If Pot Were Legal, No One Would Get Paranoid — Not True

The criminality/illegality of cannabis may indeed contribute to paranoia, but it is not by any measure the sole or root cause of the paranoid high. It is thus incorrect to assert that if “marijuana were legal, MIPA (Marijuana Induced Paranoia/Anxiety) would cease to exist.”

To produce my book, I interviewed over a thousand individuals and perhaps the worst paranoid freak-out stories came out of –wait for it– weed-friendly Amsterdam.  MIPA is often a reflection of deep-seated psycho-emotional vulnerabilities, as well as genetic anomalies, and cannabis has a way of excavating these inner demons for some, forcing unwanted and distressing exposure.

There’s an important lesson here–paranoia is a real and complicated problem that has the potential to tarnish the reputation of cannabis. People who experience MIPA are legitimately traumatized by it– hearing voices, thinking they’re going to die, etc. Not fun.

Turning to the legal picture, if you’ve not noticed, politicians can be shortsighted, reactive, and worse, religious. All it takes is a couple sensationalized freak-out stories and we’ll again be swimming in a renaissance of Reefer Madness hysteria. Commitments to unscientific conclusions can and will influence public policy if we are complacent. Take me at my word when I say: if we wish to make (and keep) cannabis legal, we must support individuals who experience MIPA.

Though the science behind it is still young, there’s volumes to learn about this subject. If you want to know more, check out my book. You can find read some free excerpts here.

[image courtesy of The Indian Express]