Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder

The Use of Cannabis as a Mood Stabilizer in Bipolar Disorder:

Anecdotal Evidence and the Need for Clinical Research

Lester Grinspoon, M.D. & James B. Bakalar

Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Volume 30 (2), April - June 1998, pp. 171-177.

Abstract- The authors present case histories indicating that a number of patients find cannabis (marihuana) useful in the treatment of their bipolar disorder. Some used it to treat mania, depression, or both. They stated that it was more effective than conventional drugs, or helped relieve the side effects of those drugs. One woman found that cannabis curbed her manic rages; she and her husband have worked to make it legally available as a medicine. Others described the use of cannabis as a supplement to lithium (allowing reduced consumption) or for relief of lithium's side effects. Another case illustrates the fact that medical cannabis users are in danger of arrest, especially when children are encouraged to inform on parents by some drug prevention programs. An analogy is drawn between the status of cannabis today and that of lithium in the early 1950s, when its effect on mania had been discovered but there were no controlled studies. In the case of cannabis, the law has made such studies almost impossible, and the only available evidence is anecdotal. The potential for cannabis as a treatment for bipolar disorder unfortunately cannot be fully explored in the present social circumstances.

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[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is based in part on materials that appear in the revised and expanded edition of the authors' book, Marihuana, The Forbidden Medicine, republished in 1997 by Yale University Press, Newhaven and London. While the interviews have previously appeared in print, they provide a reference point for the authors' discussion of cannabis’ potential role in the treatment of bipolar disorder as it appears in this theme issue. In their revised and expanded book, Grinspoon and Bakalar discuss a wide range of what they refer to as "Common Medical Uses" and” Less Common Medical Uses" for cannabis. The former include treatment for the nausea and vomiting of cancer chemotherapy, glaucoma, epilepsy, the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis, paraplegia and quadriplegia, the weight loss syndrome of AIDS, chronic pain, migraine, rheumatic diseases, pruritus, PMS, menstrual cramps and labour pains, depression and other mood disorders. The latter include treatment for asthma, insomnia, antimicrobial effects, topical anaesthetic effects, anti-tumour effects, dystonias, adult ADD, schizophrenia, systemic sclerosis, Crohn's disease, diabetic gastro paresis, pseudo tumour cerebri, tinnitus, violence, PTSD, phantom limb pain, alcoholism and other addictions, terminal illness and aging.]

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In bipolar or manic-depressive disorder, major depression alternates with uncontrollable elation, or mania. Symptoms of depression include loss of interest and pleasure in life, sadness, irrational guilt, inability to concentrate, appetite loss, lethargy and chronic fatigue. Manic symptoms include sleeplessness, tirelessness (until exhaustion leads to a breakdown), and recklessly gregarious and expansive behaviour, which sometimes turns to irritability, rage and paranoid delusions. Bipolar disorder is treated mainly with lithium salts and anti-convulsant drugs, which can have serious side effects. Thirty percent to 40% of patients with bipolar disorder are not consistently helped by or cannot tolerate standard medications. In the course of the authors' studies of the medical uses of cannabis (Grinspoon & Bakalar 1997), a number of sufferers were discovered who believed marihuana to be more effective than conventional anti-manic drugs, or who used it to relieve the side effects of lithium.

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70 year old cerebral palsy sufferer harrassed by NSW Police

This is just disgusting the way the Australian government treats its DISABLED  and ELDERLY citizens. 

Legalize Medical Cannabis NOW

The HEMP Embassy

Moms for Marijuana (Yes, You Read That Right)

The movement to legalize marijuana has spawned it's fair share of off-beat organizations. But few have been as controversial as Moms for Marijuana, a growing group founded by a pain-crippled mom in Idaho. Pot has helped relieve some of her endless agonies. But what will it do to her two kids?

Starting an international movement to promote the benefits of cannabis was never Serra Frank’s intention when, in 2005, she created a simple MySpace page.

Read full article here: moms for marijuana

Australian Medical Cannabis Network

This website is dedicated to Australians who live with fear and persecution simply from choosing to gain benefit from members of the Cannabis genus. It is also dedicated to exposing the social segregation, discrimination, slavery and supremacy policies known as Licit vs Illicit Drug Policies. 

"To alleviate suffering for those who suffer acutely or chronically is justice.  To force your choice on someone in favour of their own is slavery".

Mullaway Cannabis Treaty

On the 23 of August we will be going to NSW Parliament House to hand over our terms for a treaty on cannabis.

A treaty will be drawn up and presented to the Secretary of Health as it is the Health Department that control the Growing and Possession of cannabis in NSW for medical purposes. We will be asking that person to discuss a treaty. With the help and support of the Hemp Embassy we will be asking everyone to come down and support this.

