Cannabis and Depression

Depression is one of the key challenges facing the world today, especially youth and young adults. Generally the young are more susceptible to depression since their minds have not yet been strengthened enough to face the storms of the world. As one gets older, and more mature in the mind, the ability to weather these storms increases. When the rosy picture of the world that one creates in one's childhood collides with the harsh realities of the adult world, it sends many into the dark world of depression. Use of alcohol and synthetic drugs at young ages contributes to depression. The inability to match others in the pursuit of wealth and material success contributes to depression. Failed marriages and romances contribute to depression. The death of someone close contributes to depression. Isolation and loneliness contribute to depression. There are as numerous causes of depression as there are for elation. But that is how reality is. If life has its ups, then quite obviously it will have its downs. Coping with both the ups and downs, and not letting them derail oneself is the essence of survival in this world. Unfortunately, hardly anybody teaches these things. Our education systems, social structures and work cultures are all aligned to the false belief that the only way to go is up - up on the social scale, up on the economic scale, up on the popularity scale, and up on the desirability scale. This creates an individual with a one-sided persona, with inability to see the world as the infinite, wondrous and mystical spectrum it is. Most persons who slide into depression have invested all their energy on pursuing just one goal, or a narrow set of goals. They have been fed, and have bought, the delusion that success is the only worthwhile outcome in this world, and the only way to success is through the narrow path that they now pursue, and eventually fail in. To see their place in the web of life, to see the awesome workings of nature, to take pleasure in the simplest things, is something beyond their means, something that they never became aware of.

Young persons who do not know how to cope with depression reach out, if at all, to modern healthcare professionals, most of whom have reached where they are through the exact same narrow-minded pursuit of success that the patient has failed in. In cases where the depressed person does not reach out through their own initiative, they are pushed to do so by their families, the very same families who drilled in the narrow concepts of success, pursuing which led to the individual's depression in the first place. One of the most alarming things today is the fact that healthcare professionals liberally dish out dangerous synthetic pharmaceutical medicines that bring them incentives and pharma companies a whole lot of wealth. Many of them are aware of the dangerous side effects of these anti-depressants but that does not stop them from prescribing them. Obesity, addiction, insomnia, loss of appetite, and suicidal tendencies are just some of the side effects of the anti-depressants. These side effects themselves are sufficient to push a health person into depression, let alone a person who is already going through one. The success rates of anti-depressants are highly questionable but this does not stop it being prescribed. Classes of drugs, such as opioids, benzodiazepines and their precursors barbiturates, have been responsible for many more deaths through suicides than will ever be acknowledged by the medical and synthetic pharmaceutical industry.  

Cannabis as a means of treating depression is unknown in most places in the world. That is because the youth, who are the most vulnerable to depression, have been fed the myths that cannabis is a dangerous drug, that it causes insanity, that it is addictive, and so on. This prevents most persons suffering depression from using cannabis, if they can access and afford it, that is, given its prohibited status. Society would rather that the depressed person use alcohol, another leading cause of depression, and the widely available synthetic pharmaceutical drugs. Cannabis is a wonderful mood balancer. It is exhilarating, stimulating and sedative. It opens up one's senses to a whole lot of realities, expanding one's narrow focus to see the bigger picture of existence. That is why it is the world's foremost intoxicant, medicine and entheogen. Elite sportspersons, creative artists, writers and musicians, leading scientists and intellectuals, all use cannabis to stay in the zone. By the zone, I mean the place in your mind where everything is all right, and you are one with nature and existence, where the being and doing itself becomes the reward. 

Cannabis is a key medicine in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because it aids in memory extinction, i.e. the burying of bad and traumatic memories that cause one to become stressed. Cannabis is a key medicine in treating anxiety. Cannabis is a key aid in helping a person to sleep well. Cannabis increases digestion and a person's appetite for food. Stress, anxiety, indigestion, aversion to food, and insomnia, are some of the factors that not only heighten the chances of depression, but keep a person in a depressed state for long periods of time. Cannabis improves focus and concentration, enabling one to direct one's mind to the things that matter, rather than to look around to see how one measures up against somebody else, or somebody else's standards.

