How Cannabis And CBD Can Help Eliminate The Stigma Around Mental Illness

This article was originally published on The Fresh Toast, and appears here with permission.

With marijuana use and mental health both wildly stigmatized, perhaps there are solutions in place that are as simple as having a conversation.

Millions of Americans are coping with mental health issues. Often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, those who suffer in silence with mental illness issues often remain silent due to the stigmatization that shrouds depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders.

Two perspectives on cannabis and mental health

Olivia Alexander, the founder of Kush Queens, an online retailer in CBD and Cannabis products, shared recently that she questioned growing a business and leading a team while addressing using cannabis for her mental health. “It’s a hard thing to admit that some days you can’t cope with daily life without cannabis,” Olivia explains online. CBD and cannabis helped ease the symptoms of Olivia’s bipolar disorder and Olivia found that she was more successful using cannabis than without. 

RELATED: Marijuana Reduces Symptoms Of Anxiety, Depression, And Stress

But, there’s another side to the story. Dr. Elinore F. McCance-Katz believes that substances like marijuana can carry mental health risks. Speaking in 2018, she shared, “As a clinical psychiatrist specializing in addiction, as someone committed to treating people with substance use disorders, as a concerned American — I cannot stress enough how understated the risks and consequences tied to marijuana consumption are in our nation’s dialogue.” Dr. McCane-Katz listed risks such as a decrease in IQ and a “predisposition to mental illness” as risks that society needs to address.

Photo by Victor ilunga via Pexels

Interestingly, a 2016 study demonstrates no loss of IQ in British teens who consumed marijuana. 

RELATED: Feds To Withdraw Mental Health Grants From Schools Allowing Medical Marijuana

“Marijuana users lost about four IQ points over the course of the study. But their abstinent twin siblings showed a similar pattern of decline, suggesting that the loss of mental sharpness was due to something other than pot…” – The American Association for the Advancement of Science

Two wildly-different perspectives lead to one, gigantic question: At what point do rewards outweigh risks? 

Mental Health: The figures involved

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) shared powerful statistics around mental health that may offer more insight: 

• Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (46.6 million) experiences mental illness in a given year.
• Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.

Continue reading this article on The Fresh Toast.

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