Are you experiencing depression? If so, you are not alone and so are among the millions of Americans suffering from this mood disorder. A recent article shared new statistical details about how depression in the U.S. is on the rise.

Apparently the diagnosis of depression increased 33% between years 2011 and 2014. (1) Previously, The National Center for Health Statistics reported that antidepressant use jumped 65% in 15 years between 1999 and 2014: from 7.7% of Americans to 12.7% for all those 12 and older, doubly high for women than men, and 19.1% for all those 60 and older. (2)

The good news, they say, is that “universal depression screenings” are happening more routinely, and that mood disorder is not any longer in the closet: folks are talking about it and treating it… with pharmaceutical drugs.

I’m left to wonder why this depressive state is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds? For one thing, there’s a whole lot that has changed on the planet since January 1, 2000. It’s enough to create anyone depressed. I probably missed something, below, but listed below are the examples I could recall:

September 11, 2001
The Patriot Act
Ongoing terrorist attacks both domestic and international
Mass murders at schools
Increasing opioid addiction and deaths
Multiple wars in the centre East
Intense natural disasters: fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, blizzards and droughts
The Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011
The economic crisis of 2008
Overpriced real estate
Earnings that don’t match the cost-of-living
Increased homelessness
The divisive presidential election of 2016 and presidency of Donald Trump
Of course, this list will not include challenging personal situations many of us experience every once in awhile.
Pharmaceutical companies are the big winners.

Though a lot of the antidepressant-package inserts warn of one or another side-effect, pharmaceutical antidepressants are the ubiquitous ‘go to” solution and coping mechanism for depression. Additionally, aside from the side effects, many people report difficulty in moving away from antidepressants when they are ready to do so.

Depression has been associated with increased neuro-inflammation. It’s quite common knowledge now that inflammation is really a precursor to numerous different disease processes.

Enter therapeutic cannabis.

Cannabis is known to reduce inflammation and holds great promise in studies about depression. (3) Because of its chemical substances, especially THC and CBD, actual healing, not only symptom masking, can occur to revive deficient parts of the brain and immune system. (4) It really is non-toxic, cost-effective and contains little to no side-effects whatsoever.

“… the team analyzed data from Strainprint, a mobile application cannabis users may use to track changes in symptoms after using different doses and cannabis chemotypes. Overall, self-reported symptoms of depression decreased by 50 percent.” (5)

So why don’t more people try cannabis medicinally before heading down the pharma trail? I would recommend there are three significant reasons:

The leftover stigma promoted by the Reefer Madness movie propaganda of 1936 and subsequent 1937 Marahuana Tax Act
The preference to trust doctors and what they prescribe
A general lack of understanding of therapeutic, not recreational, cannabis use
A friend of mine used cannabis medicinally to greatly help her recover from depression after nothing else worked. She said that it gave her back her life, which inspired her to talk about her experience with others.
As far as I could tell the multiple devastating events of the 21st century have radically changed the world from once we once knew it: disorienting at best and depressing at worst for those who know the difference. That said, I believe it really is still absolutely possible to take flight from depression and remain emotionally and mentally well through everything with the help of responsible, therapeutic cannabis use.

The world may not change in ways we prefer but we are able to.

_____

(1) Olivia Goldhill, Depression diagnosis is up 33% in the US, and that’s a very important thing. May 14, 2018

(2) Laura A. Pratt, Ph.D., Debra J. buy weed with paypal , M.P.H., and Qiuping Gu, M.D., Ph.D.. Antidepressant Use Among Persons Aged 12 and Over: USA, 2011-2014. August 15, 2017

(3) A. K. Walker, A. Kavelaars, C. J. Heijnen, and R. Dantzer, Neuroinflammation and Comorbidity of Pain and Depression. January 2014

(4) de Mello Schier AR, de Oliveira Ribeiro NP, Coutinho DS, Machado S, Arias-Carri�n O, Crippa JA, Zuardi AW, Nardi AE, Silva AC, Antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like ramifications of cannabidiol: a chemical compound of Cannabis sativa. 2014

(5) Cuttler C, et al., Cannabis use temporarily eases outward indications of depression, anxiety, stress. April 24, 2018

Susan is really a 2018 graduate of the Holistic Cannabis Academy with over 45 years of personal involvement in the spectrum of wellness modalities. Her mission today would be to intervene in the noise of modern life and help people identify and remove stressors that trigger their dis-ease while providing strategies towards a full time income connection with inner calmness, contentment and inspiration.