The Indian Hemp Drug Commission that studied cannabis usage in 19th century India, the land of ganja, had this to say about the immediate effects of cannabis consumption - 'Dr. Russell (Bengal witness No. 105), in his note furnished to Dr. Prain, gives the following effects of "doses pushed to produce a decided effect": "Mental effects appear in from three to five minutes; exhilaration and excitement of a pleasing nature: the subject talkative and merry; laughs and gesticulates; plays on imaginary musical instruments and sings; converses with imaginary persons; illusions and delusions, usually of a pleasing nature; objective of these very responsive to external impressions and suggestions; rarely quarrelsome or combative. Then ensues a condition of repose and quiet contemplation with fixed stare and immobile pupil.' In another place, the Commission reports regarding the findings of the eminent British physician of the 19th century, William O'Shaugnessy, as follows - 'As a result of several experiments on pupils at the Medical College, Calcutta, O'Shaughnessy observes: "The result of several trials was that in as small doses as 1/4 of a grain the pulse was increased in fulness and frequency; the surface of the body glowed; the appetite became extraordinary; vivid ideas crowded the brain; unusual loquacity occurred; and, with scarcely any exception, great aphrodisia was experienced."' Finally summarizing the immediate effects of cannabis consumption, the Hemp Commission writes that "Judging from the replies of several witnesses, the immediate effect of the moderate use of any of the hemp drugs on the habitual consumer is refreshing and stimulating, and alleviates fatigue, giving rise to pleasurable sensations all over the nervous system, so that the consumer is "at peace with everybody"—in a grand waking dream. He is able to concentrate his thoughts on one subject: it affords him pleasure, vigour, ready wit, capacity for hard work, and sharpness for business; it has a quieting effect on the nervous system, and removes restlessness and induces forgetfulness of mental troubles; all sorts of grotesque ideas rapidly pass through the mind, with a tendency to talk; it brightens the eyes, and, like a good cigar, gives content; the man feels jolly, sings songs, and tells good stories; it causes bravery in the brave and cowardice in the timid, and, like alcohol, brings out the real character of the man. In young men it may give rise to sensual thoughts, and aphrodisiac effects are mentioned."

In places where cannabis has been legalized for adult use, age restrictions for the purchase of cannabis from retail outlets, such as 18 or 21 years and above, are in place. Cannabis is prescribed as medicine for young children and adolescents. This more or less maps to how cannabis was used in a completely unregulated society, such as India until the 19th century when cannabis prohibition made its appearance in the world. Where cannabis has been legalized for adult recreational use, it has been found that youth usage rates have declined rather than increased, dispelling the myth that legalization will lead to increased consumption, and the ultimate downfall, of youth.

As the world plunges into increased human induced conflicts and stress, as humans invent newer ways to get depressed, as the connection between humans and nature becomes weaker, as the demands on a person to measure up to the fleeting mirages that society considers success increase, we are only heading into situations where more and more people are going to find themselves depressed. Giving ourselves the option to save ourselves through the magical natural herb, cannabis, will help us to cope with the realities of this world. The complete legalization of cannabis, so that it is available to every single person who needs it, the poorest person, the person in the remotest places on earth, the person lost at the bottom of the deepest, darkest well of despair, is one of the most urgent corrections that society must make. Otherwise, we will only see more and more people spending the rest of their lives wondering why someone close to them decided to take the most extreme step of exiting the world, and what could have been done to prevent it.

 

Related articles

The following articles deal with the subject. Words in italics are my thoughts at the time of reading the article. 

'Investigators affiliated with Florida Gulf Coast University assessed the short-term effects of cannabis on symptoms of anxiety and depression in a cohort of 418 subjects. Study participants self-administered cannabis at home and reported symptom changes in real-time on a mobile software application. Researchers evaluated data from 9,966 sessions.

The study’s authors determined, “[B]oth depression and anxiety symptoms significantly decreased after cannabis use in general; results at the user level of analysis showed that the majority of users experienced positive relief outcomes.”

