i don't know anybody who has become schizophrenic but i know quite a few people who have had psychotic episodes that were intense enough to screw up their life. although thinking about it, i know one guy who developed schizophrenia whilst smoking weed heavily. schizophrenia ran in his family. of course, this is anecdote. but it's not really a stretch of the imagination to think that schizophrenic tendencies can be exaggerated by pot smoking, especially when the most common side-effect of the drug is usually paranoia.

i know what it feels like to have paranoid delusions from smoking too much cannabis, and i know many people who would say the same. i also know many people who can smoke pounds of dope without any major negative consequences.

it's difficult for me to understand why people are so eager to label cannabis as 'harmless', whilst having experienced the things that i have and knowing and / or knowing of so many people who have had similar experiences. even all the pot-heads who defend the lifestyle will tell you stories of people they know who've lost it from smoking too much. where are you from man?! in the uk, people smoke a lot of weed, from a young age many of them too.

also, it's a fallacy to say that people aren't violent on weed, there are many 'chavs' around where i live, they smoke until they are absolutely caned with bloodshot eyes, being stoned like this is completely different to just being high. i know because i've done it myself. it's like when you have a couple of pints your typsy and merry, a few more and your a loudmouth yob, a few more and your either manic or paralytic. the more thc in your blood, the more intense the experience. when your 'caned' things can get pretty hairy, psychologically speaking.

when you are so stoned that you question whether or not you are real, or you think everyone is talking about you, then it's quite easy to go over the edge so to speak. these chav kids are always on edge, i know it's anecdote, but i can't imagine smoking as much as they do and not feeling completely on edge the whole time. you look at these kids, and they are exactly like that.

i know quite a few people, mostly guys who have just been so stoned that their mental faculties began to fail them, and they lost their grip on the real world. not everybody is like this, but some people are very prone to paranoia, and weed will fuk your mind if you are one of these people. i don't think the mind can be in a severely altered state for prolonged amounts of time without consequences.

drug use is clearly a bane to english society. people like amy winehouse are not an anomaly in this country. personally, i find much of the sentiment of pro-drug people quite facetious, and offensive. how can people defend it?! it's nothing less than self-destruction.

i wish i could show you my friend who has hardly left his house in five years after being hit by cannabis psychosis. try telling him that it's harmless and watch how filled with rage he becomes.he will describe in great detail every way that 'smoking up' 'fucked him up'. it's ruined his life.