Can medical cannabis help psych problems?

Has anyone heard of cannabis being ordered to help manage depression, anxiety or insomnia? Or has anyone just gone ahead on their own and used cannabis to improve how they feel?

The other night I saw a show on CNN (I think) that spotlighted a medical facility in Israel, where patients with serious medical issues were being treated with medical cannabis. Supposedly, it was doing great things for them mentally and physically. I wonder if cannabis can be helpful for psych problems? I wonder if there is a risk that cannabis can compound a psych problem, making things worse?

Yes, cannabis is being prescribed legally for those conditions. Many people use it on their own (not legally) to improve how they feel. There hasn’t been enough research about what cannabis does. Cannabis doesn’t have wide FDA approval, just a few forms from what I can see on the FDA website. I think it can be helpful and that it also can compound problems making things worse.

We’ve never talked about this much on here. I’m apprehensive I may violate site guidelines, not sure what I can say.

I take your point. I'm not sure either, as to what's okay. I would think it's not ok to promote doing anything illegal. Using THC has become legal where some of us live. Somehow I doubt that doctors will be recommending THC to their patients.

There’s a cannabis psychosis and yes it’s real and is scary. And yes it will make matters worse. There’s also addiction to cannabis, which is real even though many argue you can’t get addicted to that, yep you can. And yes it will make matter worse. It’s also common for mentally ill stop taking meds because pot makes them feel good so they think they are cured, two weeks later they are back to psych hospital sicker than ever.

Marijuana isn’t a medication. I doubt psychiatrists will be widely prescribing it for mental illness. It might be ok as supplemental thing but then again it mellows out some people but it has completely opposite effect on others.

But other than that if someone wants to partake and they aren’t harming anyone like driving high or in charge of infants, by no means who’s to say they can’t do it to help with mental health issue. Alcohol is a drug but ton of people drink and say it makes them feel better. I doubt they’ll prescribe that to anyone though

I tried Thc gummies for a while. Basically they were expensive anxiety pills for me. It does make your aches and pains go away but it increased anxiety for me.

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Personally, I don't think THC is good for those with mental disorders. As others have pointed out, it could possibly help in the short term, until it becomes problematic. Those with mental issues may be more likely to abuse it.

That said, CBD could be helpful for those suffering from anxiety or sleep disorders. You don't get any kind of high from CBD, just relaxation, so it's potential for abuse is far less.

I will point out that I abused marijuana. I have bipolar disorder, and it calmed everything down. Problem was, I craved it badly, and eventually was stoned for a good part of every day. It ran my life. Been off of it for 4 years now, and will never touch it again.

I used various edibles with THC for sleep, recommended by a doctor in California, legally. It helped me at that time. I later retried several times, each time with less and less success.

Note that I do not have the so called addictive personality and can stop any drug cold turkey without withdrawal. I stopped benzos in the past (I know most people need to taper down lest they have terrible withdrawal) and I stopped THC, several times in my life after I used it, without noticing it.

Now I use Seroquel for sleep. A couple of times I tried using THC again and now it is psychoactive for me (I had two "bad trips" even) and also the very last time it caused terrible somnolence the next day. It is just not worth even trying anymore.

I think Seroquel is a safer medication for sleep. And you only need a small dose.

I have never used THC to manage bipolar, just for sleep.

My psychiatrists were aware of that use.

According to my sleep psychologist (who is amazing; if anyone needs a telehealth sleep psychologist in California, PM me), there is research backing THC only for sleep. There is no backing for CBD. Maybe that is why when I tried CBD alone for sleep, there was no effect and I could not sleep. The sleep psychologist says that there is a lot of hype surrounding CBD but no hard data. She is a very data-driven person, a science nerd.

I also recently listened to a podcast where Andrew Huberman and Matt Walker talked and Matt Walker mentioned studies backing tart cherry juice for sleep. I instantly got interested (you can figure out from my name here that I love tart cherries ). I talked to the sleep psychologist about it and she did some research. Indeed there are some studies, although small, that had people use 1 cup of tart cherry juice one hour before bedtime. It improved sleep duration and depth, both. The studies were small, though. But I think it is for the most part a harmless remedy, except for the fact that you take in simple sugars, of course, so I started drinking tart cherry juice. I think it helps me and when I once forgot to drink it, I slept less well. It might be acting as a placebo, though. Still, to me, tart cherry juice is far tastier than marijuana edibles (although I did at some point find dark chocolate flavor that was OK). And it is safer. It is food, not a drug.

