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The human brain naturally produces and processes compounds closely related to those found in Cannabis sativa, better known as marijuana [see "The Brain's Own Marijuana," by Roger A. Nicoll and Bradley E. Alger. These compounds are called endogenous cannabinoids or endocannabinoids. As the journal Nature Medicine put it in 2003, "the endocannabinoid system has an important role in nearly every paradigm of pain, in memory, in neurodegeneration and in inflammation." The journal goes on to note that cannabinoids' "clinical potential is enormous." That potential may include treatments for pain, nerve injury, the nausea associated with chemotherapy, the wasting related to AIDS and more.
Yet outdated regulations and attitudes thwart legitimate research with marijuana. Indeed, American biomedical researchers can more easily acquire and investigate cocaine. Marijuana is classified as a so-called Schedule 1 drug, alongside LSD and heroin. As such, it is defined as being potentially addictive and having no medical use, which under the circumstances becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Any researcher attempting to study marijuana must obtain it through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The U.S. research crop, grown at a single facility, is regarded as less potent--and therefore less medicinally interesting--than the marijuana often easily available on the street. Thus, the legal supply is a poor vehicle for studying the approximately 60 cannabinoids that might have medical applications.
This system has unintended, almost comic, consequences. For example, it has created a market for research marijuana, with "buyers" trading journal co-authorships to "sellers" who already have a marijuana stockpile or license. The government may also have a stake in a certain kind of result. One scientist tells of a research grant application to study marijuana's potential medical benefits. NIDA turned it down. That scientist rewrote the grant to emphasize finding marijuana's negative effects. The study was funded.
Some may argue that researchers do not need to study the drug--after all, there is Marinol, a synthetic version of marijuana's major active compound, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC; it relieves nausea and stimulates appetite. But patients are often disappointed with Marinol as compared with marijuana. A 1997 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that "it is difficult to titrate the therapeutic dose of this drug, and it is not widely prescribed. By contrast, smoking marijuana produces a rapid increase in the blood level of the active ingredients and is thus more likely to be therapeutic."
The reasonable course is to make it easier for American researchers to at least examine marijuana for possible medical benefits. Great Britain, no slacker in the war on drugs, takes this approach: the government has authorized a pharmaceutical firm to grow different strains of marijuana for clinical trials.
This call for marijuana research is not a closet campaign for drug legalization--easing research barriers would not require that marijuana be reclassified, nor would it have any bearing on individual states' decisions to approve limited use of medical marijuana. As a 1995 editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association said, "We are not asking readers for immediate agreement with our affirmation that marijuana is medically useful, but we hope they will do more to encourage open and legal exploration of its potential." After almost a decade of little progress, we reiterate that sentiment.
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33 Comments
Add CommentAs a physician, who currently wishes to remain anonymous, there are areas of potential use that I never see discussed. 1. The ability to use marijuana to control premature ejaculation. 2. An improved pleasure response in sexually tense couples. One study showed 50% of female respondents stated this drug enhanced their response 3. And most importantly, the ability to use cannabis to prevent and control withdrawal symptoms in narcotic habituation more safely than any current drug available.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would like to make a comment on how the anti-pot warriors no. 1 defense against the legalization of medical marijuana is,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"why would you give a person with a suppressed immune system something to smoke, thus subjecting them to carcinogens?". Why do they never discuss vaporizers, which are readily available, and heat the thc to vaporization point without burning the plant matter, thus cutting out the carcinogens. It is time for selective journalism to take a hike.
