Study Finds Cannabis Use Associated With Lower Mortality Rate in Those With Psychotic Disorders
A study published last year by the National Institute of Health, and in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found that cannabis use was connected w
ith a drastically lower mortality rate in those with psychotic disorders (with cannabis consumers being shown to have a mortality rate of less than half of non-consumers in a 5 and 10 year time-period).
“Overall five- (3.1% vs 7.5%) and ten-year mortality risk (5.5% vs. 13.6%) was lower in cannabis users than in non-users with psychotic disorders (p = 0.005) in a survival model”, state’s the study’s abstract, “We observed a lower mortality risk in cannabis-using psychotic disorder patients compared to cannabis non-users despite subjects having similar symptoms and treatments”.
For this study – which, unsurprisingly, was widely under publicized by the media – researchers examined the “rate of substance use and the risk of substance use on mortality risk over a 4-10 year period in 762 people with psychotic disorders”.
Researchers conclude that; “Future research is warranted to replicate these findings and to shed light on the anti-inflammatory properties of the endocannabinoid system and its role in decreased mortality in people with psychotic disorders.”
– TheJointBlog
Steve
I fully support the decriminalisation of marijuana, and passionately believe in its medicinal qualities, as well as the ecological benefits of using the hemp plant for rope, paper, clothing, etc.
However, my problem with the above article is the linkage between “mortality rate” and “psychotic disorders”. The fact is, people simply do not die as a direct result of psychotic disorders. They may die as a result of actions/behaviours triggered by psychotic disorders. They may die as a result of substances they ingest that bring on psychotic disorders. But nobody has ever died, nor ever will, as a direct result of a psychotic disorder itself.
Which means either that the article is misreporting the details of the study, or that the study has a fundamental flaw and its findings are unreliable.
None of which detracts from Marijuana’s undeniably valuable and positive attributes.