So for me now it is Seroquel plus tart cherry juice. Bye-bye, THC.

If you want to buy tart cherry juice, Trader Joe's imports it from Georgia. You will find it next to their bottled water section.

I don't think there's much I could say more than what's been said. I would like to share my short experience. I tried a peice of chocolate and it was 10 mg thc and 10 mg cbd. They said that is how it's made. If I had a choice I'd have more mg of cbd, as that is the part that calms anxiety. From having been with a stoner for years, I saw no good effect as he became addicted and it was weed with high thc potency smoked. I would try one puff and be so anxious, and I had a bad trip a few times. That makes you extremely hungry (I'm saying in my experience as I didn't try it often), also only my experience but I think it's commonly known it will make a person horny, I don't have a better word in my mind for it. Smoking that didn't make me sleep well.

anyway as I was saying, for the heck of it a few weeks ago I tried an edible chocolate. It didn't do much but I did feel very relaxed. I like that better than smoking because it takes hours to take effect instead of a sudden feeling of being stoned. Also I had a full stomach before taking it which helped. I hate the sudden feeling of being stoned. The gummies I then tried maybe a week ago were better at the making me sleepy for whatever reason. It's a bit expensive for me, 5 dollars for a dose that works for one night. I didn't feel really groggy or anything the next day.

I deal with more pain now, so for me, it relaxed my muscles and I loved the sinking deep into the mattress feeling. I put on a sleep hynosis video and listened feeling relieved. If you're interested, his name is Michael Sealey on youtube and there's many guided sleep meditations. He's good. It's not like any manipulation or saying you will be successful or try to lose weight types of hypnosis. He states all hynosis is self hypnosis. It works for me.

It all depends too, on your mood and setting before you take it. If you make up your mind you want to just sleep and relax I find it works. I wouldn't recommend using it daily as you'd develop a tolerance to it. But I'd say for occasional use to get nice and relaxed it's fine. The potency of just smoked cannabis has quadrupeled at least in thc, and barely any cbd. Just remember the cbd will be more helpful with anxiety, so you don't want anything more than equal amounts of both. And you could try a small bite just to see if it has any good effect before diving in and eating the whole gummy. I also didn't get that hunger with it. Seroquel caused my type 2 diabetes so I wouldn't do that personally. Everyone gains weight on it. And it's the opposite of cannabis. Cannabis replaces dopamine which is the feel good chemical in your brain, similar to what alcohol does. Seroquel takes away from the dopamine. Also you could get muscle twitches, parkinson's disease, and restless legs from Seroquel. Hope you don't mind... as you probably know all this but I wanted to share my experience. Best wishes.

@Violetta75 - thanks for that feedback. I ordered 3 varieties of gummies. The cost for me was $2 per gummy. I didn't find the THC very helpful for depression. It did help me sleep a couple of times, but didn't do much when I was really upset.

I was put on Seroquel years ago. I got off it because it didn't help with depression. It did help knock me out at night, but it's an antipsychotic, so it comes with bad baggage. The adverse effects you mention are very concerning IMO. Someone I know was on antipsychotics for many years and did develop Parkinson's. There's no way of knowing if the two were related, but I'm suspicious they might be.

I discussed this with my neurologist yesterday because I was concerned that my propensity to develop Parkinsonism on some antipsychotics might mean that I am more prone to developing Parkinson's later in life. I also carry one gene mutation of Parkinson's. The neurologist said that the mutation I carry only slightly elevates the risk, which reassured me. He also explained the difference between Parkinsonism, a side effect of antipsychotics, and true Parkinson's. It is now possible to distinguish between the two. In my case, it is not a necessary line of investigation because Parkinsonism instantly resolves if I discontinue the offending agent.

It is established that antipsychotics do not cause Parkinson's. They can cause Parkinsonism and often do but they do not cause true Parkinson's. Parkinsonism does not make Parkinson's more likely. Long term intake of antipsychotics does not increase the risk of Parkinson's.

He also told me that Parkinson's is not an especially heritable disorder.

THC is my enemy. Panic attacks all the time.
CBD is great though.
I would do the indica thing if I could handle the munchies, but I ain't about to eat 6,000 kcal just to feel chill or get a couple hours of sleep.

