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Researchers of the study have found that after being given the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol), participants of the study became anxious, developed low self-esteem and experienced unsettling changes to their perceptions (Freeman et al., 2014).
121 participants took part in this study - none of whom were suffering from a mental illness, but have used cannabis before.
Two-thirds of them were injected with THC, while the remainder were injected with a placebo. Half the people who were given the drug experienced paranoid thoughts, compared with 30% in the control group.
Surprisingly, some people in the control group who were given a placebo also acted stoned, making it tough for distinguishing.
Furthermore, there were a diverse range of psychological effects such as
:- anxiety,
-various changes in perception such as sounds being louder than normal and colors brighter,
-lowered mood,
-negative thoughts about the self,
- poorer short-term memory.
When studying the results statistically, it showed that a poorer memory was not causing the paranoia.
Click the link below for the full article.
Category(s):Paranoia / Suspiciousness
Source material from PsyBlog
