Marijuana

Lol what a druggy pro! Lol

Every drug, whether legal or illegal, is either an upper or a downer! Alcohol and weed are downers! Yes you may initially forget what you are depressed about ("drinking/smoking away your problems") but the downer part is that once you stop drinking or smoking you will still be depressed. So, everyone that has said that dope helped you with depression was mistaken. Yes it helped you while you were drunk or high but it came back. If something were to help your depression, you would take it and be from then on depressed less or not at all, therefore, weed did not help your depression it just made all of you not care about your problems temporarily! When something helps you, you increasingly change for the better not up/down up/down up/down as with smoking or not...

My last response was to jiltedheart, tawnie, and fat family.

I still disagree, tis okay

Me too

I'm too lazy to read three pages worth of long posts, so i'm not sure if this has been stated yet.

First of all, marijuana is: an intoxicant, stimulant, mild psychedelic and depressant. this is a fact!

second, the effects that it has on people varies a lot from person to person. Where some of my friends get very giggly, get talkative and feel a mood lift, I feel isolated, paranoid, depressed and very intoverted. It's a struggle for me to think of things to say, let along make coherent sentences. Also, generally as users age, they often report the anxiety-producing and uncomfortable effects increase and the euphoria decreases.

Age and how long/how much you smoke has a lot to do with how it makes you feel. I also find that it depends on what type of person you are. If you are naturally a talkative outgoing person, you become more giggly and even more talkative. If you are a shy, perhaps depressed person, it makes you quiet and nervous. This isn't definite, but it's a trend that i've noticed in a lot of people, including myself.

I consider myself very shy and a little lacking in confidence... Or at least I have been for the past three years or so. Coincidently (?) I started smoking pot about three years ago. I personally think that it is one of the reasons that I feel a little depressed now, and when I finally realized how much I hated getting high, I quit. Yup, I just decided to quit a week ago for good. My mood has lifted overall a little bit since then, and i'm hoping that it'll just get better from here on.

I guess my point in all of this is, if pot makes you feel good, and you're okay with yourself doing it, by all means. Just do it in moderation.
If it makes you feel like crap and makes you even more introverted, stay away from it!

Of course, it is your choice... Just make sure you're happy with whatever choice you make.

Smoking chronic does not help with depression at all. I've been bi-polar for 3 years now and I smoke pot pretty much all day everyday (as sad as that sounds) and it does not help. If anything it makes it worse, it makes my depressed days so much worse. It somewhat does help my manic days, it mellows them out.
One more thing, pot does not help with muscle pain, it might help momentarily but it actaully makes the pain more recurrent.

You should add, for me to all those things you just said. Are you telling me, I was hallucinating when weed, lessened the pain of a herniated disk, with associated muscle pain. Everyones own experience does not constitute a medical fact.

You might also be depressed, because like you said, you smoke everyday all day long. You get pertty depressed when your real high and dont want to move, which could lead to boredom and thud depression. You dont even know what sober is, which basically means you arent even high since your always high. You cant even really say it doesnt help your muscle pain being your always smoking, maybe it would hurt twice as much without the pot. Guess youll never know because your a pot head. Obviously i'm not against smoking but your wasting your freakin life by being high all the time. With all drugs there should be moderation and I dont think anyone can argue that.

Well I know if I get down and I smoke I do relax. Get the munchies and can keep a smile. I think some people it helps and some it doesn't.

For myself alot of days its helped me out but I have never imagined things. Just usually laugh and have a good time.

And usually my mind gets taken off the bad things and makes me realize hey life's not so bad.

:d

I quit for a week, a fortnight ago, I had quit for bout 3 months before that, but I started again :/ but anyway, the other week wen I quit, I was waking up loads in the night, nightmares & weird dreams, but I could remember them a lot more clearly, I can hardly ever remember dreams wen im smokin.. I've got bout 3 joints left, which will probably last me til sat morning, then im gona quit again, dont know for how long, at least a week, more than likely longer..

