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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dennis on December 31, 2000, at 0:48:29
does anyone have any opinions about marijuana as a antidepressant or a medicine, I personaly love the plant and think it should be legal but I just want to know any opinions you might have about this drug. If it was accepted in society and you could go down to the store and buy it legally would you? would you stop taking all these antidepressants and just start getting stoned all the time, and if you did would that be wrong or harmful to your life or is that just morally wrong? I dont know how this looks to you, you might just think it rediculous altogether but I am posting it anyway.
Posted by r.anne on December 31, 2000, at 2:56:06
In reply to cannabis, posted by dennis on December 31, 2000, at 0:48:29
I think it can cause lung cancer worse than regular tobacco. If they use it for those who are dying of cancer, it might be okay because they are dying anyways (and I mean the terminal ones). It is not an antidepressant-it may be a depressant but I'm not sure on that. It causes many people to have more anxiety. I know it makes some laugh a lot which could also be good for the terminally ill. It has a lot of bad effects like harming reproductiveness.
Posted by S. Howard on January 1, 2001, at 4:12:14
In reply to cannabis, posted by dennis on December 31, 2000, at 0:48:29
I don't smoke marijuana myself but don't think it's any more harmful than liquor, although certainly alcohol has ruined countless lives. Still, I would not wish to live in a country where I was forbidden to have a glass of wine.I would not object to legalization, although I think the same standards should apply (i.e. one should not drive or go to work stoned). The fact that murderers are paroled after a few years because our prisons are overcrowded with pot-smokers makes me physically ill.
Twenty years ago, I visited a place called the Milky Way in Amsterdam. Behind a store counter, there were glass jars of marijuana in every variety. After your purchase was weighed on a scale, you could buy papers or pipes or bongs. Then you could go to another room, if you desired, and smoke your purchase. There was an open kitchen in a back room and to this day, I remember looking into a huge kettle simmering on the stove and inside there was bright pink soup. (I didn't have any.)
I have no idea if the Milky Way is still there,
but I'm sure that cannibis is still legal in Amsterdam. This might be a dream vacation for you,
if you care to save up for it.Happy Trails-
Gracie
Posted by JohnL on January 1, 2001, at 17:20:48
In reply to Re: cannabis » dennis, posted by r.anne on December 31, 2000, at 2:56:06
> I think it can cause lung cancer worse than regular tobacco. If they use it for those who are dying of cancer, it might be okay because they are dying anyways (and I mean the terminal ones). It is not an antidepressant-it may be a depressant but I'm not sure on that. It causes many people to have more anxiety. I know it makes some laugh a lot which could also be good for the terminally ill. It has a lot of bad effects like harming reproductiveness.
There are countless versions of cannabis. Some give a body type sedative high, a couch potato kind of thing, or great for bedtime. Others are just the opposite, with a cerebral pick-you-up kind of high, good for artists or creativeness. And there are a zillion hybrids combining both the sedative and the uplifting characteristics in various degrees.
I think it definitely has a place as an insomnia cure, assuming it's the sedative kind. It also could be a motivational cure for certain types of depression, assuming it was the inspirational type of cannabis. And it has a place as an aphrodisiac to overcome lack of desire and overcome impotence. I believe cannabis holds strong medicinal value in psychotherapy, used on an as-needed basis. But again, it's hit and miss to find the right strain of cannabis to get the desired result. The wrong type could just exaggerate existing problems. Tolerance builds quickly for many people though, so if it was used like a medicine it would be best to do so just once a day and not overindulge.
Of course it could also actually cause depression with chronic heavy use. A couple decades ago that happened to me. And during those times when there isn't any available, look out for a serious depression.
The real problem is that when one buys a supply they never really know what type of cannabis they're getting. It might be the heart-pounding paranoid type, when maybe the person was hoping for the relaxing anti-anxiety type instead. The differences between different strains are dramatic. Not all cannabis is the same. They are amazingly different. And of course, if one gets caught then their previous problems all of a sudden seem rather tame in comparison to the jailcell.
