Marijuana Addiction & Recovery Support Group
This community is dedicated to those looking to overcome their addiction to marijuana, a drug produced from parts of the cannabis plant. Join the group to find support among people who are also looking to cease their habit of smoking marijuana, share your experience, and get advice. It's not easy to kick the habit, but together we can.
Does medical marijuana have any relationship with depression can it work as a anti depressant if used in a right amount ?? is this relationship is positive or negative?? please suggest and explain its both pros and cons?
To complicate things further, used in small amounts, marijuana and its cannabinoids may even act as an anti-depressant and anxiolytics (anti-anxiety agents). If you only light up on occasion, there’s almost no research that says weed is a depressant…..So that’s the good news…
And what’s the bad news you ask???
Well, If you are smoking a lot of weed frequently, and you are smoking the chronic, which is WAY easier to find than it was even 10 years ago, Weed may start to act as a depressant.
The research doesn’t outright say “Heavy Marijuana Use Causes Depression” but the bottom line is that people who smoke weed heavily are more likely to suffer from and be diagnosed with depression than people who don’t….and if you drink and smoke, risk of depression is even higher.
Under 20? Read this carefully!
Research out ADAI @ University of Washington shows that the probability is higher that you will suffer from both anxiety and depression issues both as a young adult and into your twenties if you smoke weed heavily before you brain is fully developed…even after you quit. The younger you are, and the more you smoke, the higher the risk…
At this point, science doesn’t give us the whole picture about heavy marijuana use and depression, and addiction. Addiction has many components including your genetic makeup, your social life, and upbringing.
Depression Causing Weed Addiction?
I’m going to share a common scenario from what I have seen, and the many people I have emailed and spoken to…The evidence below is all anecdotal.
Lots of people started to smoke weed to escape, to have a good time, and to enjoy life more. When they started smoking, they were getting high and enjoying the anti-depressant effects of small quantities of weed. They may have had a minor depression and a bit of weed allowed them to self-medicate…but only for a while.
They kept smoking because it acted as a mild anti-depressant, so they increased the amount and frequency the smoked, until it didn’t work anymore because they smoked so much. The switch flipped, and weed became more of a depressant than anti-depressant because of how much they were using it. That is the slippery slope I have seen numerous times and it’s at this point that a lot of people get stuck, and stay stuck for a long period of time…
When you quit smoking weed, you may go through marijuana withdrawal. Everyone experiences withdrawal differently, but feeling depressed and irritable is common in the first three to four weeks. If it persists past a month, its worth seeing a doctor.
Remember, I am not a doctor, but I am a guy who has helped a ton of people quit by being honest and sharing advice that works.
Here is my advice.. If you think that weed is having negative effects like causing or worsening anxiety or depression, it’s time to quit. your first steps are to consult a medical professional and then to come up with a detailed plan on how you are going to quit.
Source: http://quitmarijuana.org/depression-and-marijuana-addiction/