I personally feel that if we are truly living in a "FREE" society, then who are we to dictate to anyone what they should and should not do...that's exactly what Hitler and all the other dictators did and do.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRead 'Reefer Madness'; it's an eye opener tracing the history of why this beneficial herb has been vilified by law enforcement without a shred of research.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNever smoked before not even in college. Then I came back from serving as a gunner in Iraq my head was very messed up and I was very depressed. I took countless different anxity and depression meds from the VA nothing helped. I was drinking a bottle and a half of vodka or whiskey a day and never left the house. I was introduced to it by an old veteran who did a few tours. When I smoked I didnt even want to drink and was at least mildly happy. I bought a volcano vaporizor and make excellect marijuana choc chip cookies that work so much better than the handfull of meds the gov gave to me. When I drank i was violent, when I had some form of thc however I was in a good mood and much more social. It only takes a bit of soil and sun for this plant of god to make a big differance in my life. 700 dollars for a 30 day supply of pills. WTF? Please do not judge the plant until you understand it and look into why after thousands of years of cultures having no problem with it the gov banned it for pretty much BS reasons brought on by a very few powerful people. Even if only for recreation whats so bad about a simple PLANT that could be a free or even taxable substace that makes the user happy? How many people smoke and are violent? Yes there are people that party hard and happen to use it sometimes giving it a bad name. Yes a percetage of people who use it are not the most desirible but they are also the ones who have no problem braking the law to begin with so lets not base all users off of a few of socitys losers from the start. There are so many great experances recreationly that this plant will bring. Who would you rather be next to at a concert the happy stoned guy or the one who is drinking alcohol? Personly never a bad experance with a stoned person drunk however is a totally differt story. Any couple who has never has a little green than made love is missing out on a wonderful experance. And why is marijuana a scedule 1 drug with highly additive properties and no medical value when the active compond found only in marijuana is the main substance in marinol a schedule 3 drug with low chance of addiction and a medical value? Once again WTF.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishow many people is dying everyday for the bloody tobacco around the world. heaps !! have you know someone who has dead for compsumtion of weed ? or have you seen people suffering dramatics health experiences for consumption of weed like tobacco does ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhy some very addictives products can be legal all over the globe and marihuana doesnt.
because goverments are receiving lots of mula every single day in taxes for the consumption of those shity products wich are killing our people slowly slowly... never is going to be an answer!! fkng politics.
Love weed.
I have to say it would be easy for ANY government to charge for the following: A simple series of licenses to use or grow and one for both would go straight to the treasury and then there are the taxes that could be collected off the sales, the fact that safer ways would be available to obtain the weed and well, the good way outweighs the bad in this case unlike other drugs....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree, I had a mate that killed himself over the use of alcohol, I found him, and I had smoked just before finding him. I was able to deal with it better, then I started hanging where we used to hang more often when I drank I got depressed. I smoked I felt better. Then life kept putting me in line with people wanting me to quit smoking, I started having bad flash backs of course the guy I was with at that time kept telling the suicide was my fault to mess with my head. It did I started hearing voices, went to see a Dr. and he started me off with Welbutrin, and Sequill. I was loopy, more than if I sat and smoke 5 joints. So then they put me on Zoloft I bounced off the walls, could not keep a thought. They tried a few more with side effects like rashes, itching, jitters, nausea, diarrhea, dizzy, ears ringing, headaches, and I could go on for a lot longer. I quit taking them went back to smoking, am very successful and have many friends who are very successful and smoke.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne more added thing, you can Over Dose on man made stuff, like alcohol poisoning, the stuff that God gives us in the way of plants you can not Over Dose on. Even after you vomit you can still die if you take to many pills or drink too much. Smoke til sick and you still wake up the next morning.( no hang over either)
I have a friend whose organs are shutting down because of Over Dose of pills and alcohol. You figure it out. Research what they encourage you to put into you bodies all thing man makes are harmful. We are surrounded by mans chemicals.
