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Comment by y0y | Hacker News Reader

I know this is 100% anecdotal, but a good friend of mine who was a brilliant programmer discovered cannabis in his late 20s after moving to the bay area for a well earned high-paying gig. Prior, to my knowledge, he didn't even drink alcohol. After about a year of extremely high dosages, something in him snapped. He just lost his mind. He became convinced the internet was sentient and was speaking through him and all kinds of other nonsense. He's been under psychiatric supervision near his family home back on the east coast ever since.

Again, it's anecdotal, and there could be a myriad of contributing factors - I know he had also begun drinking during that time period. But, until this happened, the idea of anyone going mad from cannabis was laughable to me. Now, I think about him sometimes when I'm visiting legal states and indulge myself in some quality edibles.

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Apologies for repeating myself from elsewhere in this thread, but the 'paranoid from the weed' effect is extremely well known among smokers. I feel the need to stress this, coming from someone who has had more experience with weed, both personally and from social circles, than probably most in this forum (even accounting for the California contingent).

Some can deal with it easily and are unaffected, many are eventually a bit debilitated by it, and for some it triggers major problems. No need to sweep this under the rug.

Yes but paranoid doesnt mean psychosis. Inexperienced users will tend to get paranoid more so.

I believe people with psychosis are drawn to weed as they are to other substances.

This study adds nothing new. It just demonstrates that people predisposed to psychosis are more likely to smoke weed. Anyone here could've told you that without a study being done. There is no cause and effect demonstrated in the paper.

Notice they did not say smoking weed causes the psychosis even though they found a 'strong' link.

I'm no expert, but isn't paranoia one of the most significant, if not the primary, characteristic of psychosis? If cannabis triggers one, I'd say the 'strong' link is well warranted.

I think you can be paranoid on the pot and not be suffering from psychosis.

I've seen it many a time and never seen someone have a psychotic episode.

Ive had several friends become paranoid while smoking pot. Some of them have been daily for years.

While they may have had some paranoia not a single one of them suffered from psychosis. On the contrary most seem quite happy, laid back and well adjusted. Most have the same issues we all have, weed or no weed.

This might say more about moving to the Bay Area than Cannabis.

Problem with anecdotes is that your perceptions really affect them.

For example, I've been hit much more heavily by stress than by substances and consider the use of medical grade marijuana one of the reasons I'm still able to work in a competitive environment.

When I read this story, I think of how a high paying gig in the bay area sounds super stressful and would absolutely wreck me.

Someone else might pick up on the drinking, or perhaps his age, location, etc.

> internet was sentient

This is true, but it isn't yet self aware.

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