Mj actually helps w/ my anxiety and most internet sites on google sites mj as an anxiety reducing drug

On my last post I said that I had quit for a week an that I had started again.. Well, last sunday morning, I finished off my last eigth, I decided that I am gona quit again for a while, on sunday and monday night I had really bad sleeping problems, on sunday I woke up about 8 times during the night, and on monday night I woke up at 4am and I couldnt get to sleep until 5:30 and on both days I was rather depressed and frustrated.. I reckon that it was withdrawal symptoms, so on tuesday before I went to bed, I took one of my olanzopine tablets which I was prescribed last year when I had a bad patch (just after I started my quiting session for them 3 months) I stoped taking them because my head was fine, the psychiatrist reckons im stil takin em, but my parents an I could see that I was fine without them so I gradually reduced my doesage, but anyway, i'll stop my ramble an get back 2 the point.. I took the olanzapine an it helped me sleep better an calmed my nerves a little throughout wednesday.. Wed night I had one joint (a roll up sized one) that I ponced off my mate, I did it to help my withdrawal, and since then, I havent bought any, and I am gonna quit again.. God knows how long it'll last, but its gonna be a while, I know that.. Thing is, where I had been smokin it everyday, bcos I hadnt been without it for so long, I didnt realise the withdrawal it gave me, so now when I deciided 2 quit on sun I realized an now its a different story.. But anyway, im basically 5 days clean, except for that 1 joint, which I only had to stop the withdrawal so that it gradually gets out of my system.. Anyway, thanks for reading my poinhtless babble.. At least typing this has helped clear my mind.. Cos the way I thought about it is, having a joint is a temporary solution for a long term problem, but if I leave it alone, the problems and withdrawal will eventually go which is an ultimate solution.. To be honest, im really proud of myself that I can quit when I choose, I didnt realise it til now, but yer, bla bla, bla bla.. Im tired now, and typing this has been a bloody mission, been out drinkin, and ive had to correct loads of mistakes, so.. Byyyeeeee

Well, i'll admit I had a smoke here and there over the last 6 months, but a neat thing happened recently I realized, I dont care anymore and i'm completely clean, what a feeling. Been a month now since one night drinking I took one hit of shwag. I still love mj but really want to not have to worry about drug tests on possible jobs. Once I get a new job i'm smoking but never like the old days, just gettin to old for it. Weekends strickly. I love when I travel now i'm not freakin out the whole way worrying about being pulled over and searched. Its awesome, I welcome the coming of adult pot smoking. I now completely understand adult smokers habits, now that I am one.

Ahh, just an update

I think until more is known about mental illness itself it's difficult to isolate the role that any single factor plays. I do know that there is a lot said about cannabis and mental illness by people that neither smoke cannabis nor suffer from mental illness, and I do wonder to myself precisely what gives these people the idea that they are qualified to comment on something that they themselves have never experienced. Then of course there is the use of this umbrella term 'mental illness' to describe a number of conditions ranging from the relatively minor to the life destroying, I don't think that does the cause of debate any favours. To kinda highlight those points I am a cannabis smoker and I suffer from mental illness, bipolar disorder, so I feel qualified to offer an opinion about cannabis and manic depression and depressive illness, but I cannot offer any informed opinion about cannabis and schizophrenia, because I do not suffer from schizophrenia.
I can offer an opinion, but not an informed one - that's kinda my point, there's lots of opinion floating around (much of it wearing the thin guise of scientific research when it is nothing of the sort). My informed opinion regarding cannabis and manic depression/depressive illness is that it generally improves my mood if I am in a depressive phase, but smoking strains with high THC and low CBD.. I do not believe that smoking cannabis hurts my illness. If anything I started smoking to try and find answers for my condition, which I did in the sense that cannabis puts me in a more contemplative frame of mind.

i suffer from anxiety and depression--i don't know if it "helps" depression but, in my experience, as long as you're not smoking 24/7 it definitely helps deal with stress/anxiety. i smoke pretty often and have found it to be really useful. you have to find a good tolerance level for yourself--smoke enough to relax, not too much to where you can't function and get stuff done. if you smoke too much then it's basically like getting drunk-- in the sense that your situation is probably going to be worse the next day (i.e. super stressed because you didn't get anything done the night before). it's also fun to sit back and relax, laugh at tv, etc. i think as long as you're "responsible" then it's all good...but you should be really aware of how it affects your routine, etc. so you can be sure it's not having a negative effect on your lifestyle.

Meg- I'm not judgin', but I think that would be considered 'self medication'

either way, if ya'all still want to debate marijuana, there is a board devoted specifically to that!! Go find it.

We shouldn't use drugs. The rest of the world should. Maybe, it would be a place where we could be seen as normal and we can be seen as human beings again.