Cannabis use among students can lead to psychotic experiences, according to new research led by the University of Bath.
Using cannabis has been related to psychotic experiences in the general population but few studies have examined this relationship in undergraduate students despite high levels of cannabis use in this group.
Thomas Richardson from the Mental Health Research & Development Unit, along with colleagues in Dublin, asked 334 undergraduate students in the UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand to complete a questionnaire about their use of cannabis as well as a measure of psychotic symptoms.
The researchers found that those currently using cannabis were more likely to have had hallucinations such as hearing voices that other people cannot hear.
Those who used the drug more frequently were at a greater risk still of experiencing such hallucinations, and heavy use also increased the risk of having delusions such as believing that someone was reading their mind.
Thomas said: “The study found that those currently using cannabis had higher levels of hallucinatory experiences that those who were not using cannabis. More frequent use was related to an increased likelihood of hallucinations, and heavy use also increased the risk of experiencing delusions. This suggests that students who move from occasional, perhaps recreational cannabis use to more regular use are more likely to have psychotic experiences.
“I must stress the limitations of this research, but nonetheless these findings are important as undergraduate students as a population have very high levels of cannabis use. This research suggests that those who use cannabis are more likely to have psychotic experiences, which in the long run may increase the risk of developing a serious mental health problem. These results are therefore important for health professionals who work with students.”
312diggsdiggIt's terribly difficult to get reliable statistics, as numberstend to vary drasticallydepending upon whom you ask, but if you're inclined to believe thatAndroidismoppingupApple and RIM's declining mobile mindshare in the US, you'll find nothing but corroboration from Quantcast. The analytics firm reckons a full one-quarter of mobile web traffic stateside comes from devices running Google's OS, though it's important to know that the iOS tallies apparently don't include theweb-friendly iPad. You also might want to note that this is mobilewebtraffic here -- these days, we spend an increasing amount of our internet time in apps -- and since we're on a roll with the disclaimers, let's just add that these numbers have nothing to do with a company's financialsuccess. Nokia can attest to that.
Each week our friends atInhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Solar power blazed a trail this week as we took a look at several hot new technologies, starting withSkyFuel's SkyTrough, which is being billed as the world's most efficient solar collector. We also saw solar energy take to the skies as designers unveiled plans for a fleet ofhigh-flying solar robots, and we were surprised to learn that common household dyes couldsignificantly increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panelsby optimizing their color absorption spectrum. Speaking of dye, from the realm of wearable tech we also brought you a breakthroughnew technique for dying fabricthat saves water by utilizing fluid CO2. We also saw a prototype for a wired"safe cuddling" suit for kidsthat wards off improper touching by sounding an alarm, and if you're a fan of high-tech footwear, check out thesetricked-out kicks that do double duty as Wii controllers. This week also saw a tremendous green boost for bits and bytes as the University of Leicester switched on itshyper-efficient ALICE supercomputer, which is ten times more powerful than its predecessor and stands to reduce yearly CO2 emissions by 800 tons. Meanwhile, researchers at UC San Diego revealed work on anew mobile phone chipthat harnesses "dark silicon" to boost smartphone battery life by a factor of eleven. We also showcased several efficient autos as Southern California rolled out a fleet ofall electric buses that can recharge in 10 minutes flat, and thehyper-miling Avion carembarked on a trip from Canada to Mexico with just 14 gallons of gas. And if you'll be doing some traveling of your own back to school this fall, you wont want to missthis chance to pick up an awesome solar-powered Sakku satchel. Finally, with Labor Day on its way why not upgrade your BBQ with an adorablealtoids tin mini grill- it's curiously
The Conservative party's director of communications, Andy Coulson, was editor of the News of the World when the hacking scandal first surfaced. Photograph: PA
John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as theObserver revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.
Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the NoW, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.
The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".
The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.
The Yard's letter, obtained by the Observer, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."
The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."
In a statement to the Observer, Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said.
"It seemed more about providing the least possible amount of information. I only discovered from the Metropolitan police that News International and Mulcaire were targeting me after repeated requests and in the end it came from their legal department, not the investigating officers."
Prescott said the letter showed there was "a compelling argument to reopen the police investigation and fully report on the findings to the public".
He added that he was pressing for full disclosure of all documents – including the invoices – and was prepared to seek their release through a judicial review. "We need far greater transparency to ensure not only that justice is done but that it is seen to be done."
