Marijuana To Treat and Manage Anxiety

When it comes to mental health, it’s no surprise that many people in the United States are struggling. There has been a huge increase in the amount of people who are regularly seeing a doctor or psychiatrist for diagnosed anxiety or depressive disorders. I myself have both a generalized anxiety disorder and a depressive disorder. Unfortunately, the number of people in our country who are suffering with these afflictions is only increasing. This last year was an awful year for a lot of people due to factors related to the pandemic. Job loss, unemployment, economic uncertainty, and housing strains really hit people hard. It’s no surprise that this caused a lot of mental health problems for people who are just trying to get by.

Prescription medications have become a staple in pharmaceuticals when it comes to treating and managing various anxiety and depression issues for many individuals in our country. However, it is also true that many prescriptions can be hit or miss as far as their effectiveness, and many have some pretty serious side effects. Have you ever thought about using medical marijuana to treat anxiety? Well, millions of people actually use cannabis to treat their anxiety and stress levels on a weekly basis. This treatment method is much more natural than other prescription medications, and could even be cheaper!

While many people have been turning to marijuana as a treatment for their anxiety, it’s also important to note that not all cannabis strains could be right for you. There are over 700 strains of marijuana that each behave a little differently in your body. Since not every state in the United States has legalized medical marijuana up to this point, those of you in a non-legalized state may be out of luck when it comes to buying your cannabis (legally, anyways). However, if you are in a state that has legalized marijuana, then you can definitely apply for a medical marijuana card and locate a dispensary near you! When it comes to picking a strain to use, it’s imperative that you take into consideration professional opinions and do your research. To make things easier, we wanted to provide you with a few of the most popular cannabis strains that people use to treat their anxiety on a regular basis. 

One of the most popular strains is called Granddaddy Purple, which is very heavily used by people looking for an escape from their anxiety. This strain is a hybrid made using two different indica strains called Big Bud and Purple Urkle. Indica is generally more of a common strain when it comes to treating anxiety due to its natural calming and relaxing effects. Granddaddy Purple is also used to treat muscle spasms, insomnia, nausea, and other pain. This strain is really great at bringing your anxiety and stress down to more manageable levels. Maybe you have a lot going on at school or at work (depending on your age).

Stress is not inherently a bad thing, as it can often help us to feel motivated and get things done. However, hyperstress is a bad thing and is the type of stress that leads to anxiety. If you are struggling with anxiety, know that you are not alone and that there is help out there. Using cannabis to treat anxiety is definitely a good option, especially compared to alternative methods that are not necessarily healthy in the long run. Remember that it can be hard to find the right marijuana strain for you, as each person reacts differently to various strains. I hope this article has helped you!

Medications that Don’t Interact Well with CBD

CBD is usually fine with most drugs, especially many of the common ones, however, there are a few you need to watch out for. The most common are the sedatives or opioids, and they usually also include some cancer medications, and other products, which are those that you’ll want to make sure that you’re checking with a doctor before using. 

Why CBD Can Affect medications 

There are a few reasons for this. The first, is the liver metabolization. This is due to the increase impairment of hepatic areas that are sometimes combined with certain drugs, and the ability to desensitize those different cytochromes within the liver can increase the drugs that impact the body, as they don’t normally get metabolized, and aren’t broken down correctly. This can increase the negative results from this. 

The second reason is that the sedative levels of higher dosages of CBD do impact the sedative reasons that other drugs within your CNS and other serotonin receptors and dopamine receptors can as well. It’s also immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory, and it can interfere with some drugs that do the same thing. 

The Drugs that interact 

Using CBD with any sort of opioid especially morphine, buprenorphine, and propoxyphene are definitely not a good thing. This is because it can cause severe respiratory distress, including a coma, depression of the respiration that’s there, and also cell death. It can reduce the need for this, but do not mix them. 

The second thing is immunosuppressives including Leflunomide, since it does create liver problems. Using it with other different medications which can impact the liver also may increase issues with this. 

Corticosteroids including hydrocortisone and prednisolone are also best not mixed, as they inhibit the cytochrome P450 in the liver, and this can actually increase your side effects, since it was not properly metabolized by the liver. 

Certain hormones, including levothyroxine are those that can cause a buildup, and it can cause hyperthyroidism, digestion issues, along with issues of the heart and muscle functions. Some antidepressants, including Prozac, also do interfere directly with CBD and should not be used together. CBD messes with how these are broken down, and it can sometimes cause the drug to be so broken down that it doesn’t offer enough concentrations within the body, or sometimes too much, running the risk for OD, and it ca actually create a lot of sedation, dizziness, and it’s better to just take CBD on its own. 

CBD may also impact ibuprofen, since this can create stomach bleeding, GI  issues and liver problems.  If you’re using this, it can further complicate the problems with the body. 

Any anticoagulants that do increase the blood levels, should be avoided. Warfarin definitely can impact the blood levels along with the effects, getting it to dangerous levels, as this does cause issues with blood clots, the way wounds are healed, and may impact the heart rate. This is due to the fact that CBD inhibits the CYP2C19, which actually causes the transformation of different metabolites, which can lead to possible increase of the risk of stroke, and other such problems too. 

Finally, avoid benzos with this, as it can make the side effects so much more, since the liver isn’t metabolizing this, and the subtherapeutic and other negative effects that happen WITH THIS. CBD is better taken on its own, or to limit the intake of this too. CBD is good but do be mindful of the side effects that come with this, as it can lead to less-than-ideal effects in a person if it does interact.