Oh yeah if the tight *** Gov. would license and tax it the would help the economy, and stop supporting the Mexicans and the lethal drugs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishow many people need to support marijuana legalization before the goverment will respond. what happened to a goverment for the people? all they seemed interested in is locking us up for not shareing the same beliefs. the citizens of the US live in fear of thier own goverment and police force. when will this be a free country?when will I be able to be proud of my country?right now I'm disgusted with our country's ignorance and intolerance.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne point that was not mentioned is how it can strengthen relationships. I can fully relate because I was at a point where i did not speak to my sister or my mom, however when we started smoking together, it helped us both to open up and it strengthened our relationship greatly.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou guys got great responses and i agree with them all, i would like to make one last simple point. there are currently nearly 800,000 thousand people incarcerated due to marijuana related offenses just in the U.S. alone. To keep these people incarcerated it costs a hell of alot and guess what? its our tax payer money that goes twoards keeping these innocent plant loving people in jail. I think marijuana makes ppl rebel against the government and they know it and that is why it is illegal. It doesnt just make you "REBEL", what it does is allow you to see the messed up things that is in some way related to the government and that is the last thing they want.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou guys got great responses and i agree with them all, i would like to make one last simple point. there are currently nearly 800,000 thousand people incarcerated due to marijuana related offenses just in the U.S. alone. To keep these people incarcerated it costs a hell of alot and guess what? its our tax payer money that goes twoards keeping these innocent plant loving people in jail. I think marijuana makes ppl rebel against the government and they know it and that is why it is illegal. It doesnt just make you "REBEL", what it does is allow you to see the messed up things that is in some way related to the government and that is the last thing they want.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was caught on September 12th, 2008, with a simple dime (app. 1/10th of an ounce) bag in my possession and respectfully reported to the local court to await my hearing on "unlawful possession of marijuana"... I had to pay a drug lawyer $700 to represent my case in court and a fine of $150... from there I was sent off to a drug treatment center where I was assigned a drug therapist who personally thinks I'm a "sick" person in need to get "healthier" in order to function "properly' again. The drug treatment program itself consisted of a weekly $20 screening (peeing into a cup for urine analysis) for a minimum of ten weeks in a row to insure my chemical rehabilitation back into society. Overall this has cost me about $1,000.00 to the state all for the original charge of a single dime bag!? I go to college, i have a current GPA of 3.3 (not the best I know but still a B average) and somehow I'm in need of more serious help than my alcoholic father? Politicians sometimes do a real poor job of representing the majority population, and the fact that the NIDA are turning down respectable researchers for possible medical use is intellectually sickening... this is not progress by any means! >_<
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was caught on September 12th, 2008, with a simple dime (app. 1/10th of an ounce) bag in my possession and respectfully reported to the local court to await my hearing on "unlawful possession of marijuana"... I had to pay a drug lawyer $700 to represent my case in court and a fine of $150... from there I was sent off to a drug treatment center where I was assigned a drug therapist who personally thinks I'm a "sick" person in need to get "healthier" in order to function "properly' again. The drug treatment program itself consisted of a weekly $20 screening (peeing into a cup for urine analysis) for a minimum of ten weeks in a row to insure my chemical rehabilitation back into society. Overall this has cost me about $1,000.00 to the state all for the original charge of a single dime bag!? I go to college, i have a current GPA of 3.3 (not the best I know but still a B average) and somehow I'm in need of more serious help than my alcoholic father? Politicians sometimes do a real poor job of representing the majority population, and the fact that the NIDA are turning down respectable researchers for possible medical use is intellectually sickening... this is not progress by any means! >_<
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi think it is very stupid how the gov and the pres always talk about how bad marijuana is but yet they can give a hurt patient pills that will mess them up and yes it will help the pain for a little bit but my aunt that lives in the city of Chicago she is now strung out and addicted to pills and she started by seeing a chiropractor for her muscle pains and even still to this day she lays in her bed and these crazy thoughts just pop in her head and she yells at my little cousin about "don't be watching that porn" when he is doing nothing but eating or he will be outside or something when she says it now thanks to the wonderful gov of ours i have family members that are close to death because of pills that are so great for our country...now about marijuana i honestly can say its just a plant that grows like that and if you just so happen to set it on fire then there are some effects but that's not the same as drugs because you have to perform some chemical stuff to make a drug marijuana you don't have to do nothing its just the way it grows...now because of what the gov says about it they actually have people all over America brainwashed that it is a bad bad drug...i don't consider it a drug just cause it makes you feel happy and better about yourself i consider it a God giving plant to the nation...See alcohol is perfectly legal but there is people out there that die everyday from it and marijuana does not and will not make a person overdose...you might think the person is dead but they aint dead...they will wake up in 30 minutes hungry enough to eat up everything in your house and i don't see why people go to jail for smoking the shit see in jail there are some animals in there that will rape and kill somebody...Now do you really think weed smokers should go to the same place crazy animalistic people are...No and i am going to end it with this....Fuck the government and everything about them...The bible says act as a child and you will enter the kingdom of heaven and it says act as a political person and you will not enter into my kingdom so government i hope all of you burn in hell for what you are doing to our country
