Marijuana and Bipolar Disorder: How Cannabis Affects Bipolar Symptoms

Many people wonder, “Can marijuana help with bipolar disorder?” Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that affects a person’s mood, energy levels and overall behavior. When someone has bipolar disorder, they tend to struggle with mania, which is brief periods of high energy and elevated mood, followed by bouts of depression, oversleeping and increased irritability.

Bipolar disorder can feel overwhelming, but it is treatable which leads people to ask, “Can marijuana treat bipolar disorder?” Currently, there are no clinical studies that prove that marijuana can treat bipolar disorder. However, some people still attempt this treatment method.

Several anecdotal reports state that marijuana helps bipolar disorder. Marijuana essentially slows down the brain, which is why people with bipolar disorder may choose cannabis to help alleviate stress, anxiety and manic symptoms. Cannabis may seem like a good alternative to prescription medications that prove ineffective. According to interviews conducted by Psychiatry Advisor, several patients of a California marijuana dispensary reported that cannabis helps reduce the frequency of mood swings, racing thoughts and feelings of dread, making their daily life more manageable.

Marijuana does not fully treat bipolar disorder. The instances of marijuana treating bipolar disorder are few, and may not reflect most peoples’ experiences with bipolar disorder. More research must be done to prove whether marijuana is a safe and reliable treatment for this condition.

Existing studies on the relationship between marijuana and bipolar disorder conclude that marijuana use may contribute to worsened depressive and manic symptoms. Data from the Journal of Affective Disorders states that among people with bipolar disorder, marijuana use is associated with both early onset of manic periods and more frequent depressive episodes.

Many medical professionals dissuade people from using marijuana to treat bipolar disorder as it is not a safe and reliable medicine for everyone. “It can complicate the management of bipolar disorder by virtue of causing mood instability and psychosis in certain patients with bipolar disorder,” said psychiatrist Girish Subramanyan in an interview with Psychiatry Advisor. “Moreover, it’s not uncommon for me to see patients with bipolar disorder relapse into mania with recent cannabis use.”

One of the most concerning issues with combining marijuana and bipolar disorder is self-medication. Many people who use marijuana to treat bipolar disorder self-medicate without a doctor’s guidance. Self-medication with any drug for any condition, including marijuana and bipolar disorder, may not work and could be life-threatening. “‘Self-medicating’ is an extremely serious concern for our population,” says mental health journalist John McManamy. “Co-occurring substance abuse can effectively turn treatable bipolar into untreatable bipolar.”

Americans continue to debate the safety and effectiveness of medical marijuana. Some people point out the lack of research on medical marijuana and bipolar disorder. Other people believe that anecdotal evidence is proof enough and believe that medical marijuana for bipolar disorder is a useful treatment method.

Recent research shows that chemicals called cannabinoids in marijuana may have antidepressant and sedative effects for people with bipolar disorder. These qualities may make medical marijuana bipolar treatment seem like a good choice, but there are also many reports of people who have experienced adverse side effects from marijuana, which could impact bipolar disorder symptoms.

For people who live with bipolar disorder, marijuana use can cause panic, hallucinations, feelings of depression or delusions. Because these can all be symptoms of bipolar disorder, medical marijuana and bipolar disorder may not be the safest combination. Additionally, the THC component of marijuana activates the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls fear. When the amygdala is affected by a drug like marijuana, someone can experience feelings of anxiety and paranoia.