Marijuana for depression, bipolar disorder
January 2nd, 2010 § 4 Comments
We also recommend:
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- Antidepressants in Pregnancy May Delay Developmental Milestones
- Risk of suicide 5 times higher with antidepressant use
- Birth defects caused by Effexor can include death
- Antidepressant drugs cause premature birth
- Antidepressants decrease sex drive (affecting relationships and health)
- Mental Marijuana Alternet
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On the heels of some very bad news for SSRI users, we couldn’t wait another moment before posting this information …
SSRI Anti-depressants are no better than placebos, and they are killing people.
Dr. Khan reviewed clinical trial data submitted to the FDA for nine SSRI antidepressant drugs approved by the FDA between 1985 and 2000. This included 10,030 depressed patients in 52 clinical trials. The Placebo (inert dummy pill) worked better than the SSRI antidepressant pill in more than half the studies. This is astounding information showing the power of the Placebo, or the lack of effectiveness of the SSRI antidepressant drugs.(1)(2)
Irving Kirsh, PHD, wrote a review of his findings regarding the placebo effect for the Huffington Post: Antidepressants: The Emperor’s New Drugs? Here is an exceprt from the article:
As you might imagine, our study was very controversial. How could these drugs, which account for about 15 percent of all prescriptions in the US, be placebos? The antidepressants we studied had been approved by the FDA. If they were just placebos, why did the FDA approve them?
To answer these questions, my colleagues and I used the Freedom of Information Act to get the data that the drug companies had sent to the FDA in the process of getting their medications approved. What we found was even more shocking that what our 1998 study had shown.
The difference between drug and placebo was even smaller in the data sent to the FDA than it was in the published literature. More than half of the clinical trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies showed no significant difference at all between drug and placebo. What they did find was differences in side effects, like nausea and sexual dysfunction, produced by antidepressants; and the FDA later determined that SSRIs, the most common type of antidepressants, actually increases the risk of suicide for children, adolescents and young adults. So why did the FDA approve these drugs?
Here is a reprint of the news regarding serious health effects (Via NaturalNews)
As NaturalNews previously reported, the U.S. is a nation on mind altering antidepressant drugs. An astounding number of Americans, some 27 million, are now taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil.
As a handful of doctors and researchers tried to warn the medical community and the public over a decade ago when these drugs began to soar in popularity, SSRIs can affect the brain and body in a host of detrimental ways. For example, evidence has accumulated that these drugs can induce suicidal and murderous actions in teens and cause young women to drop dead from heart arrhythmias. And now there’s another danger to add to the list.
A huge study of over 136,000 women concludes SSRIs significantly increase the odds of stroke and death in women after menopause.
Far more likely to suffer strokes when on SSRI drugs
The new findings, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded, multi-institution Women’s Health Initiative Study, were just published in the December 14 online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Principal investigator Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., division head of epidemiology and professor of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed data from 136,293 women between the ages of 50 and 79 who were not taking antidepressants when they enrolled in the study. They were followed for about six years.
Data from 5,496 women who were taking antidepressants at their first follow-up visit were then compared with data from 130,797 women not taking antidepressants at follow-up. The researchers found no difference in the rate of heart disease (which they assessed by how many women had fatal or non-fatal heart attacks). However, they did find a troublesome difference in the occurrence of another potentially deadly health problem.
Antidepressant users were 45% more likely to experience strokes than women not taking the drugs. What’s more, when the scientists looked at the overall death rates of the research participants, they discovered that the women taking antidepressants had a 32% higher risk of death from all causes compared to non-users.
It wasn’t only SSRIs that raised the stroke risk — so did the older class of antidepressants known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). However, the SSRIs appeared to be even more dangerous than TCAs because they carried a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke. In other words, the postmenopausal women on SSRIs were more likely to have a stroke caused by bleeding into the brain.
Dr. Wassertheil-Smoller and colleagues noted that even small increases in stroke and death rates can have significant implications for large patient populations. And middle-aged women on SSRIs are a huge patient population. The researchers acknowledged in their statement to the media that antidepressants are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S., especially for postmenopausal women.
As a matter of fact, Big Pharma has aggressively pushed the use of SSRIs in recent years as a “treatment” for mid-life hot flashes and mood swings as well as late life depression.
