Is marijuana helpful in schizophrenia treatment?

I think that marijuana should be prescribed in treating schizophrenia. I think that it is a natural sedative and should be considered as a treatment.

I think that this is a complicated issue.

There is good evidence that medicinal cannabis can help people with neuropathic pain, the loss of appetite associated with AIDS and the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy.

Many people with schizophrenia smoke cannabis and it has been argued that cannabis smoking is risk factor for schizophrenia. For example, cannabis use is strongly related to the age of onset and morbidity of schizophrenia.

I think that a lot more work needs to be done before (depending on its results) medicinal cannabis can be safely recommended for people with schizophrenia.

No. Marijuana makes schizophrenia worse, and so do other psychoactive drugs like mushrooms or LSD.

I don't think it makes schizophrenia worse. I think it helps.

I had a medical marijuana card and smoked every night for over 2 years. I recall many nights tripping out, marijuana is very potent and it doesn't just relax you, that's only one of the many effects it can have on you. It induces paranoia in a lot of people, it trips a lot of people out, and yes it can also relax you and make you enjoy music more, but each time you smoke you take that risk of either relaxing or tripping out. I don't have schizophrenia but it did affect me in some major ways that altered my perception when I was high. I've done research on what weed can do to schizophrenics and it can definitely make it worse, and it can also trigger some mental illnesses depending on how prone someone is or how they handle the drug. This is true with all psychoactive drugs. I'm not against weed at all, but I know its not something to tred lightly on like its not a big deal. Getting high means exactly that, you get high and you hit the clouds sometimes metaphorically speaking of course lol. In the 60s my dad smoked weed and he told me he was so high and paranoid he attempted to crawl into his dresser drawer. He doesn't have any mental illness but anyone witnessing that would question his sanity lol.

Joshuas-mommy, here is the most recent free-access review of the evidence which links cannabis use with psychoses (including schizophrenia) that I can find; Gone to Pot ? A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis .

I think that the evidence is clear - cannabis use, especially if it is heavy and starts early in life can trigger psychotic events which may proceed to schizophrenia.

I smoked it and it pulled me out of psychotic episodes. I thought people were trying to kill me and I smoked it after that I no longer thought people were trying to kill me.

Have you talked with a mental health professional about your belief that "people were trying to kill me"?

A mental health professional may be able to suggest options other than use of cannabis which could be more beneficial for you long-term in coping with your belief.

No, marijuana helps sufficiently.

THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) does that... not Cannabidiol (CBD).

The evidence suggests that EagleTears is correct - THC can induce psychosis but CBD may have anti-psychotic properties.

See A systematic review of the antipsychotic properties of cannabidiol in humans. - PubMed - NCBI .