RT Needed in Colorado

I received this message (below) from Frank Schneider and am passing it along:

Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists,

I have taken this opportunity to ask for your assistance in filling a position that we have available for a Recreational Therapist. The position will be within a 10 bed Geriatric Behavioral Health Unit at Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan, Colorado. I have attached a blurb regarding the opportunity (contact Schneider for blurb) and I hope that you could assist me in distributing it to your colleagues that may want to relocate out west.

If you have any ideas one other ways for me to target Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists, I am all ears.

Thank you so much for your time,

Frank

Frank Schneider MHA
Director of Outreach Services and Business Development
Colorado Plains Medical Center
Phone: 970-542-3395
Cell: 970-370-3536
Fax: 970-867-8712
E-mail: frank.schneider@lpnt.net

September 11 RT/TR Education Meeting

Norma Stumbo sent out this information on the RT/TR Education meeting to be held at ATRA on September 11th. The info follows:

Strategic Planning for TR Education 2012 and Beyond

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
2-5:30 pm
ATRA Annual Conference
Milwaukee, WI

Outcomes
Participants will:
Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that TR education faces.
Prioritize the areas in which TR education needs to move forward
Identify tasks that will ensure a secure future for TR education.

Schedule
2:00 – 2:10 Introduction to Session, Purpose, Activities – Norma Stumbo and Deb Hutchins

2:10 – 2:20 Summary of TREC 2005 Conference –Marcia Carter and Jean Folkerth

2:20 – 2:30 Summary of 2012 “Competency” Work Group – Jan Monroe and Suzy Ross

2:30 – 2:40 Summary of 2012 “Accreditation” Work Group – Candy Ashton-Shaeffer and Thom Skalko

2:40 – 2:50 Questions – Directions for Next Part

2:50 – 3:20 Audience Generates Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

3:20 – 3:30 Strengths Summary/Synthesis
Top 5 strengths

3:30 – 3:40 Weaknesses Summary/Synthesis
Top 5 weaknesses

3:40 – 3:50 Opportunities Summary/Synthesis
Top 5 opportunities

3:50 – 4:00 Threats Summary/Synthesis
Top 5 threats

4:00 – 4:10 Questions – Directions for Next Part

4:10 – 4:30 Discussion of Preferred Future
What do you want TR education to look like in 2012 and beyond? Top five priorities?

4:30 – 5:00 Development of Action Plan for Preferred Future
What steps will it take to get there?

5:00 – 5:20 Assignments of Tasks and Roles
Who will be involved and what are the timelines?
What accountability measures will be used?

5:20 – 5:30 Discussion and Summary

2008 & 2009 ATRA Annual Conference Sites

In the July/August ATRA Newsletter the sites for the 2008 and 2009 ATRA Annual Conferences have been announced.

The 2008 Annual will be September 29 - October 2 in Reno, Nevada. The 2009 Annual will be in Minneapolis October 2 - 7.

ATRA is to be commended in moving the date to the end of September and beginning of October. This should assure more student participation because universities will have time in the fall to organize their students to attend.

I still would urge ATRA to consider regularly holding the Annual Conference in the Great Lakes area (of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin) and near South (North Carolina, Tennessee) as the majority of RTs work in these regions and many universities with strong RT programs are located in these areas. If ATRA wishes to increase its membership, holding the Annual close to where the majority of RTs are located seems like a good idea.

Medications Article in ATRA Newsletter

I just received my July/August ATRA Newsletter today. It contains an article by Elizabeth Hall, M.S, CTRS, regarding medications used in mental health. Covered are antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stablizers, and stimulants. Side effects are provided for each brand name medicine. The information is presented in handy, chart form. For those in psych/mental health, Hall's article may be worth checking out.

In case you are interested, similar information on drugs is covered in my textbook Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques (5th edition) published by Sagamore Publishing, Inc.

RT Position Opening in Indiana

Heather Sedletzeck, CTRS, recently posted this position:

RT Solutions, Inc. is seeking a CTRS for one (1) full-time, salaried position. This position would offer; health insurance, 401 K and mileage reimbursement. Salary range for this position $30,000 - $40,000 to start depending on experience.