Predictably, in a statement to the media, the researchers defended the use of antidepressants as valuable drugs because depression can be “debilitating or even fatal”. Dr. Wassertheil-Smoller stated women who may be concerned about taking their antidepressants based on this study should discuss the matter with their doctors.
The researchers also said “it remains unclear” from their data whether antidepressants are solely responsible for the greater mortality rate among users, claiming that depression itself could be related to the increased stroke and death rates.
However, if that’s so, then it appears the antidepressant drugs aren’t working for the women being treated. After all, logic and common sense suggest if depression is linked causally to stroke, then women taking drugs that supposedly alleviate depression would have their stroke risks lowered, not increased.
The following chart comes from Antidepressant use increases all-cause mortality, stroke in postmenopausal women
| Antidepressant status | CHD annualized rate/1000 person-years | Stroke annualized rate/1000 person-years | All-cause death annualized rate /1000 person-years |
| No antidepressants at follow-up | 3.81 | 2.99 | 7.79 |
| Incident SSRI use | 4.73 | 4.16 | 12.77 |
| Incident TCA use | 5.18 | 4.92 | 14.14 |
| Incident other or multiple antidepressant use | 5.38 | 4.55 | 13.42 |
Now for some good news:
Researchers at McGill University in Montreal in 2007 reported in the Journal of Neuroscience that THC in low doses actually serves as an antidepressant…, producing serotonin. It has been known for many years that depletion of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain leads to depression, so SSRI-class anti-depressants like Prozac and Celexa work by enhancing the available concentration of serotonin in the brain. However, this study offered the first evidence that cannabis can also increase serotonin, at least at lower doses.
Dr. Gobbi and her colleagues were prompted to explore cannabis’ potential as an anti-depressant through anecdotal clinical evidence, she said. “As a psychiatrist, I noticed that several of my patients suffering from depression used to smoke cannabis. And in the scientific literature, we had some evidence that people treated with cannabis for multiple sclerosis or AIDS showed a big improvement in mood disorders. But there were no laboratory studies demonstrating the anti-depressant mechanism of action of cannabis.”
The anti-depressant and intoxicating effects of cannabis are due to its chemical similarity to natural substances in the brain known as “endo-cannabinoids,” which are released under conditions of high stress or pain, explained Dr. Gobbi. They interact with the brain through structures called cannabinoid CB1 receptors. This study demonstrates for the first time that these receptors have a direct effect on the cells producing serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that regulates the mood.
Marijuana users have a less depressed mood than non-users:
“Over 4400 adult internet users completed The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and measures of marijuana use. We employed an internet survey in an effort to recruit the most depressed and marijuana-involved participants, including those who might prove unwilling to travel to the laboratory or discuss drug use on the phone or in person.
We compared those who consumed marijuana daily, once a week or less, or never in their lives. Despite comparable ranges of scores on all depression subscales,
…those who used once per week or less had less depressed mood, more positive affect, and fewer somatic complaints than non-users. Daily users reported less depressed mood and more positive affect than non-users.
The three groups did not differ on interpersonal symptoms. Separate analyses for medical vs. recreational users demonstrated that medical users reported more depressed mood and more somatic complaints than recreational users, suggesting that medical conditions clearly contribute to depression scores and should be considered in studies of marijuana and depression. These data suggest that adults apparently do not increase their risk for depression by using marijuana.”
Read the full report: Decreased depression in marijuana users
Marijuana proliferates brain cells and boosts mood
ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2005) — Most drugs of abuse decrease the generation of new neurons in the brain, but the effects of marijuana on this process, called neurogenesis (creation of new brain cells), had not been clear.
In a paper in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Xia Zhang and colleagues from University of Saskatchewan show that a potent and synthetic cannabinoid (active ingredients in marijuana) promotes neurogenesis. This drug also exerts anti-anxiety and antidepressant-like effects.
The researchers suggest that there is a positive correlation between increased adult neurogenesis and modified behavior following chronic cannabinoid treatment.
These data expand the existing knowledge about the positive roles cannabinoids and their receptors play in brain processing and medicine. Moreover, cannabinoids are perhaps the only illicit drug that can enhance adult neurogenesis and subsequently modify behavior.