Overall, not worth it.

Here in my state low thc edibles were legal. I tried those and no help for sleep. The did relax me, but they’re expensive. Now everything is legal but expensive so I’ve not tried anything else. Seems to be a placebo. But my experience was limited. I believe you need to go to a good dispensary and talk to someone knowledgeable and get it for your situation. But it’s expensive. I believe it can be very effective and much better than pharmaceuticals stuff. Less side effects. More natural, but you need a knowledgeable person. And money. For me there are not yet any stores in my area that fit that bill. So I pass on it.

True, the stuff is expensive.

Thanks very much for your interesting discussion of Parkinsonism vs actual Parkinsons Disease. Coincidentally, it happens I just read 3 articles on DIP - drug induced Parkinsonism. They were articles written by researchers for professional consumption. I'm afraid I didn't find them as reassuring on several points as what I get out of what your neurologist seemed to be saying. I was very interested in whether or not drug induced Parkinsonism can always be reliably distinguished from so-called idiopathic Parkinsonism. Obviously, if the symptoms resolve upon discontinuation of a psych medication, then the connection between drug and Parkinsonism is not hard to infer. I was very surprised to read that there are any other ways to make the distinction. If I understood rightly, it seems they find actual differences in what symptoms present depending on the cause of the Parkinsons, with upper body involvement and symetricality of symptoms being different when you compare drug induced Parkinsons with idiopathic Parkinsons. However I was not getting the impression that they can be completely confident that what they are seeing is drug induced or not.

This kind of literature takes a lot of patience to read when you are not a medical researcher yourself. It's not that the stuff is so challenging intellectually. It's more that I find it tedious, like reading small-print legalese that we find in so many of the documents that we are asked to sign, like those online things that we typically scroll through. It's not stuff I can keep pouring over beyond the time it takes to skim and get what I think is the main jist. So I sure don't claim to have fully digested these articles. What I managed to get out of this reading was that there's a lot they are not sure of. But they do seem to know more than I thought was known.

I understand the difference between Parkinsonism and true Parkinsons Disease, which these articles call idiopathic Parkinsons. What I think I understood, however, was that "secondary Parkinsonism" - the drug induced kind - can be permanent and can be as diabling as idiopathic Parkinsons. In other words, one can be as bad as the other. That leads me to think that your neurologist may have been downplaying your risk of future neurologic disorder. He may believe all that he said, but I'ld take it with a large grain of salt.

This brings me to another issue. After many years of dealing with doctors, I've gotten the impression that clinical doctors (the ones who treat patients) tend to be a lot less rigorous in their thinking than doctors engaged in formal research. It's understandable. Clinicians are human and want to believe that they are doing good in this world. I believe that makes them invest too much faith in what they prescribe and under appreciate the risks to which they expose their patients. We patients have to decide if what benefits us in the short term is worth what cost there may be down the road in the long term. We also are human and our need to alleviate the suffering we experience here and now can tend to make us discount the future cost.

I'ld say that's clear thinking on your part. You are incisive and decisive. Way to go!

Since it was all legalized where I live, weed shops have been popping up around me like mushrooms in a cow pasture after rainfall. I have not yet stepped inside one of them. I feel intimidated. Call me shy. I feel like I'ld be trespassing onto the land of seasoned "stoners" and be looked at as an unwelcome idiot. That's probably foolish on my part. I'm going to take your advice and stop by a few cannabis stores . . . soon as I get some courage.

I'm retired and getting by on a small income plus the cautious use of some plastic. Right now I'm in the throws of a depressive episode. I'm desperate for some relief.
Recently I ordered some gummies that were cheaper than the first bunch I bought. The front label says 30 mg. Evidently, that's quite a lot. I got knocked out alright. That part was desired, but the hangover next day was too high a price to pay.

Even if cannabis gummies were $10 a piece, I'ld finance the purchase somehow, if they'ld help. I'm kind of lucky, in that my depression is episodic. Between episodes, I'm fine and don't crave any mind-altering substance. So I don't need a steady supply. But, when I'm in a tailspin, I get desperate for relief. It's like I need some rescue measure on an emergency basis. My life just goes to h€|| in a handcart. When it ends, I have such a mess to tidy up - piles of dishes, laundry, mail etc.