The position is for a home-based therapist to deliver services to clients with developmental disabilities. We serve clients of all ages and abilities! The service area for this position is Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks and Johnson Counties.

RT Solutions Inc., has been providing Recreational Therapy services in Indiana under the Medicaid waiver for 5 years. We pride ourselves on providing the most cutting edge treatments the clients we serve. For more information about our company, please check out our website at: http://www.rtsolutionsinc.com/

If interested in the above listed position, please send your resume and references to: Heather Sedletzeck at heatherctrs@bizma.rr.com

Heather J. Sedletzeck, CTRS, PresidentRT Solutions, Inc.812-231-1765812-878-6872http://www.rtsolutionsinc.com/

Hats Off to ATRA Officers!

It is easy to sit on the sidelines and cheer (or boo) but to be a player in the middle of the game takes a great deal. Sandy Negley, ATRA's president, has been a real player this year for our profession. Working without an executive director, she has been giving it her all this year to keep ATRA's service delivery at a high level.

Marcia Smith, ATRA's president-elect, has been there to support Sandy all the way. I am sure that Marcia will jump in to provide our organization with great leadership when her term begins following the Annual Conference.

Sometimes, we on the sidelines, don't realize the time and effort our leaders put into our organization. Both Sandy and Marcia have been working 20-30 hours a week on ATRA business -- while doing their own full-time jobs. I want to thank both of them for their leadership and for being so giving.

I will not be attending the ATRA Annual Conference next month. If I was I would make it a point to thank Sandy, Marcia, and all of the board for their hard work on our behalf. If you are going to the Annual, please thank them for me!

ATRA's New Board Members Announced

The results of the ATRA election were posted today (August 21, 2007) on the ATRA Blog. I have copied this announcement and it appears below:

2007-2008 Board Announced
The 2007-2008 Board election results are in! President Sandy Negley announced the results on the recent Leadership Briefing:
- President-Elect: Mary Ann Keogh Hoss, Ph.D, CTRS
- Treasurer: Vicki Scott, MS, CTRS
- Members-at-Large: Carla Carmichael, CTRS and Janice Elich Monroe, Ph.D, CTRS
- CAC Chair Ad Hoc Member: Heather Sedletzeck, CTRS
- Kari Kensinger, Ph.D, CTRS was elected as the Chair-Elect of the Chapter Affiliate Council

When I sent an email to the ATRA president and president-elect to inquire about the election results, I was informed that ATRA president Sandra Negley had announced the election results during her leadership briefing (conference call) on 8/12/07. I am glad that the results have now also been posted on the ATRA Blog.

Party Schools & Stone-Cold Sober Schools

The Princeton Review recently published the results of its survery of 120,000 college students. Two lists the Review publishes are the "Top Party Schools" and the "Stone-Cold Sober Schools."

In this post, I've saved the RT students time by identifying the universities with RT programs that made both lists. Here goes....

The Top 10 Party Schools list was headed by West Virginia University, followed by the University of Mississippi and the University of Texas at Austin. At number 4 was the University of Florida. The University of Georgia was 5th. I don't believe that any of these schools offer RT.

Never fear! Universities with RT programs made the list! The number 6 party school was Penn State University. At 7th was the University of New Hampshire. At number 8 came Indiana University, Bloomington.

Other schools on the Top 10 Party Schools list were Ohio University, Athens, and the University of California - Santa Barbara.

Three other universities with RT programs did make the list of the "Top 20" party schools. The University of Iowa ranked 12th. Gene Hayes will be proud to know that the University of Tennessee finished 15th. And Arizona State University came in at 17th.

A couple of universities with RT programs made the "Stone-Cold Sober Schools" list. Ramon Zabriskie will be pleased to know that Brigham Young University ranked number 1. Glen Van Andel can take pride that Calvin College finished 12th on the "Stone-Cold" list.

Profile of "Average" RT Professional

The 2007 summer/fall edition NCTRC News contains survey data collected from 4,667 RTs who participated in the study. I think the findings on the "average" RT are interesting.

The "average RT" is female (86.5% of those surveyed), has been a CTRS for 10 years or more (47.2%), and currently works as a recreation therapist (43.6%) in mental health (37%) within a hospital (40%).

