Marijuana, depression and the brain
The largest study of marijuana and depression to date, conducted at SUNY-Albany and published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, has found that daily and weekly marijuana users had about 30% fewer symptoms of depression than non-users. Further, they were more likely to report good moods and had fewer physical complaints like sleeplessness. Which is interesting, considering that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director John Walters said that "marijuana… can lead to depression, thoughts of suicide and schizophrenia." Of course this knowledge is nothing new, clergyman Robert Burton claimed marijuana as a treatment for depression in The Anatomy of Melancholy as early as 1621. But how does weed alleviate depression? Recent experiments with rat brains and a synthetic cannabinoid HU210 conducted by Xia Zhang, University of Saskatchewan-Suskatoon, Canada, found that two high doses a day for 10 days increased the neurogenesis (nerve cell formation) in the hippocampus (part associated with learning, memory and moods) by as much as 40%. Moreover, when placed under stress, rats that received the cannabinoid showed fewer signs of anxiety and depression than rats that didn’t. When neurogenesis was stopped using x-rays, the behavioral effects disappeared. Other studies have shown that hippocampus nerve cell growth is suppressed by other common drugs like alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine. So, when life’s getting you down, instead of drinking yourself into a stupor, leaving your hopes and dreams buried under tobacco leaves, why not put the ‘can’ in cannabis, the ‘merry’ in marijuana, and the ‘blunt’ in your mouth. You may just grow some brain cells instead of killing them.
Marijuana users less depressed, MPPP.org
Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain, NewScientist.com
Depression for the longest time was something tat took over my life. I was tired always sad and I really didn’t have the money to spend on Doctors visits. A friend told me about 5-htp which is a all natural pill that helps with depression. I was very lucky I read up on it at “kiwi drug” had a lot of positive reviews. Been on it for 1 week and so far so good. Feeling a difference
Comment by Amber — November 24, 2009 @ 5:18 pm