Re:Schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the ...
by heavyset_go on Thursday July 22, 2021 @03:55PM
(#27923487)
I should also note that mental healthcare, in the past, was something insurance companies would fight their policyholders over, and many policies didn't cover it at all. The ACA and earlier legislation are responsible for increasing access to mental healthcare[1] for Americans, as they forced insurers to cover it.
So in the past, if you couldn't see a doctor, you couldn't get a schizophrenia diagnosis even if you had it.
[1] https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/aca-10-how-has-it...
I think this is a good explanation. It's also important to acknowledge that norms around marijuana use and the perception of schizophrenia and its symptoms have changed drastically in the last 25 years. So have schizophrenia treatments.
Older neuroleptics have severe side effects that cause permanent Parkinson's-like movement disorders and are responsible for lowering patients' life expectancies. It wasn't until the mid-to-late 1990's that the atypical antipsychotics were approved by the FDA, which had significantly less side effects than older drugs. And then it wasn't until the mid-to-late 2000's that those drugs had affordable generics. Several new antipsychotics were approved in the 2000's that have less side effects, as well.