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi think it is very stupid how the gov and the pres always talk about how bad marijuana is but yet they can give a hurt patient pills that will mess them up and yes it will help the pain for a little bit but my aunt that lives in the city of Chicago she is now strung out and addicted to pills and she started by seeing a chiropractor for her muscle pains and even still to this day she lays in her bed and these crazy thoughts just pop in her head and she yells at my little cousin about "don't be watching that porn" when he is doing nothing but eating or he will be outside or something when she says it now thanks to the wonderful gov of ours i have family members that are close to death because of pills that are so great for our country...now about marijuana i honestly can say its just a plant that grows like that and if you just so happen to set it on fire then there are some effects but that's not the same as drugs because you have to perform some chemical stuff to make a drug marijuana you don't have to do nothing its just the way it grows...now because of what the gov says about it they actually have people all over America brainwashed that it is a bad bad drug...i don't consider it a drug just cause it makes you feel happy and better about yourself i consider it a God giving plant to the nation...See alcohol is perfectly legal but there is people out there that die everyday from it and marijuana does not and will not make a person overdose...you might think the person is dead but they aint dead...they will wake up in 30 minutes hungry enough to eat up everything in your house and i don't see why people go to jail for smoking the shit see in jail there are some animals in there that will rape and kill somebody...Now do you really think weed smokers should go to the same place crazy animalistic people are...No and i am going to end it with this....Fuck the government and everything about them...The bible says act as a child and you will enter the kingdom of heaven and it says act as a political person and you will not enter into my kingdom so government i hope all of you burn in hell for what you are doing to our country
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi think it is very stupid how the gov and the pres always talk about how bad marijuana is but yet they can give a hurt patient pills that will mess them up and yes it will help the pain for a little bit but my aunt that lives in the city of Chicago she is now strung out and addicted to pills and she started by seeing a chiropractor for her muscle pains and even still to this day she lays in her bed and these crazy thoughts just pop in her head and she yells at my little cousin about "don't be watching that porn" when he is doing nothing but eating or he will be outside or something when she says it now thanks to the wonderful gov of ours i have family members that are close to death because of pills that are so great for our country...now about marijuana i honestly can say its just a plant that grows like that and if you just so happen to set it on fire then there are some effects but that's not the same as drugs because you have to perform some chemical stuff to make a drug marijuana you don't have to do nothing its just the way it grows...now because of what the gov says about it they actually have people all over America brainwashed that it is a bad bad drug...i don't consider it a drug just cause it makes you feel happy and better about yourself i consider it a God giving plant to the nation...See alcohol is perfectly legal but there is people out there that die everyday from it and marijuana does not and will not make a person overdose...you might think the person is dead but they aint dead...they will wake up in 30 minutes hungry enough to eat up everything in your house and i don't see why people go to jail for smoking the shit see in jail there are some animals in there that will rape and kill somebody...Now do you really think weed smokers should go to the same place crazy animalistic people are...No and i am going to end it with this....Fuck the government and everything about them...The bible says act as a child and you will enter the kingdom of heaven and it says act as a political person and you will not enter into my kingdom so government i hope all of you burn in hell for what you are doing to our country
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is all about the money with government if it wasn't for pills being prescribed all over the world and if it wasn't for alcohol being legalized (very stupid by the way) then the government wouldn't be driving these nice cars and having these big houses and because of marijuana being illegal i wanna think the government for my uncle being on pills to were he starts to do things like touch my closest family in the wrong way...All from being drunk and on pills and i know my uncle enough to know if he wouldn't have been on pills his whole life and alcohol none of it would have ever happened and my aunt would not be bed riddin either but yea ummm thanks again government
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIN ALL THE LAWS WE HAVE ON THE EARTH THERE IS ONLY ONE SO MANY OF US BREAK AND THAT IS A GOOD HOOT WHEN WE NEED IT.A REASON TO GO FOR A RELAXING WALK IN THE WOODS IS TOO WATER YOUR PLANTS SO WHEN YOUR OUT THERE FEELING MOTHERE EARTH HAVE A TOKE FOR ME AND ME FOR YOU ...LOVE YOU ALL HAPPY TRAILS....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWE ALL COMPLY TO THERE SMOKING LAWS AND THERE DRINKING LAWS BUT WHEN IT COMES TOO SMOKE WE ALL BREAK THERE LAWS WHY HMMMMMMMMMM I WONDER.IT MAKES THE INNOCENT A LAW BREAKER WHEN NO REAL LAW HAS BEEN BROKEN.IS THERE A US OR JUST ANOTHER PESON WHO WANTS TOO RELAX AND WHATC A GOOD MOVIE.WHEN GOD MADE US DID HE SAY BE THE SAME BECAUSE I RELAX DIFFERENT I AM A LAW BREAKER AND ONE DAY I COULD BE IN TROUBLE FOR MY WAYS .LETS SEE BE LIKE SOMEONE ELSE WILL YOU BE LIKE ME IF I BE LIKE YOU NOOOOOOOO DIDN'T THINK SO
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSHOULD WE FIGHTING I LAW OR THE RIGHT TOO MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT THEM HOLDING OUR HANDS WITH LAWS....
