Re mental illness and cannabis. There’s a theory that heavy cannabis use can cause schizophrenia, but since schizophrenia is so poorly understood, that theory has never been definitively proven. It’s a “chicken and egg” situation, does the cannabis cause the mental illness or is the user using the cannabis to alleviate their symptoms (“self-medicate”)?
In Canada the rules and guidelines for medical cannabis discriminate against mental illnesses. Doctors are advised not to prescribe cannabis for this type of illness. However, cannabis has been shown to help patients with bipolar disorder, particularly those with chronic bipolar depression. I am one of those patients.
I suffered from non-stop depression, anxiety and sleeplessness for decades. I attempted suicide numerous times, starting before I started kindergarten. I used alcohol to deal with symptoms and also as a slow form of suicide. I got sober but the depression persisted. Every antidepressant and mood stabilizer was tried without success. Finally I decided on my own to try cannabis to help me sleep. I went through a short period of mania, but then my symptoms stabilized. I haven’t been depressed since, though I’ve experienced a couple of hypomanic episodes caused by stress in my life.
However, I’ve had to learn some new skills to manage the paranoia and hallucinations that I sometimes experience with cannabis. They are similar to the skills any bipolar patient would use to keep their moods under control. I take the smallest dose that works for my symptoms. I take it in a safe, comfortable place (my bedroom, just before bed). I manage my thoughts, stopping thoughts about the daytime or thoughts about decisions I’ve made, and only focusing on pleasant, dreamy thoughts. If I experience a hallucination I actively check to see if it’s really there, and I remind myself that it’s the cannabis. So far I’ve been on daily medical cannabis for three years and haven’t experienced a relapse of my bipolar depression.
