Marijuana and mental health: Don’t roll up a cannabis to destress!

Suffering from anxiety and depression? Well, even these reasons are not enough to enjoy cannabis which may have side-effects.

By: Sukriti Shahi | | Updated: October 29, 2019 5:03 pm

Cannabis may be therapeutic for people suffering from menatl health issues but have several side-effects. © Shutterstock

According to a recently published study in The Lancet Psychiatry, it’s mentioned that no matter how many people advocate the use of cannabis for bettering mental health, its health risk outweighs its benefits. Though, the risk factor is high, it’s still prescribed for people suffering from a mental health issue and unfortunately, the demand is expected to grow. Experts believe that this finding is important for countries where the medical use of cannabis is permitted. Researchers who’re behind the finding say that there’s not enough evidence to prove medical cannabis efficacy and whatever little proof is there, it’s too little to draw lines around its benefits.

The reality behind cannabis use

With this, experts also believe that it’s important for the countries to know its limitations where it’s already legal. People who are prescribed cannabis should be careful. They must go for regular monitoring to know the benefits and ill-effects, if any. During this research, team members found that people with chronic diseases who also suffer from anxiety or depression showed better symptoms which could also be because of relief in pain. Therefore, they believe no direct connection can be formed between cannabis and mental health.

Side-effects of cannabis

Cannabis cause cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) if it is taken through mouth for a long period of time. CHS leads to severe feeling of nausea and vomiting that’s supposedly not curable with anti-nausea medicines. While continuous use can CHS, there’s no evidence that using it for shorter time period is safe.
There’s a specific cannabis extract spray. When used, it may also cause headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, nausea and feeling of paranoid. Though it’s available in some countries but it’s labelled as a prescription-only product.
When cannabis is inhaled, the smoke can be harmful in more than one way. It can cause breathing problems like wheezing and coughing. There have been few reports that say that smoking cannabis cause air cavities in lungs. It can cause chest pressure, difficulty in breathing and soreness. It might also increase appetite, blood pressure and heart rate. If you already smoke cigarette or are overweight, smoking cannabis can put you at an increased risk of having a heart ailment.
Some reports also suggest that rather than helping in benefiting mental health, smoking cannabis may result in impairment of mental functioning. It may also aggravate condition of people with bipolar disorder. It may make manic symptoms worse. In fact, research has found that cannabis use can increase the occurrence of depression, psychotic and anxiety symptoms. It goes on to explain that young adults who smoke cannabis to treat anxiety and depression are more likely to get dependent on it.
Smoking cannabis may also increase the diabetes risk. It makes it difficult to control blood sugar levels. Smoking can also make symptoms of sclerosis worse.

Published : October 29, 2019 4:43 pm | Updated:October 29, 2019 5:03 pm

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