i know i am a teenager who smokes and personally it makes me a hell of a lot happier and outgoing, when ive tried drinking and taking pills it just makes me want to die. but everytime i smoke i feel my depression and anxiety getting a little better, i feel i can take the stress better when i am high. its stupid that i have been arrested for it though, they put me on probation and all that did for me was give me countless sleepless nights and mood swings worse than a woman on menopause. i know people are not very fond of teenagers and drugs but this is no REAL drug. this is my comandant and if it gets me through the damn day, then so be it. im gonna keep smoking wether legal or not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAfter suffering with chronic pain for 20+ years and under the care of many different doctors, and pill pushing, we need to let people use what ever relieves the pain. Chronic pain is a cluster f--- for the person, family, friends, and suicide rate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou do not need to smoke pot, it can be eatin with even better results. Chronic Pain patient over 25+ years should know. Blow it out your a
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this$30,000. minimum to keep each inmate in prison for waater ever crime. Being a chronic pain patient I should have the choice of pot, morphine, fentyl, daisies or what ever works. The gov't is entirely to involved in our personal lives. How about making it like home brewed beer, under a certain amount no taxes or hassles. Booze pickles the liver, brain and everything else, smoking is one form, eating is better, lasts longer and cleaner lungs. Get involved vote, write and join www.norml.org
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishave been smoking for nearly 40 years and would be willing to answer questions for research into long term affects
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi agree with this article that there hasn't been enough research! The research that was approved and supplied government MJ (by NIDA) was biased toward dangers and abuse of marijuana. I like science. Because i consume it daily I would really like some solid science. Subjectively I can see that it's a pretty safe drug. Still I would like to know more. How does it affect our hormone levels? What is at work with the short term memory loss? How long does it have a measurable affect on thinking after it's been smoked? I want to know the same way I want to know about GMO produce which they made legal and don't even have to label it!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscome on South Carolina....Let's stop Sucking-hind-tit-on-a-boar-hog and get Commercial/Industrial Hemp Production for the Commerce and let our Farmers grow the hemp that we pay $500 million to import each year.....Ignorance is not bliss........
