Marijuana makes me paranoid. Irritable. I can’t leave the house if I am high or I will panic. I used to smoke it mostly at home (there’s delivery service in New York) and occasionally at parties. I did enjoy it for a time, but I have concluded that weed is not compatible with my bipolar brain. In fact, I believe it is one of the worst things I can partake of. And if I did, I would break my sobriety.
When I had my major manic episode in 2007, I was smoking weed every night, along with drinking bottles and bottles of beer. I was blasting music and dancing with myself into the wee hours. Weed only made my mania feel more intense. But eventually that mania led to hallucinations and psychosis.
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Washington. That’s one-fifth of the country.
And in 33 states, it’s legal for medical reasons.
I’m not going to judge people who like to smoke up every now and then. I’m just reporting the news. But I do think smoking pot is detrimental to your health if you have bipolar or do it in excess every day. Moderation is key. And for one thing, just like cigarettes, inhaling marijuana is putting dirty smoke into your lungs.
A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry finds that THC, the chemical in marijuana that causes you to get stoned, in high doses and of high potency can cause psychosis, which is the inability to differentiate between what is real and what is not real. Psychotic people may experience delusions or hallucinations, feel a lack of motivation, and experience sleep problems.
The study’s author, Marta Di Forti, a psychiatrist at King’s College London, told NPR that high-potency marijuana, in tandem with genetics and environmental factors, might not directly trigger bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but it can be a factor, especially when high-THC cannabis is involved.
“We estimated… that 20 percent of new cases of psychotic disorder across all our sites could have been prevented if daily use of cannabis had been abolished,” Di Forti said.
This story originally appeared on the International Bipolar Foundation blog. Go here to read the rest.
My problem is that when I have some, I smoke it all day every day. It definitely contributes to mood instability. I just can’t use it the way I used to any more. A joint once a week? That would be alright, if I could do that. Aside from one depression, I’ve been episode-free for almost 3 years. I talk about this on my Mindful Bipolar podcast. My life is so much better…I do NOT want to go back to my old ways of living.