'Cannabis' Acts as an Antidepressant
October 13, 2005 : BBC News
Mental health experts warn against cannabis use 

United Kingdom -- A chemical found in cannabis can act like an antidepressant, researchers have found. A team from Canada's University of Sasketchewan suggest the compound causes nerve cells to regenerate.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation study showed rats given a cannabinoid were less anxious and less depressed. But UK experts warned other conflicting research had linked cannabis, and other cannabinoids, to an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Read More... http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread21188.shtml

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National Institute of Mental Health Study, But Reported In British Media

Alcohol and Depression
http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/Depression/alcohol.htm

Only The PotHeads Will Survive
30 Nov 2001

Counter Reefer Maniac accusations that marijuana users support terrorism with the plain fact that these dizzy morons are preventing the use of the "best available protection against nerve gas attack" with their marijuana madness.

Among its many properties cannabis provides considerable protection from a number of lethal nerve gas symptoms by defending the brain from injury and suppressing the the seizures, nausea and vomiting associated with chemical warfare agents.

This is not a pothead myth because the Israeli Army, which has no time for Reefer Madness nonsense, equips their soldiers with cannabis compounds to protect against a chemical warfare attack.



Cannabis and Depression Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.
http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/depression_and_cannabis.htm

Patients who use cannabis to "relax" may be treating the anxiousness sometimes associated with depression. Cannabis aids the insomnia sometimes present in depression and can improve appetite. Better pain control with cannabis can reduce chronic pain related depression. While cannabis cannot yet be considered a primary treatment of major depression it may improve mood when used under physicians supervision and in combination with therapy and/or SSRI’s.

There is currently a debate as to which "strain" of cannabis is most appropriate for the adjunctive treatment of depression. Since symptoms are so individualistic it is hard to determine what strain is right expect empirically. In general Sativa dominant strains tend to be more "up" and Indica dominant strains more relaxing.

Patients themselves are often the best judges of whether or not cannabis helps relieve the symptoms of depression. A poorly educated or narrow-minded physician may think any use of cannabis to be a substance abuse related aspect of depression. More enlightened psychiatrists (i.e. Lester Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School) appreciate the often beneficial aspects of cannabis therapy.

Perhaps the most reliable yardstick of the efficacy of medical cannabis in the treatment of depression is whether or not specific aspects of functionality improve. Functionality includes aspects such as self-care ability, job or school attendance, social interaction, normal sleeping, and cognitive skills.

More about Depression can be found at Intelihealth
(the website of Harvard Medical School)
http://www.intelihealth.com

Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine
http://www.rxmarihuana.com

Examples of the ways that marihuana alleviates symptoms of cancer chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, glaucoma, AIDS, and depression, as well as symptoms of such less common disorders as Crohn`s disease, diabetic gastroparesis, and post-traumatic stress disorder.



The Emperor Wears No Clothes Chapter 7
Therapeutic Use of Cannabis
DEPRESSION & HUNDREDS OF OTHER PRIMARY MEDICAL USES

One well known effect of THC is to life the spirit, or make you "high." Cannabis users in Jamaica praise ganja's benefits for meditation, concentration, consciousness-raising and promoting a state of well being and self assertiveness.5 This kind of attitude adjustment, along with a healthier appetite and better rest, often represents the difference between feeling like you are "dying of" AIDS or cancer and feeling like you are "living with" AIDS or cancer.

Cannabis also eases small pains and some big ones and helps senior citizens live with aches and pains like arthritis, insomnia and debilitating infirmities, and enjoy life in greater dignity and comfort. Legend has it, and medical evidence indicates, that cannabis is the best overall treatment for dementia, senility, and maybe Alzheimer's disease, for long-term memory "gain" and hundreds of other benefits. U.S. statistics of the 1970s indicated that you will live eight to 24 years longer if you substitute daily cannabis use for daily tobacco and alcohol use. New research is outlawed, of course.
http://www.jackherer.com/chapter07.html