College & University Rankings are Out

The annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of American colleges appeared this week. It is interesting to see how research universities (or "national universities" as termed by U.S. News) with RT Ph.D. programs were ranked.

Of research universities with RT Ph.D. programs, Penn State received the highest ranking --being ranked 48th. Clemson was ranked 67th and Indiana University was ranked 75th.

If you are wondering, the top ranked research university was Princeton, followed by Harvard and then Yale.

Any Results from ATRA Election?

Has anyone received the results of the ATRA election? It is getting close to the ATRA Annual Conference at which the new officers and board members will need to arrive early to participate in BOD meetings, yet as far as I know the election results have not been made known.

ATRA President Sandra Negley recently wrote that: "The BOD wants every member to know and understand what is happening in THEIR organization." As an ATRA member, I was pleased to read this. Yet, as I sit here today, I wonder: "Who are OUR new board members?"

Higher Ed Institute at ATRA

I just received the announcement below from Marieke and thought I'd pass it along.

Dear Colleagues,

Please make plans to join your colleagues for the 2007 Higher Education Institute that is being held as a preconference institute at ATRA’s Annual Conference in Milwaukee this year on September 9, 2007. The sessions will be as follows: Marketing and recruiting TR programs; Outcome-based internships and practicum; Keynote speaker on outcome based assessments to frame discussion of syllabi and internship issues; Developing core NCTRC competencies in courses; Innovative ways to teach modalities and interventions.

We hope that you will make plans to join us! Sunday, September 9, 2007, Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, 8:00 am-5:15 pm ($110.00).

Sincerely,
Marieke Van Puymbroeck and Marcia Carter
Co-Chairs, ATRA Academic Affairs Committee

Leadership for Grad Curriculum Reform Needed

This is a follow-up to my recent post in which I called for universities with Ph.D. programs to take the leadership for the reform of graduate education in RT.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2006, I made a related post. It read:

"I wonder if other faculty will come forward to show leadership for creating curriculum standards for graduate programs? Both the master's and doctorate programs need attention. Our sister discipline of occupational therapy is moving to a master's degree as an entry-level degree. Physical Therapy has moved to a practice doctorate. Speech and hearing has also gone to a practice doctorate. It seems time for recreational therapy to join its sister professions in giving more attention to graduate preparation. Who is willing to come forward to lead the charge?"

It seems to me that RT faculty at universities with Ph.D. programs would be the natural leaders to drive RT graduate curriculum reform. How about it Ph.D. faculty?

Boosting Wellness -- An Idea for ATRA?

Mental Health America sent out this (below) release. Perhaps ATRA should do something similar in the area of health promotion or wellness. What say you?

Mental Health America Announces New Cause-Marketing Initiative "Bringing Wellness Home" to Boost Americans’ Mental Health and Well Being

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (August 15, 2007)—Mental Health America, the nation’s oldest and largest mental health organization, today announced its new awareness and cause-marketing campaign, Bringing Wellness Home. The campaign centers on the importance of stress reduction and positive mental health for all Americans and aims to establish mental health as an integral part of each American’s overall healthy lifestyle, starting right at home.

“Today, in America, we live in a stressed-out, 24/7 society,” said Dr. David Shern, president and CEO of Mental Health America. “Bringing Wellness Home is pivotal to helping Americans rebalance their stressful lives and improve their mental health and overall well being. The Campaign is designed as a personal action-initiative for every American to achieve their wellness goals.”

One of the initial goals of Bringing Wellness Home is to raise mental health understanding and empower Americans to maintain their mental fitness and wellbeing. Though it can affect their work and home life, most Americans neglect to address the stress and other mental health problems they experience in their daily lives. In addition, many Americans, due to shame and embarrassment, do not seek needed mental health treatment.

More than five decades ago, Mental Health America founded Mental Health Month in May. In honor of this well established observance, Mental Health America looks to kick off nationwide Bringing Wellness Home activities in May 2008 with the support of its more than 320 affiliate across the country.

