Posted by Joel on August 19, 1998, at 17:00:16
In reply to Re: Zoloft & Marijuana, posted by Toby on August 10, 1998, at 17:46:21
> Damn!! Levi has some great points. Go back and read his posting several times. And give it some strong thought.
> From my pont of view as a doc, Levi is right. I will never endorse marijuana or any other drug as a good thing. Let me tell you why. If we lived 500 years ago in Columbia and chewed coca leaves while we worked in the fields, or were a primitive culture using psychedelics during religious events to get in touch with the higher spirit plane or something, mind altering substances would be fine. However, in our culture, drugs are not used that way and 99% of the time when somebody says they are, it is crap. It's just an excuse that's being used to justify continued use in the face of ongoing problems with work, family, health, the law, etc. If it was really being used in a spiritual way, use would not be daily, it would be maybe every 6 months at the most (that's how the ancients used psychedelics). And even in ancient cultures, if someone misused the substances, they were thrown out of the society, so that isn't a modern invention. Today, the natural plants are adulterated with chemicals, refined beyond imagination and used in a haphazard way that bears no resemblance to "responsible" use. OK. That's it for the soap box.
> Now to your question: As far as I know, there is no "interaction" between any of the antidepressants and marijuana. By "interaction" I mean that the two won't mix and give a bad side effect or make the Zoloft "toxic" to your system. Now, that's as far as I know; these newer medications have only been out about 6 years or so and no one knows what may show up 10 years from now. One thing that is scientific fact: marijuana has properties that act like a depressant (like alcohol does) and can deplete the brain of norepinephrine and serotonin. Getting those chemical messed up can lead to depression, anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, panic, and psychosis (sometimes). When you take an antidepressant along with frequent use of pot, the pot basically prevents the antidepressant from working, no matter how much you increase the dose of the antidepressant (see my posting above listed under "Prozac and Body Weight" or something like that -- the same principle applies if you are taking the Zoloft for anxiety or OCD).
> My basic advice is to listen to Levi: stop the pot if you are having continued difficulties even on the prescribed medication(s). It will take several months for the pot to get out of your fatty tissue so that you can see what your real baseline is. Once there, the medications can be adjusted to the proper doses. If you feel good, maybe you will be inclined to choose not to return to pot. If you do go back and the bad feelings return, get a clue and stay off the pot for good. And think of it as your choice, not being forced to by the establishment.
>
Thanks to both Levi & Toby. I really appreciate the time you spent to share your knowledge. Very good advice.
poster:Joel
thread:214
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/328.html