Jacob Bell
New Member
While some studies say that people with mental illness are more likely to use marijuana, a new study says that the drug may have medical benefits in treating conditions like bipolar disorder, the BBC reported June 3.
Anecdotal reports from people with bipolar disorder suggest that marijuana could alleviate some symptoms of the disease, according to researchers from the University of Newcastle in the U.K. The authors said that THC could help patients with bipolar disorder avoid the manic highs and depressive lows associated with the disease, while cannabidiol, another active ingredient in marijuana, has calming properties.
The authors suggested that an oral cannabis spray now being marketed by GW Pharmaceuticals be used in a clinical trial for possible treatment of mental illness. However, they also noted that marijuana use could cause mental-health problems and increase the risk of mental illness among those who are genetically prone to such diseases.
"If you use this mixture in the right dose and the right proportions, you might very well be able to help people with bipolar disorder, whatever way they are veering," said lead study author Heather Ashton. "We think it might be useful to patients to try, as an add-on not as a single drug, a known mixture of certain cannabinoids ... People who take cannabis for relief of these symptoms do not need the heavy doses that recreational users take. We all agree that smoking cannabis, especially when young, in large quantities is associated with mental illness. That is quite different from using it medicinally."
The study appears in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Source: Marijuana Could Provide Mental Health Treatments
Anecdotal reports from people with bipolar disorder suggest that marijuana could alleviate some symptoms of the disease, according to researchers from the University of Newcastle in the U.K. The authors said that THC could help patients with bipolar disorder avoid the manic highs and depressive lows associated with the disease, while cannabidiol, another active ingredient in marijuana, has calming properties.
The authors suggested that an oral cannabis spray now being marketed by GW Pharmaceuticals be used in a clinical trial for possible treatment of mental illness. However, they also noted that marijuana use could cause mental-health problems and increase the risk of mental illness among those who are genetically prone to such diseases.
"If you use this mixture in the right dose and the right proportions, you might very well be able to help people with bipolar disorder, whatever way they are veering," said lead study author Heather Ashton. "We think it might be useful to patients to try, as an add-on not as a single drug, a known mixture of certain cannabinoids ... People who take cannabis for relief of these symptoms do not need the heavy doses that recreational users take. We all agree that smoking cannabis, especially when young, in large quantities is associated with mental illness. That is quite different from using it medicinally."
The study appears in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Source: Marijuana Could Provide Mental Health Treatments