“Through Bringing Wellness Home, we are going to raise the bar for all Americans to become conscious of what they as individuals can do to improve their state of mental health. We are looking forward to inviting Corporate America to take a leading role in this effort,” added Shern.
Kim Kaiser and Associates, LLC is the cause-marketing consulting agency for Bringing Wellness Home. Kim Kaiser, principal of KKA said, “We see a huge opportunity for corporations, brands and key service industries that want to associate their brands with all the positive benefits of Bringing Wellness Home. Such support will serve to educate Americans on the benefits of positive mental health and boost their mental health outlook for years to come.”

Companies and brand teams looking to create customizable, consumer-activated components to generate good will and market activity around the national Bringing Wellness Home campaign, should contact Kim Kaiser and Associates at 212-686-4535 or mailto:%20kimkaiser@kkaiserconsult.us
Mental Health America is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With our more than 320 affiliates nationwide, we represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well-being of the nation—everyday and in times of crisis. For more information, visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/

On RT Ph.D. Programs

A friend recently contacted me to develop a list of universities offering the Ph.D. degree in RT. I could come up with only seven. These were:

Clemson University
Indiana University
Oklahoma State University
Penn State University
Temple University
University of Utah
University of Waterloo (Canada)

If you know of others, please do comment on this post.

Should the small number of university Ph.D. programs be of concern to those in RT? From where will the RT scholars of the future come? Can seven schools produce enough quality faculty to supply all of higher education? Is it healthy for only seven schools to be producting all RT faculty? These are questions to ponder.

It so happens that the existing Ph.D. programs are generally of high quality -- although some are relatively small in size. Because they are good programs, I would urge faculty from these institutions will get together to discuss the future of RT graduate programs and look for ways to enhance RT graduate education in the USA and Canada.

It also seems to me that these universities need to lead curriculum reform. RT curriculum reform appears to be bogged down at the current time. I would call on universities with Ph.D. programs to show some leadership with curriculum reform.

Finally, perhaps the time is right for other research universities to develop Ph.D. programs. More Ph.D. programs are needed now.

Opening for Rec Therapist in ID

Cara Barrett, CTRS, reports her agency has an immediate job opening for a Recreation Therapist. Please read the description below or attachment. If you can email it to everyone you know to get the word out, I would greatly appreciate it!
~Cara

Recreational Therapist
Sun Valley/Ketchum, ID

Sun Valley Adaptive Sports (SVAS) mission is to improve the lives of people with disabilities through sports and recreation. SVAS is seeking a full time Recreational Therapist to lead various programs for children, teens, adults and veterans. The Recreational Therapist will also manage the entire volunteer base for the organization. This position will provide opportunities to be outdoors and leading therapeutic activities such as adaptive snowsports, sled hockey, swimming, hiking and so much more. BS in Therapeutic Recreation, CTRS preferred but not required and at least 2 years experience in working with individuals with disabilities. Salary and benefits vary depending on experience. Please contact Cara Barrett via email with resume or questions. caral@svasp.org

***********************
Cara L. Barrett, CTRS
Program Director
Sun Valley Adaptive Sports
P.O. Box 6791
Ketchum, ID 83340
(208)720-7191 Cell
(208)726-9298 Office
(208)726-0957 Fax
http://www.svasp.org/

ATRA Should Get Students Involved

It seems to me that one key to building ATRA's membership is to seek greater involvement by students with the organization. This post is directed to both ATRA leaders and RT students everywhere.

First, ATRA needs to hold the Annual Conference in mid to late September, rather than early in September. Having the Annual Conference early in September does not allow universities to organize students to attend the conference. With universities just getting started in late August or early September, faculty just do not have time to get students involved in what is perhaps ATRA's major event of the year.

Then, a well designed student program needs to be developed for the Annual Conference. ATRA's Student Committee has generally done a solid job of organizing conference events for students -- but there is always room for improvement.

Here are some program ideas taken from the 2007Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention:

Hold a conference kickoff and student social where students can meet one another and have Board members introduce themselves while all enjoy complimentary food and drink. Perhaps several universities could sponsor the event.

Conduct several "The Naked Truth" sessions. Topics for the APS convention included: "The Naked Truth: Getting Into Graduate School: Strategies for Survival and Success;" "The Naked Truth: Life After the Ph.D.: Finding and Getting the Job of Your Dreams;" and "The Naked Truth: How to Get Published: Guidance from Journal Editors."

