October 28, 2007Pot Is Good And Bad For DepressionBy now you are most probably aware that a study came out last week showing that a synthesized version of cannabis--which is to say, one of marijuana's core molecules--was found to be have an anti-depressant effect in lab rats at low doses. At high doses, the reverse was true. No idea how all of that correlates to real world marijuana (and the study was done by Canadian researchers), but it's at least suggestive of what I've been saying for a long time--that pot seems to have some anti-depressant effects. Given how well the legal anti-depressants are working out, this country would be wise to spend some research dollars on investigating all of this. Not that it will ever happen in a formal way in the US, at least not soon. For the inevitable newbie reader who wants to inform me that pot causes schizophrenia and ask me who do I think I am saying we ought to research pot's potentially beneficial effects, please note that the pot-causes-schizophrenia link is fairly weak (obviously there are known cases) and hardly what you might call proof of a 1:1 association. And if you still want to get wound up about psychosis-causing agents, then go after alcohol. Posted by Philip Dawdy at October 28, 2007 05:37 PM
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What about cannabis triggering bipolar mania? Have you come across any studies on this? Just curious. Posted by: Ghost at October 28, 2007 05:53 PMnature provides relief before scientists.[do][just my opinion]. Marijuana skin cream could help allergies. Posted by: Stephany at October 28, 2007 08:26 PMPeople have been ingesting marijuana in one form or another for centuries in spite of harsh criminal penalties so it must make you feel better. Let's see there's modern psych drugs that many people would rather be locked in filthy psych wards than take voluntarily, and pot, which people risk imprisonment to take. I'd say its got some antidepressant properties. Oddly, like Abilify, Zyprex, & Co. it increases your appetite. I wonder if this means something. Besides no marijuana studies, biased as they are, have ever shown it to cause psychosis at the same level as the antidepressants and antipsychotics, or like you say, good old whiskey. Posted by: Sally at October 29, 2007 06:18 AMI'd be surprised if pot caused mania, as it seems to have the opposite effect on people. I don't touch the stuff myself (even though I live in the grass capital of Canada) because it just makes me hungry and tired. Hungry and tired I can usually accomplish on my own. Some people seem to use pot as a kind of self-medication for various ailments, as I guess many of us do with alcohol. I think it's probably worth exploring as a psychotropic. It would be nice if research was truly scientific enquiry, rather than agenda-driven. If it turned out that pot could beat SSRIs in a blind trial, I’m sure the government would shut down the research. That’s pretty much what happened to Alexander’s research at Rat Park at Simon Fraser University. His findings contradicted the politicians and so he had to be silenced. Why is it that when mental illness (schizophrenia) follows illegal drug use (smoking pot), then the drug is said to have CAUSED it but when mental illness (mania) follows prescription medication (SSRIs and/or electroshock), then the treatment is said to have UNMASKED the underlying illness? Just curious. Posted by: Francesca Allan at October 29, 2007 08:34 AMI am a study of only one, but pot caused mania in me on a number of occasions. I don't touch the stuff anymore. Wouldn't touch the stuff if I were paid very much money. I would suspect that something like this may indeed help a lot of people, but it would still have a serious side-effect profile effecting some significant minority like it does me. It made me downright loopy!! And not only while I was high...it triggered a couple of weeks of instability in general--and oh---not everytime I smoked it which makes it even a trickier thing to assess. Posted by: Gianna at October 29, 2007 11:36 AMUmm. According to today's media, Governor Arnold says that pot is not a drug. It's a leaf.
So I guess all the studies have be re done to see if inhaling leaves cause mood disorders. Posted by: susan at October 29, 2007 12:29 PMUnfortunately, cannabis contains a number of constituents that may all possess different properties. Furthermore, different strains may possess different balances of these constituents. The bright side is, as long as you're not already schizophrenic, there's probably not much risk involved in smoking pot. To prove this point: While use of marijuana after age 18 is probably not associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia, there are certainly cases where it has precipitated psychotic reactions in those already diagnosed as schizophrenic. (I have personally experienced a psychotic reaction on several occasions, and, as far as I know, I have no mental illness whatsoever.) However, this study shows some efficacy for cannabidiol, the primary cannabinoid in cannabis (although not a major contributor to its intoxicating effects), as an antipsychotic. Posted by: Simon at October 29, 2007 03:25 PMPost a comment
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