Marijuana’s Role in Battling Mental Health & The Narcotics Industry
By: Jessica Elizabeth Robichaud
Tags: Opioids, Canada, Mental Health, Marijuana, Benefits

Stigma remains a barrier for Canadians when it comes to acknowledging mental health. Despite the rise in awareness with campaigns such as Bell Let’s Talk, 39% of Canadians would refrain from informing their managers if they were experiencing a mental health challenge. In a 2016 survey, 40% of respondents indicated that they experienced depression and anxiety but never looked for medical assistance. The sad reality involving this stigma is that almost half of the Canadian population (46%) assume that those referring to mental illness are using it as an excuse towards bad behavior.

Mental illness and addiction go hand in hand, putting more Canadians at risk every year. Among those between the ages of 25 and 34, one out of every eight deaths will be related to opioid use. With the on-going opioid crisis affecting both Canada and the U.S. it is important to limit the availability for addiction consumption in the health sector. The relationship between addiction and depression is bi-directional. This means that those suffering from one increases the risk of the other. In Canada, substance costs associated with opioids result in an average revenue of 3.5 billion a year. More than half of the prescriptions with opioids are being written for people suffering from depression, anxiety or other mood disorders. In the U.S. alone opioid prescriptions quadrupled between 1999 and 2015 and within that time over 183,000 people died from related overdose prescriptions.

With the slow integration of legalized marijuana around Canada, cannabis could be the leading factor in an alternative treatment towards opioid management and mental illness. The important factor in understanding the associated health benefits of marijuana is the balance of the THC and CBD levels within each strain. The problem is that there is a lack of education around the substance based on its recent legalization after being illegal for the last 70 to 80 years. “There has been difficulty in accessing a research-grade supply of cannabis and researchers have been presented with a number of legal hoops they have to jump through to devise studies looking at the benefits of cannabis rather than the harm,” said Phillipe Lucas a graduate researcher from the Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research.

The Tilray Observational Patient Study (TOPS) performed a multi-site examination that took place within 20 medical clinics across five provinces in Canada. 1,700 patients were analyzed in the tracking of medical cannabis’s impact towards opioid used prescriptions. The study was the first of its kind that showed evidence suggesting that medical marijuana can reduce the “therapeutic use of opioids and associated morbidity and mortality rate.” It provided patients with alternatives that were safer in the treatment of chronic pain and addiction.

The larger issue is that opioids are over-prescribed. Between January 2016 and June 2018 9,000 Canadians lost their lives related to opioids. Only last year (January to June) there were 2,066 accidental opioid-related deaths. According to the World Health Organization, Canadians are the second-highest consumers for opioids in the world. So, although many have been educated to view marijuana as a “gateway drug,” maybe it should be viewed as something else. For those suffering from mental illness and addiction, marijuana could, in fact, be an “exit drug.”

In order to grasp a better understanding of marijuana and its correlated benefits, five interviews were conducted among those between the ages of 22 and 35. Each candidate had or has consumed marijuana for a certain period of time in their life. Within the interviews, each individual has used marijuana for their own medical benefit, whether it be related to mental illness or addiction.

Reasons for Consumption

Upon reviewing the responses associated with the reasons for marijuana consumption, stress, pain, and anxiety were common amongst most individuals. Many listed that they smoked it for social purposes, due to the social atmosphere they were introduced in. However, further down the road, they used it to assist in certain health factors. In review, all candidates who consumed marijuana between the ages of 15 and 20 and still currently consume it.

There was an interesting case involving Filipe, who is currently a 35-year-old male that consumes marijuana once or twice a week. He admitted that he would over-consume marijuana in his teenage years and that it resulted in an addiction to the drug itself. He smoked it continuously from 16 to 26. Later in life, he believes it resulted in the development of his current anxiety. When he was younger he preferred a higher level of THC over CBD, based on the sole factor that THC would give you the real experience of a full-high.

Courtney, a pharmacist since 1995 (who has worked both globally and domestically), explained that there is a lack of education about the strains of marijuana. If someone is consuming a higher level of THC vs. CBD, then, in the long run, they’re going to reverse the beneficial effects associated with marijuana.