Prescott's intervention follows a week in which the phone-hacking row was reignited by investigations carried out by the New York Times which raised questions about Scotland Yard's enthusiasm for pursuing the inquiry. The row has intensified the pressure on Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, who was editor of the NoW at the time of the scandal.
Peter Mandelson also became embroiled in the row last night with theIndependent on Sunday revealing his mobile phone details were among lists of private data seized by police investigating illegal activity by News of the World reporters.
With MPs due to return to Westminster tomorrow, Labour leadership contenders Ed Balls and Ed Miliband said the allegations threw Cameron's judgment into question.
Balls called for the home secretary, Theresa May, to make an immediate statement about the phone-hacking affair to the Commons. He said: "This goes to the integrity of the criminal law, proper investigation and government communication, and there will be questions over David Cameron's judgment if he doesn't see the seriousness of this now.
"We need to know that this is going to be properly investigated. It does go to the heart of the integrity of communications in government. When there are now serious and new allegations and questions over Andy Coulson's integrity, that's something which has to be sorted out quickly and I hope David Cameron will do so. You can't just dismiss this as a piece of politics."
Miliband later said: "Instead of sending out a junior minister to just dismiss the allegations and not even engage with them, we need to hear from David Cameron and senior people in the Conservative party about what Andy Coulson's response is to these clear and detailed allegations. Until that happens, a cloud will hang over Andy Coulson, and indeed the government, because this is the man in charge of the government's media machine. He is not some junior office boy – this is someone at the highest level of government."
Prescott has placed intense pressure on the Met to reveal what material it has on him. Last September, the Met's assistant commissioner, John Yates, assured him there was no evidence to suggest his phone had been hacked. But Naz Saleh, the Met's assistant director of legal services, then admitted, following a further search, that it held information suggesting that Prescott had been a "person of interest to Mr Mulcaire".
The international development minister, Alan Duncan, said: "The Labour party – in a concerted campaign through Ed Miliband, Lord Prescott and Alan Johnson – have piled in to attack Andy Coulson about something that happened years ago in order to try to attack the government."
In a statement released yesterday, the News of the World said: "TheNew York Times story contains no new evidence – it relies on unsubstantiated allegations from unnamed sources or claims from disgruntled former employees that should be treated with extreme scepticism given the reasons for their departures from this newspaper."
A spokeswoman for News International declined to comment on information appearing to show it paid Mulcaire for help relating to stories about Prescott. However, NI sources said it often paid for help during its many investigations and the invoices – if genuine – were no proof of illegality.
The Met said no new evidence had emerged and "consequently the investigation remains closed".
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On this day in 1972, at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, a group of Palestinian terrorists storms the Olympic Village apartment of the Israeli athletes, killing two and taking nine others hostage. The terrorists, known as Black September, demanded that Israel release over 230 Arab prisoners being held in Israeli jails and two German terrorists. In an ensuing shootout at the Munich airport, the nine Israeli hostages were killed along with five terrorists and one West German policeman. Olympic competition was suspended for 24 hours to hold memorial services for the slain athletes. After being founded in 776 B.C. in ancient Greece, the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, with 13 countries and 311 athletes competing. The games were meant to foster peace and bring people together. Germany had hoped that the 1972 Olympics would be a celebration of peace, as it was the first time it had hosted the games since 1936, when Adolf Hitler, who used the games to promote his Aryan master race theory, was in power. The Munich Olympics opened on August 26, 1972, with 195 events and 7,173 athletes representing 121 countries. On the morning of September 5, Palestinian terrorists in ski masks ambushed the Israeli team. After negotiations to free the nine Israelis broke down, the terrorists took the hostages to the Munich airport. Once there, German police opened fire from rooftops and killed three of the terrorists. A gun battle erupted and left the hostages, two more Palestinians and a policeman dead. After a memorial service was held for the athletes at the main Olympic stadium, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage ordered that the games continue, to show that the terrorists hadn't won. Although the tragedy deeply marred the games, there were numerous moments of spectacular athletic achievement, including American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven gold medals and teenage Russian gymnast Olga Korbut's two dramatic gold-medal victories. In the aftermath of the murders at the '72 Olympics, the Israeli government, headed by Golda Meir, hired a group of Mossad agents to track down and kill the Black September assassins. In 2005, Steven Spielberg made a movie, Munich, about these events.
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