They concluded: “[These results] replicate previous work which has shown decreases in depression and anxiety symptomatology following real-time cannabis consumption. … Our results … speak to the potential of cannabis to combat acute depression and anxiety with a rapid onset of self-reported relief."'

https://norml.org/news/2024/07/18/study-consumers-report-improvements-in-anxiety-depression-following-cannabis-use/


A Republican House advisory committee is formally opposing marijuana banking legislation and a separate bill to remove past cannabis use as a disqualifying factor for federal employment and security clearances, while broadly criticizing the substance as a “gateway drug” that causes “violence, depression and suicide.”

The guidance, which is meant to inform how the GOP caucus should approach marijuana policy issues, briefly describes the history of prohibition and the state legalization movement. It then makes the case that cannabis is a dangerous substance linked to mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, attributing that in part to “the high concentration of THC.”

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/house-gop-committee-urges-opposition-to-marijuana-banking-bill-saying-gateway-drug-causes-violence-depression-and-suicide/


The use of medical cannabis products is associated with reduced levels of depression, according to data published in the journal Pharmacopsychiatry.

German investigators assessed medical cannabis use in a cohort of 59 outpatients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD). (Plant cannabis and cannabinoid treatments, such as dronabinol, were legalized by prescription use in Germany in 2017; however, such products are typically only authorized when patients are unresponsive to traditional therapies.) Study participants used cannabis products for 18 weeks.

“Mean severity of depression decreased from 6.9 points at entry to 3.8 points at week 18,” they reported. “A treatment response (>50 percent reduction of the initial score) was seen in 50.8 percent [of study subjects] at week 18.”

The study’s authors concluded: “Medical cannabis was well-tolerated and [the] dropout rate was comparable to those in clinical trials of antidepressant medication. Patients reported a clinically significant reduction of depression severity. Further research on the effectiveness of medical cannabis for MDD seems warranted.”

https://norml.org/news/2024/01/18/study-medical-cannabis-associated-with-symptom-improvements-in-patients-with-major-depressive-disorder/

'Results: Medicinal cannabis use was associated with lower self-reported depression, but not anxiety, at baseline. Medicinal cannabis users also reported superior sleep, quality of life, and less pain on average. Initiation of medicinal cannabis during the follow-up period was associated with significantly decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms, an effect that was not observed in Controls that never initiated cannabis use.

Conclusions: Medicinal cannabis use may reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms in clinically anxious and depressed populations. Future placebo-controlled studies are necessary to replicate these findings and to determine the route of administration, dose, and product formulation characteristics to optimize clinical outcomes.'

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.729800/full

'Results
The behavioural patterns of individual flies were significantly reduced with 0.1% CPZ treatment. In contrast, combination treatment of 1.5% HE and 0.1% CPZ significantly increased subjective daytime activity (p<0.001) and behavioural factors (p<0.001). These results correlate with increased transcript levels of dopamine (p<0.001) and serotonin (p<0.05) receptors and concentration of dopamine (p<0.05), levodopa (p<0.001), 5-HTP (p<0.05), and serotonin (p<0.001) compared to those in the control group.

Discussion and conclusions
Collectively, HE administration alleviates depression-like symptoms by modulating the circadian rhythm-related behaviours, transcript levels of neurotransmitter receptors, and neurotransmitter levels in the CPZ-induced Drosophila model. However, additional research is needed to investigate the role of HE administration in behavioural patterns, reduction of the neurotransmitter, and signalling pathways of depression in a vertebrate model system.'

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13880209.2021.1949356

 

'Responding to the study’s findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “Modern science is setting the record straight and exposing much of the ‘reefer madness’ of the past decades.

