Eh hem.

That's on my wishlist.

As is being able to kick out jackasses who are faking suicidality either to get drug or alcohol treatment or three hots and a cot (which usually amounts to the same thing, since very few people I see are truly motivated for D&A treatment ... they demand it, get it, and are usually doing it to placate their probation officer or have mom let them back in the house just one more time.

Thanks xoxoxoBruce, but I just don't know anyone here well enough to get pissy yet. ;)

So SamIam, a teen does various drugs, turns 19 or 20 and that being a ripe age for schizophrenia, is seen as a drug addict with a secondary of schiz rather than a schiz with a secondary of drugs?

I like the system that looks at the bigger picture and sees that schizophrenia IS a physical brain disease not related to the drug use. And considers that young person disabled even though there was drug use from earlier in life. Would Colorado actually refuse to call someone like that disabled because of drug use before being diagnosed with schizophrenia?

I'm not even sure a meth addict shouldn't be considered mentally ill after enough brain tissue is destroyed. It's not growing back and even if that meth user gets clean, their brain may still be like swiss cheese causing disability.

I can support not giving out monies to someone while they are still using since that does not help solve their illness and often makes it much worse. Although what I've seen in Cali is that the mentally ill get disability, it's given out for 'board and care' and the person gets maybe $20-50 a month spending money and all the rest is given to a care home. (If the person is not hospitalized).

Not that it stops the drug use. Stealing and prostitution add to the money used for drug use. :sniff:

Well, lets face it, addicts will figure out how to get money for their addiction one way or the other. I don't know the finer points of the law re schizophrenia. Isn't a major component of it genetic. A genetically vulnerable person drops acid, develops full blown schizophrenia and the entire house of cards falls down. I am thinking of other disabilities when I say that prior addiction will often prevent a disabled person from geting assistance. I know quite a few schizophrenics and they are all getting help of one kind or another, so maybe the addiction card does not weigh as heavily for them.

I think meth addicts just eat themselves from within. I don't think they get disability. They get dead.

From what I understand, schizophrenia is partly genetic and partly environmental. People who have a history of schizophrenia in their family have a higher chance of getting it but I think environment plays a fairly large role as well. And by environment I'm not necessarily talking about drug use either.

Nobody really understands the mechanism of action in schizophrenia, but it isn't caused by smoking weed or dropping acid. Those activities merely coincide with the age of onset.

Interestingly, a lot of parents cling to the hope that their kid is wacky because of drug use rather than schizophrenia. You can get over using drugs.

Very often prodromal schizophrenics (what we used to call schizophreniform disorder when we suspected a first break, but I have't seen that term used in years even though it's still listed in the big book o' crazy) do turn to drug use as a means of treating or avoiding their symptoms.

I know. It is just a dream, nothing like that will required by this new administration. Hell, any administration. The ACLU would have a whole new way to make money on that one.

But acid use does lead to permanent changes in the brain, right? It always seemed to, in the acidheads I've known.

Most of the acid heads I knew never were the same after repeated use.

I looked and most of the info supported the fact that there can be some long term effects. This was interesting: http://www.visualsnow.com/informatio...raham60-64.pdf

which would support some kind of long term physical changes in the brain.

I never said it was caused by smoking weed or dropping acid. I said (or meant at least) that smoking weed or dropping acid can increase the chances of you getting schizophrenia. I know someone who has an uncle in a mental hospital because, why trying to smuggle acid in the states, accidentally took over 100 hits at one time. I would be extremely surprised if there is no connection between hallucinogenics and schizophrenia.


Funny you bring that up. I actually have residual visual effects from taking a single hit of acid. Its not bad, just minor trails behind moving objects, but even something that small can fuck you up for a few months. All strong hallucinogenics are double edged swords. They can potentially have a strong influence in your life but they can also have some very strong, and many times permanent, consequences. True definition of risk.

I couldn't imagine getting something as bad as HPPD.