Bring a joint or we will be dispensing cannabis tincture free of charge to all who bring a letter from their doctor stating they have an illness cannabis is known to treat.

We will also be asking the NSW Health Minister to issue a Card protecting patients from harassment. This should have been done a long time ago in accordance with the TGA Special Access Scheme.

If they are unwilling to provide this medicine they cannot stop you from providing your own. This is in Law.

If the Secretary of Health will not talk, or if for some reason they do not exist, as has been implied in some correspondence, then we will be going straight to the NSW High Court. A letter of Notice has been sent to the NSW Health Department advising action will be taken on that day.

It is time to stand up and show we have the courage. Not only to help ourselves but to help others less fortunate. Lets help them have a quality of life they deserve.

Lets sit down and have a smoke or a cookie or even a home made tincture – whatever you like. Lets sit down and actually talk about the end of the 100 year war.

Anthony D Bower, Director & Founder Mullaways Medical Cannabis Pty Ltd.  http://www.mullawaysmedicalcannabis.com.au/

Federal Government in Bed with Big Pharma on Marijuana?

The federal government continues to persecute people for using “medical marijuana,” claiming that “marijuana” has no medical value.

This is one of the biggest lies ever sold to the American public via the use of billions of dollars to spreading lies and rumors about an herb.

The proper name for this herb is cannabis.

Two species, indica and sativa, are used as medicine.

Within these two species there are as many strains as there are of roses and heirloom tomatoes, each of which may work better than others for certain illnesses.

Since 1996, increasing numbers of Californians have discovered that cannabis is a whole herbal remedy that treats autoimmune diseases like lupus and multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, HIV and AIDS, anxiety, migraines, insomnia, bi-polar disorders and more.

The plant can be smoked, vaporized, eaten, and its leaves can be juiced and drunk raw, all to good medicinal effect.

And it can be used without getting “high.”

One reason that this herb can treat so many different illnesses is that it contains at least 61 different cannabinoids, chemical compounds that are naturally produced by the human body. Many illnesses now appear to be cannabinoid deficiencies, which can be treated with phyto (plant-produced)-cannabinoids, much as estrogen deficiencies can be eased with phyto-estrogens.

But cannabinoids are not the only important medicinal compounds; the whole natural herb also produces other compounds, e.g., terpenes and flavonoids, which also add to the medicinal effect of the cannabinoids.In 2003, employees of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services were awarded (and then assigned to the U.S. Government) U.S. Patent No. 6,630,507 on cannabinoids as anti-oxidants and neuro-protectants.

This patent actually lists autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, HIV and AIDS and more as illnesses that can be treated by cannabinoids.

Now that the government holds the patent of cannabinoids as medically valuable, it can license such patent to Big Pharma to begin making synthetic cannabinoids and profiting by selling them to sick people at pharmaceutical drug prices. Big Pharma has already profited from whole herbal cannabis being made illegal by the federal government.

Big Pharma has been allowed to produce (in China) synthetic THC.

THC is one of the cannabinoids that helps control nausea, and at one point synthetic THC, “Marinol,” was selling for $250 per pill (if you had no insurance).

But sick people who’ve been able to compare whole herbal cannabis with Marinol almost always prefer the natural herb.

It works better, and smoking it is a better delivery system for nauseated patients who can’t keep food or oral medications down. And it can be less expensive, since Californians can legally grow cannabis for their own or a loved one’s medical use.

Once you know the big picture and where the profits lie, it becomes clear that one reason the federal government continues to lie about the medicinal value of this plant – a plant which many, many people could grow like zucchini in their backyards – is to protect the potential profits that Big Pharma will lose as people recognize the value of cannabis as not only a natural, whole herbal remedy for many illnesses, but also as a natural cancer preventative and cancer cure.

Research has now shown that whole herbal cannabis – especially the THC in “entourage” with the other cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids – causes cancer cells to commit “autophagy.”

That means cancerous cells self-destruct while leaving healthy, noncancerous cells unharmed.

And since the pharmaceutical industry makes some 40 percent of its profits from cancer-related pharmaceutical medications, the ready availability of a plant that can prevent and cure cancer is a very scary prospect for Big Pharma.

That, no doubt, is one reason that the pharmaceutical industry has made sure that there are two paid lobbyists for each Congress person and each Senator in Washington, D.C.

Prescription medications are now the second-leading cause of death in the U.S; cannabis has never killed anyone.

Natural remedies versus synthetic chemicals? Everyone should have the freedom to choose, and in California, because of Prop. 215, we do have that right.

Please contact Police Minister Rob Johnson

Western Australian citizens and Australian citizens alike need to send as many emails as possible to the Hon Police Minister Rob Johnson showing their dissatisfaction against the horrible new laws he wishes to implement that could see mere cannabis users doing hard jail time. Seriously we cannot let this become the norm in Australia people please smokers and non-smokers alike its all about our freedom.

