Medical Marijuana And PTSD

[Emilie]

Hey guys, I stumbled on this wondering if after I give birth/breastfeed I should go back on anti-depressants or try medical marijuana. I read some old posts from 2009 but didn't have the initiative to read everything. I'm on the fence, so I'd like someone to pull me down to one side.

On one hand, I know that when I quit using pot (habitual, daily, illegally in PA) my anxiety/paranoia was worse than before I ever smoked it. I also feel weird about being around my children on it- but is being on Zoloft, Seroquel, and Xanax better than being on pot around them? I was prescribed all 3 before.

I was thinking about only using weed as a nighttime sleep aid, do you think that's reasonable? How long until the effectiveness is gone?

If anybody feels like also giving me the low-down nitty gritty details of getting the card, picking stuff out, legalities, ect, I'd appreciate if you PM me.

 

[ButterflyPEI]

Nabilone or Cesamet which is a medical form of marijuana has been tremendous in lessening my flashbacks. Nabilone is a man made form of marijuana that is made with all the chemical components of cannabis EXCEPT for the THC which is the component in weed that makes you "stoned". I have never smoked real marijuana so I can't say if there is any comparison between it and the pill form that I am taking. I find it slows my head down in a similar way that valium or ativan would but overall, in the past month that i have been taking it, I would say my flashbacks have almost been cut in half.

 

[bright_morning]

Actually Nabilone is synthetic thc without any other cannabinoids. The effect you are describing that mitigates the high comes from Cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally occurring cannabinoid found in certain special and relatively recent strains of marijuana.

Even so Nabilone supposedly acts a lot like CBD, your own account being evidence. I just learned something new, cheers. :)

 

[ButterflyPEI]

I think my doc better brush up on the facts she gave me!

 

[Ali1157]

Just so you should know pot can increase or onset depression and paranoia. Plus you can develop a dependency upon it, not being able to sleep without it. Plus it aint so hot for the lungs and buy a sh** ton of crest white strips. it effects your reaction time in the brain over time and if you like to eat when your high you will gain weight. when your high you can get paranoid and have shivers. i wouldn't recommend it unless you are under physical pain and okay psychologically.


I was an addicted to marijuana and alcohol for a long time. I just cant really see how it would help PTSD, in my experiences, when I used after my PTSD started, my triggers were enhanced. That's because that's what marijuana does . It enhances our sensations.

BUT if you DO go that route:
make sure to buy:
1) Planet Earth
2) The seasons of The Chapelle Show
3) A bag of Grapes.
4) A Volcano ---> its a machine that turns the smoke into vapor so its better for your lungs and easier to smoke

And remember: no matter what anybody says everybody's high is going to be different because not one body is the same to another. Its scientifically proven. (I learned it in psychology) When your doing drugs EVERYTHING is about your mind set. If you believe your gunna have a good time and aren't worried, you wont be. simple as that. but if you have something bothering you the drugs could take a turn for the worst.
Thats just my experience and |I've done quite a lot of drugs in my days.

Well aren't I just a little enabler! :p Cheers!

 

[sharky]

To the person who just posted... You CAN NOT get 'addicted' to weed. You just can't. And everyone reacts differently, and with me and some other people it can help and it does help. For me it especially helps with 'body memories' like aches and pains and CERTAIN types of depression(aka certain things that are bothering me, weed helps me forget). And if that isn't what happens, then I do what I posted above. I think thoroughly about the problems I was having and I make it through them feeling better once I reach the other side. So therapeutically it helps too.

But bottom line to my response - you cannot be addicted to weed.

 

[sharky]

Oh, also I do not recommend listening to your Doctor. A lot of doctors are not accountable. And a lot of them see marijuana as some huge attack on their practices. Marijuana has proven to cure so many illnesses, that it should be legalized everywhere so people can safely do experiments. There have been HUMAN cases where marijuana(and marijuana's cousin, hemp) receded cancer and even made it disappear completely... And several different forms of cancer at that. But it's hard for them to move forwards because there are so many governments that freak out at the thought of using marijuana as a form of medicine (which is why in the United States our Federal government is intervening and raiding smoke shops in states where it is legal) because that means less money(weed is a pretty cheap cure!).

