Marijuana Use Can Affect Mental Health and Stability

 

There are two very strong minds of thinking, when it comes to the health effects of recreational marijuana use: those that consider the drug to be harmless, and those that believe that it is dangerous. The true effects of marijuana use are not widely known, do to a skewing of data and studies that were caused with the "War on Drugs." With so much propaganda being spread about this drug, it became very difficult to separate the truths from the myths. 

Today, the War on Drugs is beginning to slow down, when it comes to marijuana, as more and more States are allowing its usage for medical purposes, and some States actually DE-criminalizing and legalizing its possession. This shift in the policy of marijuana has allowed for its use to be studied more carefully and without bias in recent times. While there is no red flag that has been discovered that marijuana use increases health risks, there has been a definite link discovered between its usage and mental health.

The Positives of Marijuana Use and Mental Health

There actually have been some positive mental health effects from the use of marijuana, particularly those suffering from depression and anxiety. The drug also has seen great results in its use for those with eating disorders, and those that are suffering malnutrition from other diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and more.

The Negatives of Marijuana Use and Mental Health

There are -- of course -- negative effects that marijuana can have on a person's mental health. The good news is that marijuana has not been shown to CAUSE any mental health issues, but has been shown to exacerbate existing mental health issues in some individuals. This is especially the case in those suffering from schizophrenia, where the mild hallucinatory effects of marijuana can severely increase paranoia and psychotic episodes that are already present.

Those suffering from bi-polar disorders also seem to get an increase in the severity of their disease when using marijuana. For a sufferer of bi-polar disorder, the extremes between emotional states becomes increasingly wider and more erratic.

In-short, marijuana use is not going to make you go crazy, but it is a psycho-active drug that will affect existing mental issues in different ways, and may also cause side effects with any medications that you are taking for mental health. Use of marijuana, illicit or in one of its many legal manners, does comes with the risk of affecting existing mental health issues.

Mental Health Issues and Drug Abuse Are Best Treated at the Same Time Through Dual-Diagnosis Treatment

Summit Behavioral Health:

Outpatient Treatment Center – Princeton Junction, New Jersey
4065 Quakerbridge Road
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Office: 609-651-4001
Toll-Free: 855-855-9199

My Addiction Story: From Cocaine to Heroin Overdose and Death

 

By Marie R.

Many recovering drug abusers tell of years of partying, drinking, drugging, and debauchery. My story takes place over the span of a month. In that time span, I went from never doing any drugs or even drinking much, to laying in the emergency room with no pulse...

Of course, it all started at a party. I had drank before, but never even enough to get me buzzed. At this party, I had managed to drink enough to get a buzz -- and I liked the way it felt. I kept drinking more and more, until I soon got the spins and ended up getting sick all over the bathroom floor.

A few days later, I was wanting to feel that feeling of a "buzz" again, so I went to my friend's house. They didn't have any beer, but they did have a marijuana pipe, to which I declined. My friends told me that marijuana was safer than alcohol, and would give me the buzz without the sickness, so I eventually agreed. What I was to learn later, was that this was not marijuana that we were smoking, but some synthetic drug made to mimic marijuana. We smoked all night long, woke up the next morning and continued to get high the rest of the next day.

I never went back home -- my parents thought I was staying with a best friend who they trusted -- and I simply started living on this couch and smoking weed for another week or so.

Then one night came, when we were all smoking this synthetic weed, and someone brought out cocaine. I should have known not to even try the hard stuff, but it was too late. I was high and confident, and wanted to keep getting higher... we did cocaine on and off for two days.

This is the way is stayed for the next several weeks, we had graduated to smoking the cocaine (I did not know at the time that smoke-able cocaine is just Crack-Cocaine). What I also didn't know is that not everyone smoking was just into cocaine. Within a day, the crack was gone, and people began smoking something else to get high... "Opium," the guy said, turned out to be heroin. 

I do not remember much after that, but after a few days of smoking the heroine, I somehow ended up in the hospital. I had overdosed on heroin, had died for several minutes, was able to be revived, and was now an addict with a major problem.

It only took around a month for me to go from a perfectly normal and sober person, to dying of a heroin overdose. The addiction itself took nearly a year's worth of hard work and perseverance to beat.

This is the scary thing about drugs... It is hard to believe that anyone would allow themselves to ruin their lives that much in such a short time, but I am here to tell you that from the mind of an addict, it can take but a split second.

If You Have a Story Similar to Marie's and Need Help With Your Addictions Before It's Too Late, Contact Summit Behavioral Health For Trusted Addiction Recovery Planning:

Summit Behavioral Health
4065 Quakerbridge Road
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Office: 609-651-4001
Toll-Free: 855-855-9199