Unfortunately, many of these myths still remain prevalent in our society, and are often raised by politicians in their efforts to justify the failed policies of marijuana prohibition and stigmatization It’s is time for America to set aside these myths and adopt cannabis policies based on facts, not fears”

The study’s authors concluded: “Our findings do not support a relationship between cannabis use and reductions in motivation over time in a sample of adolescents at risk for escalation in cannabis use. … The current study contributes to the extant literature by examining these associations longitudinally in a large sample of adolescent cannabis users while controlling for important and often overlooked confounds, including sex and depression. … Future studies should continue to examine these associations longitudinally to determine whether heavier levels of cannabis use lead to reductions in motivation, and whether these reductions may be responsible for poorer educational and later life outcomes.”'

https://norml.org/blog/2021/07/20/study-cannabis-use-not-linked-to-motivation-loss/

'Researchers reported that cannabis use was not independently associated with a greater risk of suicidal thoughts at young adulthood after investigators controlled for subjects’ use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. In addition, researchers reported that adolescents who suffered from depression were more likely to use cannabis later in life, not vice-versa.

Authors concluded: “This population-based study is the first, to our knowledge, to examine the temporal relation between cannabis use, depression and suicidal ideation simultaneously over five years during adolescence. Depression (but not suicidal ideation) predicted weekly cannabis use throughout adolescence. Weekly cannabis use predicted suicidal ideation (but not depression), but this association was no longer significant after taking into account other substance use including alcohol, tobacco and other drugs consumption. … These findings highlight the importance of targeting depressive symptoms during this sensitive developmental period in an attempt to offset the potential increased use of cannabis over time.”'

https://norml.org/news/2021/07/15/study-adolescent-cannabis-use-not-independently-predictive-of-depression-suicidal-ideation

'A meta-analysis of the 26 included articles indicated that cannabinoids prevent the negative effects of chronic unpredictable stress, suggesting that the development of cannabinoid-based drugs has the potential to treat stress-related disorders such as depression.'

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8098/

'Analysts affiliated with CB2 Insights, a chain of medical cannabis evaluation clinics operating throughout the United States, assessed data from over 61,000 patients seeking medical cannabis evaluations in 12 states over a 17-month period (November 2018 to March 2020).

Patients seeking medical cannabis authorizations were most likely to report their primarily condition to be related to chronic pain (39 percent), followed by anxiety (14 percent) and post-traumatic stress (8 percent). Patients also frequently reported suffering from comorbid conditions for which they sought relief, including insomnia and depression.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/02/11/analysis-medical-cannabis-most-commonly-recommended-for-treating-chronic-pain-conditions

'The potential therapeutic use of some Cannabis sativa plant compounds has been attracting great interest, especially for managing neuropsychiatric disorders due to the relative lack of efficacy of the current treatments. Numerous studies have been carried out using the main phytocannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). CBD displays an interesting pharmacological profile without the potential for becoming a drug of abuse, unlike THC. In this review, we focused on the anxiolytic, antidepressant, and antipsychotic effects of CBD found in animal and human studies. In rodents, results suggest that the effects of CBD depend on the dose, the strain, the administration time course (acute vs. chronic), and the route of administration. In addition, certain key targets have been related with these CBD pharmacological actions, including cannabinoid receptors (CB1r and CB2r), 5-HT1A receptor and neurogenesis factors. Preliminary clinical trials also support the efficacy of CBD as an anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and antidepressant, and more importantly, a positive risk-benefit profile. These promising results support the development of large-scale studies to further evaluate CBD as a potential new drug for the treatment of these psychiatric disorder'

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/10/11/1575

'A new study in the Journal of Health Economics found that the availability of “cannabis light” – flowers from high-CBD hemp plants with up to 0.6% THC – in Italy was connected to:

- An 11.5% decrease in dispensed boxes of anxiolytics (anti-anxiety medications).
- A 10% reduction of dispensed sedatives.
- A 4.8% reduction of dispensed antipsychotics.

“The large-scale accessibility to the new product, which was advertised as a relaxant one, induced some patients to abandon traditional medicine to seek relief,” the authors concluded.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-light-used-in-italy-in-place-of-sedatives-antidepressants/

'Hughes said of his son’s improvement since taking cannabis: “Charlie is happier, more alert, far more vocal, constantly babbling and takes an interest in his toys. He can feed himself and loves nothing more than some rough and tumble with me. He’s come alive again.