All I'm saying is your doctor or your psychiatrist or whomever could very well be wrong. They were taught a specific list of guidelines to follow and a lot of them are to keep you away from smoking or using the harmless plant, marijuana. I mean, think about it. A schedule 1 drug in the United States? It doesn't cause violence or serious illness(now spice or 'synthetic weed' does!!) in fact it cures those things. But oh! Unfortunately it's cheap. Not so much cash in the hands of the Feds.

Look out for places like abovetheinfluence or other places like your local Doctor that treat Marijuana like the antichrist. It's not. It's mother nature's medicine trying to help you out.

Oh and another thing I'd like to add about the curing cancer part... A study showed that marijuana killed brain cancer cells in patients with brain tumors however it did not do anything to healthy cells. Just something to think about(it could actually BE the cure to cancer).

 

[Ali1157]

sharky ---> Im sorry if I bothered you. I'm just speaking from my own experience. I know lots of people who cannot sleep without smoking and have cravings and a dependency upon it for dealing with real life. to me, I think that's addictive qualities. As well I have personally met people go to rehab for smoking weed and they are taken seriously.

In my opinion and from what I have seen, anything that can alter the chemicals in your brain to 'make you feel better' is addictive . ------> shopping, gambling, self-harm, video games

So I beg to differ. Why should weed be any different because there are no withdrawal effects? Are there withdrawal effects from any of the addictions I listed above? I think so, just not as prominent as one could see such as cravings and constant mulling over it. Although being addicted to weed is not like comparing it to more addictive substances, it certainly can become addictive for the individual after a length of time and regular smoking. and I'd say more addictive because of its euphoric qualities.

Although it is a drug that is taken lightly and not as "harmful" as the other drugs and highly debatable

I'm not speaking as if I was a university professor or a scientist, I'm speaking as a regular person from my experiences and my opinion. So I dont want to fight over this but I dont think my opinion should be said its wrong when its not scientifically proven so and your disregarding it like I have no clue what im talking about. When I've had an addiction to weed and I still struggle with it. I crave it all the time.

 

[stillscared123]

I used to smoke on a daily basis to quell my anxiety. It used to help, but I think it became an addiction for me. I never learned how to relax on my own without it. I craved it constantly (mentally not physically). I didn't even dream of quitting ever. Since my trauma I have been unable to smoke marijuana because it would increase my anxiety and make me think I was going to re-experience my trauma. My trauma was resultant of being drugged so, I wanted to be entirely sober for as long as possible.

I think maybe marijuana could work for some if coupled with therapy. No drug alone will cure problems, it will only "turn off" the symptoms momentarily. Now that I can't use marijuana I've been struggling with keeping my now exacerbated anxiety level lower. I wish so badly that I could smoke again, I really loved it, it was my band-aid. If my former bullies were harassing me, I'd smoke and not care. If people were keeping me awake: smoke and not care. Nervous about my test after studying all day and can't relax my mind to sleep? Smoke and not care. But that resource is gone for me now.

Sometimes if it's too much and I can't take a xanax because I have to go to class/go to work, I will smoke tobacco. I try my best to avoid this but when I'm shaking and about to bubble over/still have responsibilities that need to get done, I don't know what else to do.

I used to be the biggest advocate for marijuana use, but I look back on all the time I wasted being high to cope with my issues and realize that it was not as incredible as I thought it was.