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI do not smoke marijuana, nor do I ever have the desire to do so. I do have to say that I believe that for our country to consider itself free it would have to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. However, the potency and quality would have to be monitored by the FDA. Additionally, if this drug were to be legalized, a number of other drugs would also have to be, all of them being evaluated by the FDA. And I am also aware that marijuana has adverse affects on memory, coordination and mental focus, and contain five times as many known carcinogens in higher concentration than cigarettes. Considering the affects on cognition and overall mental function, I refuse to use marijuana because my mind is very important to me. However, there is more life threatening damage done by alcohol. If Americans can buy bottles of Everclear (in certain states, including mine), then marijuana should also be available. I would still continue to not smoke marijuana because I have never known a frequent user who has maintained a respectable magnitude of cognition or reasonable mental function, at all. But keep in mind, that if a company were to sell marijuana after legalization, it would have to assume the risk of being fined for selling a harmful product, just like the tobacco companies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know one thing about the affect on hormones by marijuana and that is that it increases the production of estrogen and accordingly increases breast size (even in men). If used too often for too long (it really has to be a ridiculous amount), it can eventually lead to erectile disfunction. My mother's stepfather suffered from this.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow that medical cannabis is legal in 14 US states plus D.C. (it should be legal outright everywhere) presumably the best research can be done with cannabis from those states; maybe the federal government won't approve the research, but on this issue of cannabis the US government is highly abusive... non-scientific & unethical. A Dutch cannabis seed company, Green House, has done some particularly advanced cannabinoid research, by the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn my opinion, extensive and conclusive research must be achieved with Marijuana. It seems there are two factions at war over their opinions of the use of this drug. One supports the idea that Pot has medicinal value and can benefit those with health problems/complications. The other is that Marijuana is dangerous for health and dangerous to the public.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThorough and extensive research through controlled environments has not yet been performed with conclusive evidence that would go unchallenged and remain constant in the scientific community. Too many myths fly around whimsically claiming that weed is dangerous to health and to society. To have an opinion on this matter, one needs to have the proper information that has been proven, not based on mostly non-scientific observation and not provided by an organization who is negatively or positively supportive toward marijuana.
The information that I have read upon the internet says that weed is psychologically and physiologically bad for you. It says that weed is good to relieve nausea, glaucoma, appetite loss, and provide a heightened sense of euphoria and sex drive. Which one to listen to? How can you make an informed decision when there is so much contradiction? Research with concrete evidence is strongly required.
A report put out by Health Canada recognizes that proper research has not yet been conducted. "The existing knowledge with respect to the use of marijuana for medical purposes has been assessed by several health and governmental organizations in various countries as well as by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to reports from these organizations, evidence of the potential therapeutic efficacy of smoked marijuana is heavily anecdotal and while there are reports of the therapeutic value of smoked marijuana, scientific studies supporting the safety and efficacy of marijuana for therapeutic claims are inconclusive. The general consensus of international reports is that additional research is needed." www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/4628.html
As a recreational smoker myself, I am confused as to what is true. I have been exposed to propaganda on both ends of the argument. I like to smoke pot but does it really make me depressed, emotionally unstable, affect my memory or learning, give me cancer or any other lung problems? How is my life affected and can I benefit from recreational use?
How do we go about providing this important information to people if the research itself is regulated by those who are already negatively biased to marijuana in the first place?
I absolutely support the research and legalization of medicinal marijuana. If there is a substance out there that can help so many people, why aren't we doing more with it? The potential side effects are no worse than many prescription medications on the market today. There are medications out there that put you at risk for cancer, blood clots, dementia, even death. I think people should be able to decide for themselves weather the benefits outweigh the risks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have suffered from severe depression for as long as I can remember. Most days I didn't even want to get out of bed. I went through a drinking phase and for years I cut myself. My arms, legs, stomach. I know many people can't comprehend why someone would do that and I'm not really sure how to explain it. I guess the physical pain was a distraction from the huge weight I felt inside my chest. I just didn't want to be here anymore. I was in and out of therapy for years and on many different medications. I was on Wellbutrin XL, Celexa, Trileptal, Lamictal, Zoloft, Abilify, Geodon, and Cymbalta. Not all at the same time of course. But none of them helped much. Some got me to the point where I could function but I was never really living a happy, depression free life. For a while I gave up on there being any hope of feeling happy and normal. I felt hopeless.
Then I started smoking marijuana. I have been smoking it for years and it has given me a new view on life. The first few times I smoked, it was just with friends for recreational purposes but I quickly realized that when I smoked the hopeless, miserable feeling faded away. I now smoke regularly and have not relapsed into that state of depression since I have been doing so. I finally feel like I am free to live my life. It upsets me that I wasted so many years of my life, hating life when there really was something out there that could fix me.
Most people that have never suffered from legitimate depression don't understand how devastating it can be. And if there is something out there that can help those people that do have to live with that, then why aren't we exploring that treatment option?