“Medical marijuana is a medicine. I think that it is not recreational (cannabis). So, if it is used properly, in the right manner in the right amount at the right time, under the right directions it certainly can be a beneficial medicine,” she said.

Unfortunately, a lot of Canadians remain uneducated about the ratio balance involved with THC and CBD compounds. “A lot of Canadians don’t understand that there is a difference. So, if you’re using CBD which doesn’t have the psychoactive component of THC there is no high. There are therapeutic benefits of THC vs. CBD,” she said. “So, if you are using it for sleep, THC is something you do want. Whereas if you’re using CBD, it has other uses and doesn’t give you that relaxing component.”

Courtney highlighted the importance of recognizing the need for appropriate education towards medical marijuana in order to experience the therapeutic benefits available. “We just need to make sure that we educate and that is where pharmacists come in. We need to make sure we are educating our patients about the difference between THC and CBD,” she said.

Thus, it makes sense that Filipe was experiencing issues related to anxiety based on the amount of THC he would have been consuming. Interestingly enough, today he now prefers to consume CBD because of the associated benefits related to the relaxation effect and the anti-inflammatory relief. Filipe admitted that he believes his over-consumption resulted in the adverse effects associated with the drug. “I do believe when used in moderation it has more benefits than drawbacks, I believe this through personal experience. I find it calming and it can help me to boost creativity. Its drawbacks are that it can make you hungry and sometimes sleepy… which can be helpful to some people,” he said.

Upon analyzing an age timeline in relation to marijuana consumption, almost all individuals believed that they had consumed the substance at too early of an age. As a result of this, they believed it could hinder a teenager’s development based on personal experience. Consuming marijuana at a young age puts one at more risk of intaking an incorrect strain. Many youths are uneducated about the compounds within marijuana (not to mention much of society).

Source: Oregon Cannabis Connection

Out of the interviews conducted, all strongly believed that the implementation around it being legalized is important in regulating proper distribution. Based on the statistics that those between 15 and 25 are at a higher risk of mental health challenges, it makes sense that a substance with two intense compounds is regulated appropriately. Young people may not be educated enough to understand which strain of marijuana they are smoking, and this can result in hindering proper development. In order to have successful beneficial results, the THC and CBD balance needs to be monitored and distributed accurately to treat pain, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. All interviewee’s, (plus Courtney) believe this is a binding step in order for marijuana to be used and viewed as a successful treatment option in the health industry.

In understanding the balance of THC and CBD one needs to understand the separate effects. THC stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD stands for Cannabidiol. These two compounds are the primary cannabinoids that occur naturally within the cannabis sativa plant. These compounds react to the receptors within the brain but cause differing effects.

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In natural supplements and dietary needs, CBD oil will appear more frequently. It appears more frequently because the CBD is a non-psychoactive compound, which means the consumer does not necessarily get high. THC, however, is the main component of the cannabis plant. This is the compound that gets the user high and the neurotransmitters produced naturally throughout the body help to modulate the effects of the anandamide and 2-AG compounds. Some of the effects of THC will include, hunger, relaxation, altered sense and fatigue (all symptoms that Filipe had listed in his experience with prolonged THC use).

Courtney stated that in order to successfully circulate medical marijuana to the public, they first need to understand the ratio importance.

“The ratio is quite important [THC vs. CBD], but most patients don’t know that,” she said. “If the ratio is wrong, you’re not going to get the expected outcomes [involving the beneficial effects of marijuana].”

Research published by CBD Oil Review, suggested that Cannabidiol can be used to assist in medical cases. It was proven to help with pain (chronic and neuropathic), epilepsy, seizures, inflammation, depression, anxiety, ADHD, substance abuse and withdrawal, Parkinson’s and many more. When cross comparing the benefits associated with THC and CBD, CBD lacks harmful cognitive effects compared to those in THC. In fact, the psychoactive effects of THC can be counteracted with CBD. Due to recent legalization, strains of marijuana are being created with a higher CBD to THC ratio in order to minimize the side effects of the psychoactive compounds.