William Dolphin and Michelle Newhart teach in Cal Poly Humboldt’s Cannabis Studies Program. They are the award-winning co-authors of “The Medicalization of Marijuana: Legitimacy Stigma and the Patient Experience” and many other publications about medical cannabis.
Cal Poly Humboldt’s Cannabis Studies Program invites campus and community members to attend a special lecture on Cannabis and Mental Health by Cannabis Studies lecturers William Dolphin and Michelle Newhart. Dolphin and Newhart’s lecture “Cannabis and Mental Health: The Paradox” will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024 on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus in Siemens Hall, Room 108, from 6:00 pm-7:00 pm. The room is located just north of the Library Circle and parking lot. The event is free and open to all.
Come hear about:
- Why millions of people use cannabis to manage mental health
- What medical professionals say about the risks to mental health
- The startling origin story of how psychiatry linked cannabis to psychosis
- Problems with how psychiatric diagnoses get applied to cannabis users
- How concerns over psychosis contribute to cannabis stigma
The Cannabis Culture Club at Cal Poly Humboldt and the Cannabis Studies Program are honored to present this lecture about the paradox of cannabis and mental health.
Abstract:
Medicinal cannabis use is rapidly expanding and gaining acceptance, yet most physicians and laypersons hold diametrically different views on the effects of cannabis use on mental health. Among the millions of people using cannabis medicinally, roughly half report they do so to manage a mental disorder. Among medical professionals, there is widespread agreement that increased risk of psychosis and other mental disorders is the central harm associated with cannabis use. This talk explores that paradox in terms of competing medicalizations of cannabis—one driven by medical professionals enacting social control of users and the other by patients and their advocates seeking legitimacy for that use—which can be understood in terms of the differences between ‘system’ and ‘lifeworld’ standards for evidence and decision making.
Newhart & Dolphin argue that substantial scientific uncertainty about both cannabis and mental disorders created a vacuum that allowed stigmatizing social constructions of both to dominate the scientific literature, public policy, and lay perceptions. They claim flaws in methods and concepts underlying psychiatric diagnoses related to cannabis use have persisted through five editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and explore in detail problems with the validity and reliability of such diagnoses, particularly in the context of medicinal use. Close attention is given to disputes over how cannabis use affects people diagnosed with schizophrenia, as well as problems with diagnosing problem cannabis use in the context of medicinal use.
About Dolphin and Newhart
Dolphin and Newhart are the award-winning co-authors of “The Medicalization of Marijuana: Legitimacy Stigma and the Patient Experience In addition to teaching in the Cannabis Studies Program, both are affiliated researchers with the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research at Cal Poly Humboldt.
About Cal Poly Humboldt Cannabis Studies Program
Cal Poly Humboldt is home to the world’s first Cannabis Studies Bachelor’s Degree program. For examples of the applied social science work that our Cannabis Studies students are doing, please visit the Cannabis Studies Lab website.
Media Contact
Email: cannabisstudieslab@gmail.com
Phone Number: 206-228-0509
Cannabis and Mental Health Flyer
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