Contact details are below here:

Hon. Robert (Rob) Frank Johnson MLA JP
Minister for Police; Emergency Services; Road Safety, Leader of the House

House: Legislative Assembly Party: Liberal Party Electorate: Hillarys

Electorate Office:... Suite 2, Endeavour House, (Corner Endeavour Road and Banks Avenue) Hillarys WA 6025 Ph: (08) 9307 8311 Fax: (08) 9307 8315 Email: rob.johnson@mp.wa.gov.au Ministerial Office: 20th Floor Governor Stirling Tower 197 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Ph: 9222 9211 Fax: 9321 6003 Email: Minister.Johnson@dpc.wa.gov.au

 

Medicinal Cannabis and its Impact on Human Health • NIMBIN TELEVISION

http://nimbintelevision.net/1298

In this myth shattering, information packed documentary, learn from physicians and leading researchers about medicinal Cannabis and its’ demonstrated effects on human health.
Topics include:

*What the consensus is from over 15,000 scientific and medical trials

*What conditions have been proven to benefit from medical marijuana

*Its historical use as medicine dating back over 5,300 years

*Methods of delivery and their different advantages

*Government sponsored studies intended to show Marijuana having negative effects that yielded the exact opposite results

*Common myths about negative effects of Marijuana and what the research really says about these topics.

This game-changing movie presents the most comprehensive synopsis to date of the real science surrounding the world’s most controversial plant.

All videos can be viewed here:

http://nimbintelevision.net/1298

W.A Citizens feel the heat under new Cannabis laws

MAXIMUM fines for possessing small amounts of cannabis will increase more than 10 times when new Western Australian drug laws come into force on August 1.

After 2 1/2 years of promising to get tough on marijuana users, dealers and growers, the Liberal-National Government's "war on drugs" is about to begin.

The penalty for possessing less than 30g of cannabis will jump from a $100 fine to a maximum of $2000 and the possibility of two years in jail.

The penalty for growing up to two marijuana plants is a $200 fine, but that will jump to a maximum $2000 fine and prosecution with the prospect of two years behind bars for growing any number of plants.

And the penalty for businesses caught selling smoking implements to children will increase from $25,000 to a possible $120,000 and two years jail.

"We are declaring war on drugs and this is just the beginning," Police Minister Rob Johnson, pictured left, told The Sunday Times yesterday.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-government-readies-for-pot-shot/comments-e6frg14c-1226095864452 

HEMP Party of Australia

Welcome to the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party of Australia.

On 17 June 2010 the delegate determined that the party’s application had passed its initial consideration for registration and the application was advertised for public objection on 23 June 2010. The issue of writs on 19 July 2010 for the federal elections meant that no further action could be taken on this application until the final return of all outstanding writs on 17 September 2010. No objections to the registration of the HEMP Party were received.

The delegate of the Australian Electoral Commission determined that the HEMP Party should be registered under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

I am a proud registered member, Are you?

http://australianhempparty.com/

Check out this site Legalise Cannabis Australia

I found this website today. Its Australian and packed full of useful information a good site. I suggest kick back with some green and have a good look I did.

www.legalisecannabis.org.au/

 "This website has only ever had intentions of pressing for medical marijuana legalisation in Australia to undo the wrongs of prohibition upon individual medical marijuana users. We believe that marijuana growers that sell it should be given a license and allowed to continue their business which benefits users, society and allows them to continue to make money like alcohol shops, regulated."

Dr Good Bud

http://www.legalisecannabis.org.au/ 

‪WEED FACTS YOU MUST KNOW!‬‏

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Marijuana Does Not Raise Lung Cancer Risk - FOX News

People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.

Boomers Reaching Cancer Age

The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years.

“People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says.

A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in.

All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status.

The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.

While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.

The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all.

The THC Connection

Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the inhaled smoke in their lungs longer.

So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancer risk?

The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke.

Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.

In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke.

The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite.

While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the very weak association was probably due to chance.

Cancer risk among cigarette smokers was not influenced by whether or not they also smoked marijuana.

“We saw no interaction between marijuana and tobacco, and we certainly would not recommend that people smoke marijuana to protect themselves against cancer,” he says.

Related Stories

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• Study: Girls Smoking Marijuana, Drinking More than Boys
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• Marijuana-Like Drug Increases Brain Cells, Relieves Depression
• Body's Pot-Like Chemicals May Help Curb Pain

By Salynn Boyles, reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

SOURCES: American Thoracic Society 102nd International Conference, San Diego, May 23, 2006. Donald Tashkin, MD, professor of medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles. Robert Melamede, PhD, molecular biologist, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. WebMD Medical News: “Pot Smoke: Less Carcinogenic Than Tobacco?”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196678,00.html#ixzz1RHN8o4qt