Marijuana can elevate your mood
From Disabled World: Even though mild anxiety is a common side effect in some users, cannabis can elevate your mood and expand the mind
“With the expansiveness that occurs with marijuana, the subject may begin to notice infinite possibilities to raise the quality of his/her life that would otherwise have remained hidden from normal, defensive consciousness. And feelings of health and happiness naturally lead to hope, which of itself can be curative.” – Joan Bello
Many obsessions or quick fixes to psychological problems can be alleviated by Marijuana as well. Many people eat because they’re depressed. If the depression is treated, the obsession to eat should be gone as well.
Marijuana and bipolar disorder
“Bipolar affective disorder is often poorly controlled by prescribed drugs. Cannabis use is common in patients with this disorder and anecdotal reports suggest that some patients take it to alleviate symptoms of both mania and depression. We undertook a literature review of cannabis use by patients with bipolar disorder and of the neuropharmacological properties of cannabinoids suggesting possible therapeutic effects in this condition…” Read entire abstract
Oslo, Norway: Cannabis use is associated with “improved neurocognition” in subjects diagnosed with bipolar disorder, according to clinical trial data published online by the journal Psychological Medicine.
Investigators at Norway’s University of Oslo, Institute of Psychiatry investigated the association between cannabis use and neurocognition in 133 patients with bipolar disorder. Researchers reported that subjects who used cannabis performed better than non-users on a series of neurocognitive tests. Authors determined that marijuana use was associated with “statistically significant” improvement in attention, executive function, verbal fluency, logistical memory-learning, and logical memory-recall.” Read Abstract
See Also: Lester Grinspoon of Harvard University: The Use of Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder: Anecdotal Evidence and the Need for Clinical Research
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April 8, 2006 – At the Fourth Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, held in Santa Barbara, California, Ed Glick, a Register Nurse from Oregon, relates his efforts to include mental conditions in Oregon’s list of approved conditions qualifying a patient to participate in the state’s medical Cannabis (marijuana) program.
Conference hosted by Patients Out of Time.
More Studies:
Link
Related articles: PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
*Marijuana could alleviate symptoms of PTSD Isreali study released September 2009
*Dude, where’s my trauma? Marijuana could treat PTSD Time magazine
*Oregon Toxicologist Says Treatment for PTSD Should Include Cannabis
*Rat Study: Marijuana May Ease PTSD
*Marijuana Vs. Anti-Depressants for PTSD Marijuana Wins Hands Down
Excellent article. The big pharma drugs are almost useless and have many side effects, including death. Cannabis is safe and effective. I know this as I use it for both of these disorders, and it has helped me more than any other medications without any undesirable side effects.
Did you know the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services got a patent for “cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” in 2003? http://spryeye.blogspot.com/2008/11/uncle-sams-pot-patent-proves-pot.html
Former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders says we “can avoid the hazards of smoke through simple devices called vaporizers” in a 2004 editorial, also dispelling other myths: http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/projo_20040326_26ctelder.22fed4.html
im biopolar and manic depressed taking all kinds of drugs would like updates
We are patients, so don’t give medical advice, but yes, we will certainly continue to post the latest and we can also share our experiences.
Short story, it is looking like the pills don’t work at all. In fact, the very latest report shows anti-depressants actually lower serotonin http://yahind.com/newsportal/sci_tech/why-antidepressants-often-fail_7294.html .
From our experience, using cannabis in edible form before going to sleep has cured PTSD, generalized anxiety, agoraphobia, wasting syndrome, insomnia and depression.
This was only discovered in hindsight, after a few days of taking the medicine, realizing that other symptoms one would never have even hoped to cure, had disappeared.
Cannabis seems to lift the heart – makes you feel happy, makes it easier to see that things are OK and really quite good.
When you take it the night before, you will never feel high, or like you are on medication. The next day, from our experience, your nerves will no longer feel like live wires ready to spark, they are calmed down and you don’t overreact to things.
Also there is no harm to the liver and kidneys, no physical addiction. Last night for the first time in 4 months, I did not take my nightly medicine. I noticed this morning that there was no difference in the way I felt, except slightly more alert, but I felt really good – which is amazing for any medicine to boast.
You might subscribe to our posts so you will receive any more news, and visit this doctor’s website – he may be available to answer any questions you have but I am not sure about that:
http://www.greenbridgemed.com/