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Just as a counter-anecdote. There's depression and anxiety in my family tree, and it has caught up to me too in the last year. Among other remedies, I've experi

Just as a counter-anecdote. There's depression and anxiety in my family tree, and it has caught up to me too in the last year. Among other remedies, I've experimented with small doses of edibles (they are legal where I live). I don't particularly enjoy the high, but for me it does take the edge off the worst times, without side effects. It lets me at least relax/sleep. (It kind of takes the edge off everything, which is why I don't like it and don't do it recreationally.) I think this is very much a YMMV situation. I certainly don't recommend it as the only solution. It has been useful to me as a medicine, though, in the same way I might take a cough suppressant during a serious cold.

cwkoss 5y ago
Thats kind of a funny analogy - most cough suppressant drugs are either opiates or disassociative - either of which have history of recreational use as well.
- anxiousanon 5y ago
  That's true, interesting point. :) For me they're both strictly medicine though.
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
This is a touchy subject to discuss on HN, but I’d caution you that much of the scientific literature on the topic of depression and cannabis is not positive. Obviously there is some possibility of bidirectional causation (cannabis worsens depression, depression increases cannabis consumption) but even the most “both sides” papers on the subject still lean toward cannabis worsening depression over time. This paper is a decent “both sides” overview if you can get the full text: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33332004/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33332004/ Note that the negative effects of cannabis on depression aren’t immediately obvious, as the drug itself makes users temporarily feel better. As such, people tend to associate cannabis with an immediate improvement of symptoms, yet can’t quite pinpoint the long-term downward trend in their depressive symptoms that occurs due to long-term changes of repeated consumption. There is also some concerning evidence to suggest that traditional depression treatments are less effective when someone is consuming cannabis. One of my good friends is a professional therapist who is very open about her own personal cannabis use. However, she says she spends much of her professional time convincing depression patients to stop consuming cannabis, with positive results for those who can follow through.

cwkoss 5y ago

Thats kind of a funny analogy - most cough suppressant drugs are either opiates or disassociative - either of which have history of recreational use as well.

anxiousanon 5y ago
That's true, interesting point. :) For me they're both strictly medicine though.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

This is a touchy subject to discuss on HN, but I’d caution you that much of the scientific literature on the topic of depression and cannabis is not positive. Obviously there is some possibility of bidirectional causation (cannabis worsens depression, depression increases cannabis consumption) but even the most “both sides” papers on the subject still lean toward cannabis worsening depression over time. This paper is a decent “both sides” overview if you can get the full text: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33332004/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33332004/ Note that the negative effects of cannabis on depression aren’t immediately obvious, as the drug itself makes users temporarily feel better. As such, people tend to associate cannabis with an immediate improvement of symptoms, yet can’t quite pinpoint the long-term downward trend in their depressive symptoms that occurs due to long-term changes of repeated consumption. There is also some concerning evidence to suggest that traditional depression treatments are less effective when someone is consuming cannabis. One of my good friends is a professional therapist who is very open about her own personal cannabis use. However, she says she spends much of her professional time convincing depression patients to stop consuming cannabis, with positive results for those who can follow through.