I think cannabis has its place. But it's not easy. One must first isolate the strain of cannabis that suits them, and then find a way to grow just that one strain for an endless supply, and never get caught.
I know someone who visited Amsterdam. He said they purchased samples of pot at a coffeehouse, sat on the outdoor patio smoking it, and even had strolling police officers passing by wave and give a nod. Incredible how it's so safe in one country and yet so criminal in another.
From my own experience decades ago, I think cannabis smokers are the safest drivers on the road. Just the opposite of alcohol drinkers on the road. Cannabis drivers tend to be much more careful and drive at or below the speed limit. There's a certain paranoia factor with certain types of smoke that tends to keep the driver occupied intensely on the road.
Just some rambling thoughts on cannabis. It's been many years since I smoked, and I still miss it. I know from experience that if finding the right prescription drug is hard, finding the right pot is even harder. It's just not reliable, safe, or legal.
John
Posted by dennis on January 2, 2001, at 21:09:50
In reply to Re: cannabis, posted by JohnL on January 1, 2001, at 17:20:48
Experiments with stoned rats suggest the drug reduces the amount of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in the amygdala. Excess secretion of CRF is associated with abnormalities in the HPLA axis and depression. The rebound surge of CRF on ceasing cannabis-use is associated with increased vulnerability to stress and a withdrawal-reaction, arguably one good reason not to stop in the first instance. A dysfunctional response to stress, linked to a chronically overractive HPLA axis, causes anxiety disorders and depression.
This is something I found on the web, it might help explain how cannabis can have antidepressant effects and why it can relieve stress, do you know of any other drug that reduces the amount of corticotrophin-releasing factor in the amygdala?
Posted by dennis on January 3, 2001, at 23:45:39
In reply to Re: cannabis » dennis, posted by r.anne on December 31, 2000, at 2:56:06
> I think it can cause lung cancer worse than regular tobacco.
I dont think there has ever been a single case of lung cancer caused by cannabis alone and cannabis does not constrict the airways as tobacco does.
If they use it for those who are dying of cancer, it might be okay because they are dying anyways (and I mean the terminal ones).
Life is your right, were only gonna get one, you cant tell people what they can and cannot do in there life, cannabis is a victimless crime, why wait until just before death to use it, cause the government says no
It is not an antidepressant-it may be a depressant but I'm not sure on that.
Have you ever used marijuana? Have you ever read even one document on marijuana? that might be why your not sure
It causes many people to have more anxiety.
Only if your an advocate of the war on drugs.
I know it makes some laugh a lot which could also be good for the terminally ill.
Yes we should only laugh a lot if we are about to die soon.
It has a lot of bad effects like harming reproductiveness.
Wrong again, but I didnt say only people who knew something about cannabis should respond, I said anybody, oh well.
Posted by Cousin Eddie on January 7, 2001, at 23:33:48
In reply to Re: cannabis, posted by S. Howard on January 1, 2001, at 4:12:14
I've smoked a lot of pot-I went from daily tokes for six years to nothing overnight, and I haven't smoked any for seven years. Piece of cake. I quit a fourteen year (heavy) tobacco addiction eight months ago without a slip. Tobacco was ten million percent more difficult to leave behind.
I don't miss tobacco a whit, but I've mentioned to my pharmacologist more than once that my cocktail of celexa, clonazepam, adderall, and wellbutrin could be augmented to perfection by occasional pot smoking. Two things though: like JohnL said, you have to have confidence in the quality and mellowness of the pot, and you have to treat it with the same respect you would any other med-including knowledge of the course of the dose (half-life), disciplined timing of the doses, etc. This is only possible if it's legalized, which it has to be because it has so much to offer, IF GOOD QUALITY IS UPHELD. Too few people treat cannabis with respect simply because it is a forbidden pleasure.
Posted by stjames on January 9, 2001, at 0:59:55
In reply to Re: cannabis, posted by Cousin Eddie on January 7, 2001, at 23:33:48
A state or 2 is expected to hear legislation this year to decriminalize small amounts and make provisions for those who have medical need.
James
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