"Champions of Psychology" was another APS session directed at students. In this session students had the unique opportunity to sit down with major psychological figures in small groups to discuss scientific and professional issues.

APS's "Student Research Award Addresses" was a final program that ATRA might replicate. Here the winners of a peer-reviewed research paper competition were honored and presented their research.

The upcoming Annual Conference provides a great opportunity to consider some of the APS program ideas so they may be implemented during the 2008 Annual Conference. Hopefully ATRA students and faculty will also push the idea of holding future Annuals in mid or late September in order to allow greater involvement by today's students -- who will be tomorrow's professional members of ATRA.

Senate Parity Bill Placed on Hold

From the Mental Health America newsletter:

Before the Senate went on summer recess earlier this month, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., announced that insurers, businesses and advocates had reached a compromise on mental health parity legislation and he would try to get the Senate to vote on the bill by unanimous consent, which precludes debate and amendments. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., placed a hold on the bill, which effectively halted the bill’s progress. A DeMint spokesman said that the senator objected to considering the bill by unanimous consent. The new language in the compromise version of the bill would deal largely with state and federal preemption of existing parity laws. (Congressional Quarterly, 8/7/07)

IU's Van Puymbroeck's Research Cited

Research by Marieke Van Puymbroeck of Indiana University's RT faculty was cited in an article on yoga and stress published on the IU Active for Life web page. The reference follows:

"Preliminary studies by Marieke Van Puymbroeck, assistant professor in Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies, found slight stress release benefits to caregivers who practiced yoga or walked regularly. Her research focuses on people who care for adults with chronic disease or disabilities. Around 44 million people in the U.S. are informal caregivers. "If caregivers burn out and are unable to provide care, what happens to the person they are providing care for?" Van Puymbroeck asks. Her studies are challenged by the very nature of caregiving -- caregivers have such little time for leisure activity that it is difficult to recruit them for research studies into how to help them."

Update on ATRA

Below is an "ATRA Update" published today by ATRA:

The ATRA Board of Directors (BOD) has received many questions and concerns regarding the changes within ATRA. The BOD has been as open and transparent as possible, but it is difficult to get timely information to the entire membership.

Membership numbers have slowly declined (a national trend for associations) and this has been a major concern for ATRA. To understand the issues, membership surveys were conducted, consultants hired, and membership plans designed. Projects like e-ATRA, the Medicare Project, representation on numerous healthcare organizations, and additional continuing education opportunities were undertaken as a means to increase membership while continuing to promote the profession. Membership numbers have not grown and our reach exceeds our available resources. ATRA must “right-size” and prioritize projects.

The first, most important responsibility of the BOD is to ensure that ATRA is a viable and strong organization. This BOD has examined every aspect of the Association in the last eight months and took strong actions to ensure ATRA continues to be a sound membership driven organization.

Below are some of the major actions of the BOD:
The finance committee made recommendations of over $150,000 in expense reductions.
The Membership Ad Hoc Committee revised the membership plan, which is now in Phase I.
The BOD analyzed the profit margins and level of membership participation of Mid-Year Forums and other continuing education programs. Membership continues to ask for more local and regional opportunities and this is evident by attendance at Mid-Years. It was decided to cancel the 2008 Mid-Year and suspend the 2009 Mid-Year for further analysis. A subcommittee is being formed to investigate this entire process and address progressive implementation.
Past Presidents were informed of the changes that were taking place and the Board’s efforts to address the issues.
BOD makes personal calls to non-renewing members to request their renewal and seek ways to improve services.
An Interim Strategic plan (2 years) was written to address ATRA changes and bridge the gap between previous plan and future plans of ATRA.

At this time, the ATRA membership is just over 2,550. We must grow to meet the current needs of the Association, our members, and the profession.

Separate from this process, Executive Director Ann Huston resigned effective August 5, 2007. In May of 2006, Ann discussed with me as President-Elect her thoughts of pursuing new career options. At the 2007 Mid-Year, she discussed with the Personnel Committee the need for a transition plan. In April, the Finance Committee began negotiations with Ms. Huston on her desire to resign. The decision was made by Ann and was a positive, mutually acceptable agreement. As with any negotiations, Ms. Huston’s resignation remained confidential until both parties reached agreement and were ready to inform the membership. Ann’s work for ATRA is highly honored and her leadership will be greatly missed.

