I've not read through all the replies..
..because this is a subject I've gone over internally many a time and considered from just about every which way. Plus it's kind of boring when just about every major newspaper makes a reference to the issue every day.

As a diagnosed "schizophrenic", one of the guys at the forefront of the supposed OMGKILLERSKUNKISGOINGTOMAKEYOUSPAZ demographic..

I've been smoking for 8 years, most days, with little ill effect. Certainly less than with alcohol. Oh yeah, it can make you paranoid. All tokers know that. But the thing is, that paranoia is something that came from within the toker first, just like the arguments and fights that result from alcohol use are not a sole product of the alcohol (although the vicious hangovers are).

In a way I sit on the fence. I recognise that a bit of weed can feed into my paranoia, just as I well know that at the right moment it can eleviate anxiety, and I'm not sure I make too much distinction between paranoia and anxiety - it's a tricky subject.

The fact remains that I acquired my diagnosis some time before trying illegal drugs, and that the rate of schizophrenia in the general population has changed negligeably since pot became popular. Pin-pointing the cause of chizophrenia has proved extremely hard over the years, no matter what the currently fashionable scapegoat.

Then, as a supporter of more lenient laws where "mental illness" is involved anyway, I support the legalisation of cannabis, all the while fully awake to the fact that I should smoke less. Just as I should drink less. But I haven't been psychotic since put on medication, the one thing that works wonders.

And don't get me started on the "new super mind-crushing evilness" vs "hippy mellow just-a-bit-of-grass man" debate. All weed can be as enjoyable as it can fuck you up. The new stuff's a bit stronger (about twice as strong in terms of THC content I think) but it all gets you high.. people who weild this argument are no better than the boring stoners who go on about how "this shit smells quite interesting - fruity" or "man this is almost as good as the stuff my mate smuggled back from india under his armpit".

Digging into scientific studies on the internet there's a bit of interesting evidence (a few decent studies with double-blind standards by major universities) that cannabidiol, the "secondary active constituent" of cannabis, works just as well as the anti-psychotic I take at treating psychosis, without the side-effects.

There's a lot more evidence that smoking weed has a mood stablising effect on manic-depressives.

But, yes, it can be fucking boring. Everything in moderation.

^the above written by a schizophrenic on four spliffs
(raymond "three griddle pans" luxury yacht lovin' the christmas action, Mon 26 Jan 2009, 20:58, Reply)