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6/6/2005
While some studies say that people
with mental illness are more likely to use marijuana, a new study says
that the drug may have medical benefits in treating conditions like
bipolar disorder, the
BBC reported June 3.
Anecdotal reports from people with bipolar disorder suggest that
marijuana could alleviate some symptoms of the disease, according to
researchers from the University of Newcastle in the U.K. The authors
said that THC could help patients with bipolar disorder avoid the manic
highs and depressive lows associated with the disease, while cannabidiol,
another active ingredient in marijuana, has calming properties.
The authors suggested that an oral cannabis spray now being marketed by
GW Pharmaceuticals be used in a clinical trial for possible treatment of
mental illness. However, they also noted that marijuana use could cause
mental-health problems and increase the risk of mental illness among
those who are genetically prone to such diseases.
"If you use this mixture in the right dose and the right proportions,
you might very well be able to help people with bipolar disorder,
whatever way they are veering," said lead study author Heather Ashton.
"We think it might be useful to patients to try, as an add-on not as a
single drug, a known mixture of certain cannabinoids ... People who take
cannabis for relief of these symptoms do not need the heavy doses that
recreational users take. We all agree that smoking cannabis, especially
when young, in large quantities is associated with mental illness. That
is quite different from using it medicinally."
The study appears in the
Journal of
Psychopharmacology.
Source:
Join Together
Online.
Join Together is a project of the
Boston University School of Public Health |
