I can't say what truly caused it or what factor cannabis played, all I know is that the diagnosis was 'substance induced psychosis' and 'schizophrenia' -- the doctors were pretty stumped and that leads to my point that a lot more research is needed.
It has been known for a while that certain drugs (also LSD) can induce psychosis' in certain people. The problem is that you cannot know if you are one of these people until you tried for a while. So it's a bit like playing Russian roulette. If you don't develop a psychosis when doing LSD, marihuana or shrooms, chances are that you will be fine. But if you do, you have a problem, possibly destroying your whole life.
I have a similar situation with my own brother- skipping over many details for brevity. What I've always wondered was whether the marijuana caused the mental illness or whether the mental issues developing lead to a dependence on the marijuana to cope with the stress, anxiety, etc. Sure, there is a correlation there, but how certain are we which causes which?
Then again, psychotropic drugs when you're already dealing with problematic brain chemistry probably isn't a great idea for anyone.
A number of studies ive read seem to point towards marijuana and hallucinogens as merely aggravating symptoms of mental disorders that were already present, but hadn't yet easily or fully expressed themselves. Things like bi-polar, schizophrenia, and other disorders are commonly known to grow in intensity going into adulthood, so even if the first time a breakdown or episode happens is actually triggered by something like marijuana, does that mean they could have never been diagnosed if they never used that drug? Or does it just mean they would have had a breakdown in the near future regardless? Maybe they just set the trigger of slightly earlier.
My experience is that many of the negative side effects of recreational drugs come from the culture in which they are taken, and the habits associated with them.
Taking ecstacy, for example, often involves staying up all night and dancing. I also feel terrible if I deprive myself of sleep without taking drugs, but I tend not to do that so often. So are the drugs dangerous, or are we just failing to construct heathy social norms around them?
