Bipolar And Pot – Can It Help?
I read a rather interesting yet rather controversial article headed along the lines of bipolar treated with smoking pot (marijuana). Bipolar and pot together I hear you cry, yes it seems so.
A new study reveals that bipolar may be treated with marijuana, which can lesson the symptoms of the high and lows. We know that other health conditions can be made easier when you are smoking pot but this new study may bring more controversy its way.
This illegal herb has always raised concerns for mental health issues, we are often told that it brings with it the potential to develop paranoia, anxiety and panic attacks.
The risks of marijuana are high, we all know the dangers, it reduces learning ability and research has shown that when tested on animals structural damage to portions of the brain essential to memory and learning were damaged.
The new findings found that bipolar sufferer’s mental health state was improved when smoking marijuana compared to those who had never smoked it.
Researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital on Long Island looked at 200 participants — 150 of whom had not smoked marijuana in the past versus 50 who had used the drug at some point. All participants experienced onset of bipolar disorder at a standard age, consistently.
Through a series of tests, they determined that participants who had used marijuana in the past showed improved neurocognitive performance compared with those with bipolar disorder who had never used marijuana.
The results of the research on Bipolar disorder and marijuana were published in the online edition of the journal Psychiatry Research.
I am not in the least bit interested to put this test into practice personally and I cannot see my shrink suggesting I start smoking pot.
Is there any truth that pot can be good for sufferers of Bipolar?
Patients with bipolar I disorder performed better in neurocognitive assessments when they had a history of marijuana use.
While some reports indicate that cannabis can lessen the severity of mania and depression symptoms, others indicate cannabis can trigger mania and has been noted to have “a detrimental and potentially causative role in the development of psychosis.” From wikipedia
Read more about Bipolar treated with marijuana
