Does weed help depression?

Guys I have been thinking about this and I'm wondering about people who seem to become depressed around the time they find cannabis.. does cannabis help depression, by giving you a high, or does it create [more] depression in the sober you (while when you take the cannabis, you become "normal" you)?

I'm not sure if you'll understand what I just said ahah, but like I said, I think this only applies to people who have felt signs of depression around the time of discovery of cannabis, or increased usage of cannabis.

 

Hon, I have to go to work, so sorry for the short answer.

YES! it helps!

Cannabinoids promote hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects
(full - 2005) \tJCI - Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects

Good News For The Medical Marijuana Movement: Pot Proliferates Brain Cells And Boosts Mood
(news - 2005) Good News For The Medical Marijuana Movement: Pot Proliferates Brain Cells And Boosts Mood

Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain (news – 2005)
Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain - health - 13 October 2005 - New Scientist

But you also NEED Omega 3! Just trust me on this! It will take a month or so to get an effect.

I'll get back to you later on this with one of my infamous "Wall-o-text" posts that will explain it all! Gotta go!

Granny

 

OK, I'm back.

I guess we start with an introduction to the endocannabinoid system.

On the surface of your cells are tiny chemical receptors of many kinds. We are interested in the CB (cannabinoid) 1 receptor . CB 1 receptors in the hippocampus part of your brain help manage emotions, and they are responsible for getting you high.

Your body "talks" to its cells through chemical messages - the receptors do exactly what their name implies, they receive chemical messages and pass them into the cell. The message can be "calm down" to a freaking pain nerve cell, or "DIE!" to a cancer cell.

Now those chemicals that tell your body what to do are called endocannabinoids. They are fragile and are constantly being made and broken down in your body. Anandamide and 2-AG are the two most common endocannabinoids.

Dr. Ethan Russo came out with a great study about how the human body can be deficient in endocannabinoid, and this causes all sorts of bloody hell to break loose in your body!

Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency (full - 2004) http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/clinical.pdf

FoxNews version- (Even a "broken clock" is right now and then! )

Are You Cannabis Deficient? (news - 2010)
[FONT=&quot]Marijuana Compound Treats Multiple Health Issues | Fox News[/FONT]

(But I should keep this focused on depression!) Now, if there isn't enough anandamide, messages like "I feel good" don't make it into your brain cells and you get depressed. (That is grossly over-simplified, but if I go into detail, this will be a "book"! )

But I believe that Dr. Russo was only HALF right! There is another component to the depression puzzle. You can produce enough anandamide, but if the CB 1 receptors are "broken", the message isn't delivered! And that leads us to a very recent abstract....

[FONT=&quot]“Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endocannabinoid-mediated neuronal functions.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/record/21278728/abstract/Nutritional_omega_3_deficiency_abolishes_endocannabinoid_mediated_neuronal_functions_[/FONT]

Since most of you don't speak "Sci", here's [FONT=&quot]Granny’s translation –

“The US diet sucks big time and we are fat, undernourished, and crazy because of it. We get WAY too much Omega 6 and not enough Omega 3. Not getting enough Omega 3 can make you crazy because without it, the CB1 cannabinoid receptors in your brain aren’t made right- a chunk that is supposed to be attached, isn’t! Broken receptors give you “impaired emotional behavior”. So we think it’s the low Omega 3 diet is making the US totally nuts!”

That "impaired emotional behavior" includes depression. So, in addition to a lack of anandamide, a lack of WORKING CB 1 receptors can mess up your mind! And the "American diet" has almost NO Omega 3!

Most Americans have a severe deficiency in Omega 3 and besides making us kind of crazy, it is killing us! That's a hefty statement so I'll back it up- you don't have to read these- the titles are enough, but I'll include the URLs just in case someone is interested.

Cancer levels are up-

[/FONT] Loss of cannabinoid receptor 1 accelerates intestinal tumor growth (full - 2008) Loss of cannabinoid receptor 1 accelerates intestinal tumor growth

Heart attacks -

Deficiency of type 1 cannabinoid receptors worsens acute heart failure induced by pressure overload in mice. (abst – 2011) Deficiency of type 1 cannabinoid receptors worse... [Eur Heart J. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Huntington's-

Widespread Decrease of Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor Availability in Huntington Disease In Vivo (full – 2010) Widespread Decrease of Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor Availability in Huntington Disease In Vivo

[FONT=&quot]Ever notice how many babies lately are "low birth weight" or premature?
[/FONT]
Loss of Cannabinoid Receptor CB1 Induces Preterm Birth (full - 2008) Loss of Cannabinoid Receptor CB1 Induces Preterm Birth


Between a diet unable to maintain health because of its deficiencies (omega 3, fiber and more) and excesses (fats, sugars, "refined" over-processed foods, and all those various synthetic additives), and the normal genetic variations in our individual endocannabinoid system, some folks are being "set up" for the health disasters! Their system is overloaded with defective CB1 receptors from their Omega 3 deficient diet! Depression is only one of the first problems to arise. The nastier ones like in those "CB loss" studies come later.