“No one knows definitively what effect all those anti-epileptic drugs in combination with each other have on the development of the brain. If he wasn’t asleep or completely zonked out, he was just seizing. Cannabis has massively improved his general wellbeing.”

With regards to cannabis-based medicines available on the NHS for epilepsy, Nice recommends just Epidyolex for two rare syndromes of the condition. Because of European Medicines Agency recommendations, it must be taken in conjunction with Clobazam, a benzodiazepine that some parents have said can cause troubling side-effects including hallucinations and amnesia.'

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/16/parents-of-toddler-with-severe-epilepsy-seek-legal-review-of-cannabis-oil-guidelines

'Among those who acknowledged using cannabis for medical purposes, 49 percent reported doing so to treat anxiety. Forty-seven percent of respondents said that they used cannabis for insomnia, 42 percent said that they did so to treat chronic pain, and 39 percent said that cannabis eased their depression.

Respondents most preferred method of cannabis ingestion was inhalation.

Women, more frequently than men, reported using cannabis to address symptoms of post-traumatic stress, insomnia, anxiety, and migraines. Men were more likely to report using cannabis as a mood stabilizer.'

https://norml.org/news/2020/04/30/survey-cannabis-often-used-to-mitigate-symptoms-of-anxiety-insomnia-and-chronic-pain

'These findings represent part of a wider pattern of increasingly widespread adult use of prescribed medicines that are associated with problems of dependence and withdrawal. In 2019, Public Health England published a review of prescription drug dependence. As well as opioids for chronic pain, the review studied patterns of use of benzodiazepines, Z-drugs (non-benzodiazepine hypnotics), gabapentinoids and antidepressants. The review found that in 2017–18, 26% of the adult population had some exposure to these medicines including antidepressants (17% of the adult population), opioids (13%), gabapentinoids (3%), benzodiazepines (3%) and Z-drugs (2%). Long-term prescribing of these medicines was found to be widespread, with evidence of dependence and difficulties of withdrawal.'

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7167503/

'Unlike widely used anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs such as benzodiazepines and SSRIs, the acute administration of an anxiolytic dose of CBD does not appear to interfere with the sleep cycle of healthy volunteers. Future studies should address the effects of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle of patient populations as well as evaluate the chronic effects of CBD in larger samples of patients with sleep and neuropsychiatric disorders.'

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5895650/

 

'Top Trump administration officials say drug overdose deaths are surging amid the coronavirus pandemic, driven by increased substance use due to anxiety, social isolation and depression.

 A White House drug policy office analysis shows an 11.4 percent year-over-year increase in fatalities for the first four months of 2020, confirming experts’ early fears that precautions like quarantines and lockdowns combined with economic uncertainty would exacerbate the addiction crisis'

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/29/pandemic-unleashes-a-spike-in-overdose-deaths-345183

 

 'Opioid addiction, autism, general anxiety, chronic anxiety, depression and insomnia were selected Wednesday for more study as qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Ohio.

A committee of the Ohio State Medical Board met in Columbus to select those conditions as Ohio prepares for the first sales of medical marijuana, perhaps as early as next week.'

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/01/09/ohio-study-more-ailments-medical-marijuana/2529672002/

 

'Authors further reported that cannabis therapy was associated with a reduction in subjects' use of prescription medications – a finding that is consistent with prior studies. Overall, participants discontinued taking a total of 39 prescription medicines during the study period. Patients were most likely to eliminate their use of opioids, anxiolytics, and anti-depressants after initiating cannabis therapy.

They concluded, "We found an overall improvement in the patients, including of their symptoms and medical conditions, cessation or reduction of traditional drug usage, and a general improvement in life quality. ... Overall, 39 dosages of prescription drugs were cancelled for the 19 elderly individuals included in this research, indicating that medical cannabis can be an effective treatment that also reduces environmental drug load."'

https://norml.org/news/2020/06/11/study-medical-cannabis-therapy-reduces-prescription-drug-use-among-nursing-home-patients