I should be practicing better mental hygiene and getting out for exercise and sticking to a daily routine. I guess there is no short-cut back to feeling normal. It's so hard to do what makes sense when all energy has evaporated.

Rose, let me message him and ask him what he meant. I got the impression from him that this ability to distinguish between drug-induced Parkinsonism and idiopathic Parkinson's is new. Doctors did not have it in the past. I just did not engage in a discussion about it because in my case it is so clear: I stop the offending drug and the symptoms evaporate. But I will ask him. I am just wondering if what he had in mind is newer than what was described in the tedious literature you tried to read.

I also would like to let you know that it seems to be the case that taking large doses of vitamin B6 plus a regular dose of a B vitamin complex does away with mild Parkinsonism that I experienced on Latuda. I am now switching from Latuda to Vraylar (a starter dose) for completely different reasons, but just in case I will keep taking B vitamins. My psychiatrist researched the issue and recommended B6 to me. I take 350 mg.

That is how all my crises end: depressive AND manic. In the past it was especially hard since I lived in an old apartment without a dishwasher. Now I rent a very nice place with a Bosch dishwasher. Recently it helped me when I got out of a brief depressive episode.

You will be surprised. Go for it! And you will see other retirees at dispensaries, too. It is not just for young stoners.

It's certainly possible that your neurologist is more on the cutting edge of things than what I was reading. It's also possible that I misconstrued what I skimmed through.

As I understand it, Parkinsons is not easy to diagnose. Just yesterday I heard from a relative whose elderly friend is suspected of maybe having it, but doctors aren't sure. Compare Parkinsons with a CVA or "stroke." Having had a CVA is usually pretty obvious. But the symptoms of Parkinsons can go on for years before the diagnosis is arrived at. At least, that used to be true. Maybe it's changed. Muhammed Ali had what was eventually diagnosed as Parkinsonism, probably related to head trauma. In retrospect, we can now hear on taped interviews that his speech clearly showed neuro-degeneration years before he was given any diagnosis. Perhaps the Parkinson's Syndrome that he displayed was not true Parkinson's disease, but does it really matter? It was disabling and severely worsened over time.

Somewhere in Wikipedia, I read that drug induced Parkinsonism is quite stable and does not progress in severity as does Parkinson's disease, which seems to accord with what your neurologist is saying. Another article from 2012 says that DIP tends to look different in about half the people who have DIP. Then it says that in the other 50 % of patients with known DIP, the symptoms are indistinguishable from true Parkinson's disease. Also, the symptoms may persist for years after discontinuing the offending medication.

I just read that "postural instability" does not present until late in the course of true Parkinson's disease. So, if it occurs as an early feature of a patient's Parkinson-like symptoms, then the disorder is more likely Parkinsonism, rather than actual P.D. That also seems to accord with what your neurologist is saying.

I also just read that persons with DIP usually recover, after stopping the causitive drug, though recovery sometimes takes up to 2 years.

In conclusion, I guess your doctor knows what he's talking about. Still, I'm unconvinced that doctors can always, reliably distinguish Parkinsonism from true Parkinson's disease. It may be that such a distinction is clear in some cases and not so clear in others.

TCJ - I just read in 2 places that cigarette smoking reduces the likelihood of developing Parkinsons. I think I'ld stick with the vitamins.

Oh it is a very popular belief among smokers! Has been for years. They swear by it.

I also talked to my neurologist about dance as a therapy for P.D. He agrees that it is very beneficial but does not believe that it slows the progression of the disease. My relative's husband was recently diagnosed (he is in his late 60) and I recommended dancing to him and he will go to a special dance class for P.D. So my neurologist added to that the recommendation of no-contact boxing, again specifically for P.D. See Page not found - Rock Steady Boxing it started in Indianapolis and now is everywhere. And he added a recommendation of a local personal trainer who comes to the homes of patients with P.D. All of these things, per my neurologist, are great to make the disease functionally less debilitating, but they do not slow the progression.

I guess in the end what is important is the burden of the disease, how a person can function and to what extent the person can still enjoy life.

This is not about P.D. but about Alzheimer's, but I thought I'd post anyway. The neurologist explained that reading is better than listening to audiobooks because listening is passive. He told me it is OK to listen to audiobooks when I am in the car or when I am falling asleep and there is nothing wrong in audiobooks, but to really engage my brain intellectually, I should read.