How Long Before Fish Oil Works on Depression to Lift Your Mood? How Long Before Fish Oil Works on Depression to Lift Your Mood?

Deficiency of Dietary Omega-3 May Explain Depressive Behaviors (news - 2011) Deficiency of Dietary Omega-3 May Explain Depressive Behaviors. - Free Online Library[FONT=&quot]

O-6 vs. O-3 ratio[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Omega-6+to+Omega-3+Ratio+-+Discover+the+Shocking+Reality+That+Ruins...-a01073970178[/FONT]

Sweetie, go grab yourself a big bottle (or two) of fish oil (My son just bought himself a couple of bottles on sale at Walmart for about $6- he's been reading medical studies over my shoulder now and then. He's beginning to think I may not be crazy after all! lol) Get the fish oil and take a double dose until they are gone. It won't hurt you at all! Omega 3 lowers cholesterol and protects the heart. This is one of those rare situations where you can't lose!


Then you need to take a hard look at your diet- it likely sucks!

Too much in the way of junk food, too much sugar and fat.

Not enough fruits and veggies (especially raw), whole grains, and fish- you know, all that stuff your mother told you when you were a kid! SHE WAS RIGHT!

Take good care of yourself!





Granny




[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

As one who has gone through this... Don't be fooled into immediately thinking it's going to help you. It often only makes it worse. Try taking a few weeks off and see how you feel. Often smoking to hide the depression just puts you in a deeper hole. Of course it varies from person to person, but it just gets annoying hearing the same stoners defending weed in every instance, weed can do no wrong, yada yada...get the hell over yourselves. It's just a drug...jeez

edit: before the flaming from others, if it works for you, great. But like fiasko said, excercise is GREAT, if it were me, try taking the few weeks off, start doing a fair amount of exercising, eat very clean foods, high in protein, moderate in fat(fish oils, nuts, lean meats), and moderate to high(depending on activity level and your own resting metabolism) carbohydrates, high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables...avoid preservatives, artificial sweeteners and anything artificial in general, processed foods are no good for you and a good diet on a consistent basis will make you feel better. Do that for a couple weeks, then get back into toking once or twice a week if you want, everything in moderation my friend, and the exercise and diet WILL help you get higher too

 

Weed helped me stay depressed.

So I would say yes it does help keep you depressed.

Thats funny, I was looking at the molecular pathway that anadanamide follows when our cells processes it just the other day.

 

Weed makes me happy as a mofo brah, I do suggest you smoke up!

 

Yes, I believe cannabis helps with depression but the concensus is mixed here.

Before I ever smoked weed, I was in a dark depression and drank all the time and woke up hungover and suicidal. I dont have that anymore. Cannabis has saved my life and hopefully my liver.

People might say all I did was replace alcohol with cannabis and I dont think that but so what if I did. Herb is so much better for you.

 

It depends on your genes, it can help a bit, but it your genes are all like "Oh hell naw nieguuuh" it can inflict the opposite effect and cause depression if smoked too much too often. Sadly my genes are rebellious but I smoke anyway, other effects make up for the loss, I just don't regulate it so as to avoid such unfortunate occurrences. Although I read it's just teens and young adults that experience these issues, although it can occasionally develop into psychosis, which I did actually begin to accumulate before a boyfriend made me stop for a year, I literally tried to murder my mother with myself >.<

 

I struggle with depression a lot, and sometimes I swear pot is the best help. Just be careful, as mentioned above, because its easy to make it your only source of happiness and that is no bueno.

I find I'm much happier when I spend the first part of my day sober, and then get stoned at the end of work or early in the evening when I want to relax and eventually fall asleep. For me, weed gets depressing when I spend whole days doing nothing productive but smoke it. It kills my self esteem knowing I've done nothing, and weed doubles that feeling. However, when I feel like I've had a healthy day nothing makes me happier than some fat bong rips to top it off at the end.

 

Suuutuutututuuu~[/QUOTE]

Holy shit dude that's same as me, I only like doing it after I have a good day working hard and coming home in the arvo and just relaxing with a few bong hits

Suuutuutututuuu~

 

Nope weed is a depressant. Like it or not...

Been depressed for 5 years, been smoking for 5. Coincidence?

 

Can't really blame it on weed though :S

Suuutuutututuuu~

 

If you have depression and/or anxiety (or other stuff) just make sure you're in a good place mentally before you smoke. Try smoking with friends if you're feeling down. Also control the paranoia if you feel it coming on.

Technically you're not actually dealing with what makes you depressed, but it's different for everyone, since the "high" can be depersonalization which can make depressed people feel really low. If you get too depersonalized, you can feel alone and sad.

I have depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder so smoking helps me eat regularly, sleep well, and stay calm. Try to associate weed with relaxation and laughing, rather than worrying if it will make you worse (cuz when you're high you will get paranoid with that thinking lol)

Edit: Also try sativa vs indica and choose what helps you the most. just be careful and know what you're buying.

Sorry if I don't make sense.