemed too much to me. We were always aware that cannabis was associated with psychotic episodes, but the previous suspicion was it was primarily people who were sort of heading that way already, perhaps that’s why they were using the drug.”
A new study that he is seemingly referring to points to a 50% increase of hospital visits for cannabis-induced-disorder and cannabis-involved emergency department visits from 2019 to 2020. These numbers remain at the elevated levels as of 2023.
“You’re fighting a profound cultural bias where they literally have been taught to believe that tobacco is significantly worse than cannabis, and they’re right in terms of alcohol, in terms of impact on overall health, in terms of being carcinogenic, in terms of lost work years, yes, the cumulative effects of alcohol are measurably worse than cannabis. But cannabis is also bad,” said Dr. Drew on the program.
“Now that we have such incredibly high concentrations of cannabis, we’re starting to see a real problem with really unanticipated psychotic episodes and more addiction. I have family members that are in recovery from cannabis addiction.”
He has a point to say that high concentrated cannabis can be dangerous, but to say “cannabis is also bad” is where the fear mongering really sets in. Like any drug, cannabis requires education and an understanding of how to consume responsibly. None of these substances, including alcohol, is inherently “bad”, and it’s unfortunate to have someone at Dr. Drew’s level spewing such reductive labels on a plant that can also have massive benefits, depending on the person and their usage.