Upon the formal resignation of Ms. Huston, an organizational structure subcommittee was formed. The committee will include a Chair, two Past Presidents, two Members-at-Large (non-board members), the BOD Personnel Committee, a representative from the CAC, and a representative from the National Office. At this time, Kelly Parker has accepted appointment as Chair of the subcommittee.

The responsibility of the committee will be to cover three areas: review the organization structure, review all job descriptions of the national office and BOD, and develop a search committee for the new Executive Director position.

Many have devoted their entire career to the success of ATRA. Your current BOD is comprised of such members and has taken this responsibility seriously. They have made hard decisions in order to address the changes needed for a strong and viable ATRA. Each has sacrificed countless volunteer hours and personal resources for ATRA.

Please forward this update to others who may not have received or who have contacted you with questions. The BOD wants every member to know and understand what is happening in THEIR organization. If individuals have additional questions, please feel free to contact a member of the Board of Directors and we will do our best to answer questions.

Sincerely,
Sandra Negley M.S., MTRS/CTRS
President

ATRA in 5 Weeks

I received the following from the ATRA Office and am passing it along....

5 weeks and counting until Milwaukee… If you haven’t already registered, ATRA’s 2007 Annual Conference will be held September 9 – 12, 2007, in downtown Milwaukee. Join recreational therapists from all over the world in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the 2007 ATRA Annual Conference Investing in The Profession. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. The conference will offer sessions by national recognized experts and presenters on new interventions, programs, research and advocacy to promote professional development and enhance clinical skills. Specialty tracks and training will be available throughout the conference. Don’t miss this great educational and networking opportunity.

Dawn De Vries, MPA, CTRS
American Therapeutic Recreation Association
Office of Continuing Education and Research
1414 Prince Street, Suite 204
Alexandria VA 22314
p: 703.683.9420
f: 703.683.9431
http://www.atra-tr.org/

New Aerobic Activity Recommendations

New recommendations for physical activity appeared in a story in today's Indianapolis Star. Here is what was published:

"Updated national recommendations for physical activity say all healthy adults ages 18 to 65 should get moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 30 minutes five days a week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 20 minutes three days weekly."

Some medical groups are also recommending strength training for at least two, nonconsecutive days per week.

I hope that RT professors and practitioners are paying attention to such recommendations so that clients will be told of the need for physical activity and that RT physical activity programs are provided. Of course, to provide physical activity programs RTs need to be trained to lead such programs.

One Resume Key -- Professional Organizations

I recently read where one of the key items in a resume is listing professional organizations. With fall classes starting soon, this is a good time for RT professors to remind students about the importance of joining professional organizations -- such as ATRA.

RT Openings at Wellstone Regional Hospital

The following position openings were sent to me by Diane Baumann, M.S., CTRS. Diane is one of the top professionals in RT. Here is the announcement:

Wellstone Regional Hospital has openings for two CTRSs, one in adolescent services and one in child services. Wellstone Regional Hospital is a 100 bed behavioral healthcare hospital located in Jeffersonville, IN. It is part of Psychiatric Solutions Inc. which own approximately 90 facilities nation wide. Many opportunities exist for recreational therapists at Wellstone as well as great resources including two art rooms, a kitchen, greenhouse, gym with climbing wall and three static elements and outdoor space. If interested, please send your resume to Diane Baumann at diane.baumann@psysolutions.com

Diane Baumann, MS, CTRS
Director of Regulatory Compliance and Specialized Therapies
Wellstone Regional Hospital
2700 Vissing Park Road
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
812-284-8000

Marijuana Can Lead to Psychosis

Something from Reuters, 7/26/07, for young people to think about -- including RT students:

Marijuana Can Lead to Psychosis:
Marijuana users have a 41 percent increased risk of developing psychotic symptoms later in life, the risk of which increases with heavier consumption, British researchers report in Lancet. Past research has demonstrated such a link, but this is the most conclusive and thorough review of its kind, the researchers wrote. They also estimate, based on this study, that 800 cases of schizophrenia in Britain could be avoided each year if marijuana smoking were eliminated in the country. (Reuters, 7/26/07)