Thus, someone with SAD might blame the end of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season as the reason for their depression, but it might actually be a manifestation of the lack of sunlight. The holiday season might have simply been an ample distraction from the lack of sunlight. 3. On average, people who use much marijuana are more likely than others to develop schizophrenia. However, over the last several decades, the use of marijuana has increased substantially while the prevalence of schizophrenia has remained steady or decreased. What would be a reasonable conclusion about the relationship between marijuana use and schizophrenia?

One could conclude that people suffering from schizophrenia are using marijuana as a means of self-medicating. Marijuana can have a calming or relaxing impact and someone who's currently suffering from disturbing symptoms...

Thus, one could determine that heavy marijuana use is not something which causes schizophrenia, but something which is used informally by schizophrenics to relieve the issues of their condition. Kalat, however, does assert that, "many people with schizophrenia use alcohol, marijuana and other drugs, and it is likely that some of the brain abnormalities result from heavy drug use (Rais et al., 2008; Sullivan et al., 2000)" (2012). However, this conclusion doesn't explain why the rates of schizophrenia haven't gone up with the increased rates of marijuana usage. If this conclusion was valid, one would simply expect a higher rate of this mental illness with the higher rates of pot consumption. Thus, it's simply a more likely conclusion to determine that marijuana (along with alcohol and other drugs) is used by schizophrenics and other people with mental illnesses as a means…