medical marijuana for depression?

Question

is this something I could look into? I have been diagnosed with depression and had been taking anti-depressants, but I really didn't like the way I felt on them.

Answer 1

i dont know if you can get medical marijuana for depression, but i know a guy if your interested.

Answer 2

The first thing you should look into-
Why are you depressed?
If you can find a definate answer (i.e. money problems, pain, stress, bad social life), then you most likely DON'T need an anti depressant.
I was diagnosed with depression too, wanna know why?
I was 17 years old and couldn't walk without a cane.
NO S#IT I WAS DEPRESSED!
lol
Try getting into therapy. It is MUCH more effective, and MUCH safer than popping those damned useless pills!
grr.
One on one counseling is what you really need.
Someone who knows what they're doing, letting you talk to them, getting it ALL out to someone.

To answer your question, and to comment on someone elses answer:
Medical marijuana should NEVER EVER EVER (did I mention FRIGGEN NEVER!!!!) be used with anti-depressants!!!!
They both work on the same receptors in the brain, and you can REALLLY go into a downward spiral with both at once, I mean possible suicide.

That said, if you've tried it, can get it legally, and it works (minus the anti depressants) I say, by all means GO FOR IT, God speed, and God bless.

It works WONDERS for some, but for others it just makes them paranoid as hell, and gives them one MAJOR case of the munchies.

It all depends on the amount of canabinoid receptors you have in your brain. Some people have more, some people have less, no way to tell other than try it.

But please, if you can find some other way to take it other than smoking, please do.
Yes, smoking is the most efficiant way of getting it to you, but you're also getting a hefty amount of tar too (no filters, remember)
Try looking for a vaporizer (not like one you use at home) or, if nothing else, a bong/water pipe/something to filter it through.
Not only will it be MUCH less harsh, it'll take out some of the impurities.

Hope this helps.
Sheena

P.S.
Please, don't break the law if you can help from it.
However, I know that it can get to the point of choosing total mental dispair, or breaking the law.
That's an extremely tough decision to make, and unfortunately, before I could a good pain management doctor, I had to choose breaking the law a few times.

Answer 3

marijuana makes you more depressed than you were to begin with.. i have a friend who is on anti-depressants, and smokes pot.... first of all she is more depressed than ever, and becomes increasingly depressed as the months/years go by. she's not the first person i've know who was a smoker...

smoking pot makes some of us lethargic and seems that it interferes with lives at times too... such as, i've known several pot smokers who thought it was perfectly OK to smoke all the time instead of standing up, being responsible, getting A JOB and taking care of their families and themselves like the rest of the people on the planet.

smoking pot makes a person ditzy and dim a lot of the time, too.

let's not talk about the short-term memory loss. so it makes a person seem hap-hazard and a bit dumb... "where are my car keys?" ... looking for keys for three hours, and they are in their pocket... etc.

oh, and if a person smokes pot for "depression" well, i guess they might get so consumed in getting high to rid themselves of the depression, they forget to take their anti-depressants (observed this in a couple situations with friends of mine). HELLO how is this helpful?

I have smoked pot socially during my lifetime and have nothing against it... except i dont' think that it's any better for daily use than drinking or other drugs... why live life in an altered state?

Better to stand up and try to face things. Anti-depressants don't make you "high" and if they do, well, they aren't working properly, and it's time to switch meds or the doseage.

Answer 4

Marijuana effects everyone differently. The rule of thumb is if you smoke too much you become more depressed, whereas if you smoke in moderation you become less. But like I said it effects everyone differently. Also keep in mind while in the states, the federal government is still in their "war on drugs' and will over-rule your state government's ruling.
Bill Zimmerman wrote in his book "Is Marijuana The Right Medicine For You? A Factual Guide to Medical Uses of Marijuana", on page 139:Using marijuana to treat mood disorders can be very tricky. Since active mood disorders often warp one's observational skills, reports by patients about marijuana lifting them out of depression are inherently unreliable.

If you intend to use marijuana for this purpose, it is very important that you thoroughly discuss it with your doctor. Patients who respond well report that marijuana not only diminishes their undesirable moods, it also motivates them to productivity.

For some of these patients, depression was a by-product of a debilitating disease or illness for which marijuana provided a welcome remedy. For others, the marijuana seems to have acted directly on the depression.

Answer 5

Check out stuff written by Lester Grinspoon M.D., Donald Abrams M.D., or Jay Cavanaugh M.D. All of these guys are highly knowledgeable doctors who have done a lot of work with medical marijuana. I did read in Grinspoons book "Marijuana the Forbidden Medicine" that a lot of patients who used marijuana for depression became happier and more social.

Answer 6

I did use medical marijuana ( criminal in my state ) as a medicine for a toddler with adhd. He grow to be fairly impulsive and that i do think of it grow to be fairly in all risk a precise life saver for him. He were on adderral and ritalin and strattera and another element available. there have been some specific advantages, yet he had some extreme and frightening component effects ( inclusive of coronary heart issues ) .. so finally we had to offer up the prescribed drugs. The medical marijuana calmed him down sufficient so as that he ought to a minimum of get with the aid of college. no longer asserting there are not undesirable effects to the medical marijuana ... like loss of motivation, yet i will take that any day over the two a racing coronary heart or finished loss of impulse administration optimal to very reckless and hazardous habit. people who say that adhd would not want any intervention are people who've only dealt with greater person-friendly varieties, or are in basic terms seeing little ones who they experience are in basic terms "habit issues" .... nicely, um, no kidding ! it rather is the area of the innovations it rather is impacted the main by skill of adhd. ADHD impacts tha ability to apply the administrative function - the area of your innovations that tells you to play by skill of the regulations, supply up and picture, no longer bounce off the roof using fact evidently like relaxing, pay interest in school, no longer run with scissors, no longer beat human beings up using fact they annoy you, ensue for artwork on time .... and all the million different issues that shop the international working.

Answer 7

marijuana is illegal and has never been proven effective long term for depression....it is kept going as a possible remedy by liberal pot loving types with other agendas and know that it really doesn't cure anything, they just want to get it legalized....
I would instead try natural methods to help your depression. First, stay on your meds, then exercise and eat better, no caffeine, alcohol, or junk food, and get a spiritual life....it helps to know that there is a God that loves you and is really in control....so you don't have to be all the time....all this helped me get off meds....

Answer 8

Try taking hydroxytryptophan (5htp) instead of a prescribed antidepressant. I had to withdraw form my escitalopram due to the side effect. I find that the 5htp works far better.

Please don't take marijuana - research has shown it to worsen the symptoms of mental illness and can lead to psychosis.

Try the 5htp and I also take Rhodiola Rosea, Ginkyo Biloba and Omega 3 fish oils. These things do work.

Answer 9

marijuana should not be used as an anti-depresent, using marijuana for such a reason may lead to a serious addiction. once you build up a tollerance to marijuana, thus not getting the same result as you used to, you may start thinking about using other drugs such as LSD to get the effect that you are looking for. marijauna is called a gateway drug for a reason.

Answer 10

i don't think they prescribe medical marijuana for depression. it's usually used for severe chronic pain - like when someone gets a terminal cancer.