Cannabis and Mental Health: Cause or Cure?
- Research on cannabis and its effect on mental disorders is complicated by the fact that it is not just one general substance.
- Zach Walsh spends a lot of time exploring the connections between cannabis use, mental health, and addiction
In Canada, where cannabis legalization is slowly but surely approaching, interest in its medical use is growing, especially in the area of mental disorders. Perhaps also because it is a problem that affects every fifth Canadian.
Do people with mental disorders use cannabis to alleviate their symptoms, or do they use it because they suffer from a mental disorder?
The reality is that besides tobacco and alcohol, cannabis is the most common psychoactive substance used by the general public and it is therefore inevitable that the potential overlap of cannabis and mental disorders will lead to an increase in questions for doctors.
And yet, most patients share a similar experience: When they ask their doctor if using cannabis might help with their mental disorder, this question is usually quickly dismissed. Cannabis carries the stigma of a forbidden drug and it will take a long time to get rid of it. And so, when it comes to cannabis and mental disorder treatment, there are people who compare this situation to a chicken and egg puzzle. Do people with mental disorders use cannabis to alleviate their symptoms, or do they use it precisely because they suffer from a mental disorder?
Because research in this area is minimal and doctors are often reluctant to share, information is unofficial and mainly obtained from patient testimonies.
Toronto photographer and activist Andy Lee uses cannabis along with talk therapy to treat depression and anxiety. He discovered this combination after trying antidepressants and finding they did not help him.
His doctor clearly indicated that he was against treating mental disorders with cannabis, so Lee decided to find another doctor who had no problem prescribing it. "I know it's a sensitive topic and taboo, but it helped me," he says.
Lee is now involved in advocating for cannabis and mental health.
"I know it's a sensitive topic, but it helped me." – Andy Lee on treating depression with cannabis
Despite finding a treatment that helps him, he admits there are definitely risks when cannabis is used excessively. "It's a healing plant, but it shouldn't be abused and taken for granted," he says. "It's like antibiotics, the more the body gets used to them, the less positive effect they bring."
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