 

[sharky]

Okay I've had over a decade of experience with it myself(along with xanax, DXM, shrooms, acid, benzos, opiates, and even more. And I'm not exaggerating), Ali and yes it can be a mental addiction. Mental addictions don't last. They don't come with any seriously damaging physical withdrawals. Watching your favorite T.V. show can be classified as an addiction. Marijuana, however, should NEVER be put in the same category as any other chemical you put in your body. Caffeine has worse effects on your body than Marijuana. Cigarettes(and Caffeine) are obviously physically addictive AND bad for your health. Marijuana is not. Some people don't like the way it feels, and that's fine. But having people like Doctors and such brainwashing people into not smoking marijuana by telling them it's terrible? Life sucks, and you'll get prescribed a medication for it anyways.

Might as well be one that has no side-effects and won't lead you to taking more medication down the line(i.e. pharmaceuticals that help one ailment, but inevitably create even more). Marijuana doesn't do that. And there are different strains and types. Ones that give you the head high, ones that make you want to take a name, etc.

But don't spread propaganda about marijuana and how it's so easily abused - that's a personal problem that stems from something else... Not from weed.

If it doesn't work for you, fine. But don't spread propaganda to other people about how awful Marijuana is, and how addictive it is. Most of the people I know personally that have gone to rehab were FORCED to go. It doesn't destroy families and kill people by drunk driving like alcohol, which is completely legal, mind you.

This whole 'abovetheinfluence' weed is terrible, b.s. needs to stop.

 

[stillscared123]

I never said it does that for everyone...just me. how is that propaganda? it was my honest personal experience. No need to get defensive...I was just sharing my story..

I disagree with that whole campaign too. I disagree with the war on drugs and think marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.

But it also causes extreme paranoia and panic attacks in some people. Its not for everyone. And for some people it can be a really big problem. People experience all drugs differently. I don't think its fair for you to say some people were "forced to go to rehab" for it. How do you know? I've had friends who have told me they really want to quit but can't.

I've been on both ends of the spectrum. Its not a panacea. At the end of the day it is still a drug.

 

[Ali1157]

Sharky,
I really do not appreciate your tone and minimizing my opinion and experiences that I have the RIGHT to have and have the RIGHT to voice the reasons why, just as you do.

Do not tell me what I can and cannot advocate.

It's a free country and a subject where both of our opinions are valued because its a debatable drug not one that has been proven unaddictive.

So I'm going to "Propaganda" that I don't think it should be taken so lightly as ... "a tv show" and can have physical addictions such as not being able to sleep without it, which can lead to a long term dependency . And yes all addictive behaviors stem from something else, whatever if that is a disease or learnt ways to cope.

I said what I had to say and I said my reasons. This is a DISCUSSION FORUM not a I'M RIGHT AND YOUR WRONG forum

And I would like to say that I never said that "weed was completely awful" or "easily abused", please don't twist my words.

I actually like weed and am not completely against it, I think it has really beneficial medical uses. And I don't think it is easily abused. But I do think it can be abused with long term use, where you will develop a mental than physical dependency upon it. As well, everyone will have a different reaction to it not all good no matter how many stems there are just like any drug. I never said I was against medical marijuana but I do think people should be aware based on my opinion and experiences that I have seen people grow quite a dependency on it, again not as lightly as "a tv show" but of course nothing like alcohol. But from what I've seen, it still can.

When I say I don't think people who are unstable psychologically should do it, that's because they are more at risk to develop addictive behaviors. If you don't have an addictive behavior problem and need it for physical uses, I think by all means do it! But just so that awareness for people is there that it isn't completely safe, just like any drug, and it can be developed into a dependant manner.

And I don't think you should act like because you've done a bunch of different drugs and had friends FORCED that all of a suddenly gives you superiority and act like you know better.

I've done just the same drugs and yes I personally was FORCED to go to rehab. But I don't think that matters that much, lots of people who have experiences with drugs all have different opinions.

I THINK what matters is giving people my personal opinion based on my experiences. JUST what this forum asks us to do and I will give it without feeling belittled by another opinion that is not completely right or wrong as my own.