Cannabis for Depression

It’s no secret by now: cannabinoids impact our mental health. For better or worse, there is undeniable evidence that cannabis consumption will affect your emotions. Fortunately, that impact is mostly a positive one for the majority of consumers.

From helping with depression, anxiety, bipolar, OCD, and many other mental health issues, cannabis is beneficial for so many of us. In this chapter, we are focusing specifically on those who suffer from clinical depression and how this condition might be intrinsically linked to a key system in the human body.

This neurotransmitter system found in all of our bodies is known as the endocannabinoid system, also called the ECS. The ECS is one of the most complex systems in the human body and regulates circadian rhythms, or biological cycles, that control major physiological processes like appetite, memory consolidation, sleep, pain, and fertility. It does this by fine-tuning the amount of neurotransmitters and hormones released throughout the body, attempting to keep the body in balance.

The ECS also has a significant impact on our mood and mental health. For more in-depth information on the endocannabinoid system and the impact cannabis has on our mental health, check out our guides on the matter.

Study Links the ECS and Depression

The study shows a link between the ECS, depression, chronic stress, and gut bacteria. Conducted by a team of French researchers, the study shines some light on the idea that imbalances in the gut are more closely linked to depression than that of the brain.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study suggests that imbalances in the gut can lead to a disruption in the body’s ECS, which can cause many other issues.

Cannabinoid receptors in the ECS are responsible for regulating many different bodily functions, including emotions and the immune system. This latest study suggests that deficiencies in the ECS can lead to many conditions, including fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, and mood disorders.

The ECS and Depression: The Details

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, the researchers observed the gut bacteria in healthy mice and those that exhibited signs of depression. Yes, even lab mice can exhibit signs of depression when exposed to what’s called unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS). Those who suffer from UCMS show signs of depressive behaviors like an increase in anxiety and a decrease in appetite.

The mice showing signs of depression had a difference in the concentrations of their gut bacteria compared to their non-depressed counterparts, as was expected by the study authors. The researchers transferred gut microbiota from the depressed mice to the healthy ones, and the healthy ones started showing depressive symptoms almost immediately.

"Surprisingly, simply transferring the microbiota from an animal with mood disorders to an animal in good health was enough to bring about biochemical changes and confer depressive-like behaviors in the latter,” an author of the study said to the medical journal New Atlas.

Ultimately, the researchers stated that they saw a link between chronic stress and changes in the microbiome of the guts of mammals. As a result, this lowered endocannabinoid levels and could cause abnormal activity in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area in our brains that helps to regulate mood, emotions, and memory.

"This might be the pathway, at least in part, that links microbiota dysbiosis to mood disorders, which in turn, may affect the composition of the gut microbiota through physiological adjustments and modulation of the immune system,” the study explains. In other words, the gut is linked to mind, and the mind is linked to the gut.

Cannabis Can Improve Your Mood

As they were concluding the study, the researchers found that they could utilize specific bacteria to increase endocannabinoid levels and reduce symptoms of depression. The study authors conclude that cannabis will “improve mood in humans.” The study explains that cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant will naturally bond to the receptors in our ECS.

While cannabinoids found in natural cannabis products are only briefly mentioned in this study, it does give us further proof that our ECS plays a role in our mood, and that mood disorders can possibly be treated with cannabis medicine.

Much of the research up until recently has been inconclusive, but studies from 2020 show why consuming cannabis for depression can help. One of the studies has to do with the impact that cannabinoids can have on reducing too much activity in the amygdala.

The amygdala is the part of the human brain that controls how we process emotions, make quick decisions, and execute motor behaviors. When we are healthy, a little fear, aggression, and anxiety could motivate us or save our lives. When there is too much activity in the amygdala, we can become paralyzed with fear or anxiety or stuck in loops of obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Another study indicates that cannabis can possibly help diminish or even extinguish the traumatic memories of Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sufferers, who are often diagnosed with major depressive disorder as well.

These studies further indicate what those who consume cannabis for PTSD, as well as depression, have already known but didn’t have the science to prove why it’s therapeutic. Previous studies have also been done on the potential impact cannabis can have on anxiety: both in helping with the brain’s response to anxiety and reducing the severity of the condition when presented with threatening situations.

Depression and Whole-Plant Cannabis Medicine

As promising as these studies on cannabis for mental conditions are, they involve mostly administering isolated THC. Cannabis has over 110 cannabinoids and THC is just one of them. As more much-needed cannabis research is done, we may discover that the “entourage effect”, meaning a combination of beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis, can offer more help for those with mental health conditions than THC alone.

In addition to the above studies, there is a solid amount of research that indicates how a balanced endocannabinoid system (ECS) can help with mental health. Few, if any medicines have such a remarkable impact on the ECS, a neurotransmitter system in the body responsible for many aspects of our well-being.

While this impact can be vastly beneficial, cannabis use can trigger panic attacks, or worse, manic or psychotic episodes in a very small minority of those who are undiagnosed or diagnosed with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar depression, and panic disorder. It’s best to talk with a doctor before using cannabis, and always start low and go slow with dosing, whether you are smoking or eating cannabis.

HashDash fully supports the benefits of microdosing, which we believe could help with all aspects of health and well-being, including helping with depression.

In many states, a person qualifies for a medical cannabis card or medical cannabis recommendation if they have anxiety. This is the most common mental health condition to qualify for. People who consume cannabis for depression tend to fall under this category, especially if there is not clear language for depression as a qualifying condition in their state. As always, discuss whether cannabis is right for you with your doctor before consuming cannabis.

For more state-specific information on state medical cannabis markets, be sure to peruse our Cannabis Industry Guide.

As research progresses, we could eventually arrive at natural treatments for depression and other mental health issues. Naturally, these treatments will be linked back to balancing the body’s ECS to help reduce symptoms of depression and other mood disorders.

HashDash will always educate you as the science surrounding cannabis and mental health advances. And as always, be sure to consult your psychiatrist and primary care physician before consuming cannabis to help with your depression.

What We Learned: Cannabis for Depression

Cannabis may help those with depression, but there's still much to learn about the plant and how it impacts our mental health. Here's what else we learned in this chapter:

• The most common mental health condition for medical cannabis is anxiety. Those who consume cannabis for depression tend to fall under this category.
• Studies show depression is intrinsically linked to our endocannabinoid system, present in all of us, and responsible for many vital bodily functions.
• While cannabis can be beneficial for the brain and for depression, it can also lead to possible panic attacks or worse, psychotic episodes in a very small minority of patients with pre-existing conditions or undiagnosed ones.
• Microdoses of whole-plant medicine, including full cannabinoid and terpene content, may hold the key to helping those with mental disorders manage their conditions.

You are absorbing a lot of information and learning as you progress through our Cannabis and the Body Guide. If you're ready to learn even more, answer the question below, and let's move on to the next chapter.