How NJ Residents Can Use Medical Marijuana for Depression

Ever since New Jersey legalized cannabis in February 22, 2021, you may have wondered if marijuana has medicinal properties to manage depression? 

Conflicting reports state that marijuana causes depression, yet others assert it helps in dealing with depression. What then is the relation between marijuana and depression treatment? Before we move ahead and find more about it, here is a site where you can contact a Medical Cannabis Doctor to learn about this topic in details.

What is Depression?

It’s easy to confuse depression with sadness or grief. When you have major or clinical depression, you feel sad constantly and lose interest in activities that you previously found interesting, negatively affecting your life.

Signs of depression

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

Irritability

Suicidal thoughts 

Lack of concentration

waking up early or insomnia 

Loss of appetite or excessive hunger 

How marijuana helps in dealing with depression

Experts recommend seeking medical attention as chronic depression can affect decision-making, lower immunity, and increase risk of getting a heart attack. 

One way to do this is using marijuana. Technically, what you use to manage depression is medical marijuana. Changes in the law mean you can legally use medical marijuana in the NJ area, as it was legalized back in 2010.

Research into using medical marijuana to manage depression has mostly been positive. 

Your brain produces endocannabinoids, a natural chemical that controls cognition, behavior, and emotions. 

Since depression subdues endocannabinoids production, you will display depression signs and symptoms. Using medical marijuana increases dopamine production hence restoring the endocannabinoid levels.

Researchers found that the Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in medical marijuana could restore the endocannabinoid levels on lab rats. 

THC works like anandamide reducing chronic pain and inducing feelings of bliss.

Since dopamine release reduces chronic pain, withdrawal, loss of appetite, and feelings of sadness, medical marijuana is a useful tool in managing depression. 

Research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders suggests that that the best way to reduce depression symptoms is to use marijuana with high levels of CBD, but low on THC.

That’s not discrediting THC use for depression. Low usage of THC is great, but higher doses will increase your depression. Meanwhile, any CBD dosage is great for managing depression. 

The research also dispels the myth that marijuana causes depression, as it finds no link between marijuana use in moderation and depression. That said, regular or heavy users have more recorded incidences of depression as compared to non-users.

Why you should use medical marijuana for depression

Conventional means of depression treatment like talk therapy take too long to achieve any effect, yet marijuana is a fast-acting substance. That makes it the perfect solution for short-term depression management. 

Additionally, it’s not as terrifying as some conventional depression treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy, which involves running electric currents through your brain till you get a seizure.

Further, medical marijuana is a natural product, meaning it does not produce the same debilitating side effects that antipsychotic and antidepressants cause when you use conventional medication to treat depression. 

To sweeten the deal, you can choose how to take marijuana. Conventional means of managing depression have a fixed way of going about it. That could involve toxic pills, talking and counselling sessions, or electric shocks. 

Not so with medical marijuana. If anything, the number of ways you can take marijuana is only limited by your imagination. You could smoke it, use marijuana are patches, eat it as tasty treats, and even mix it in your baths.

Getting medical marijuana for depression

Even though medical marijuana is legal in New Jersey, that doesn’t mean you can match into any marijuana store and demand a medicinal marijuana dose. 

Whether its regular or medical marijuana, its sale and cultivation still faces regulation. 

Most importantly, you need a medical practitioner’s approval to get medical marijuana, just as you would any other prescription. 

That involves getting a medical marijuana card approval from a licensed medical marijuana doctor. You can talk to a New Jersey medical marijuana doctor in-person or online. 

Sign-up and schedule an appointment, then take a few minutes to answer their questions. After that, they will take a few minutes to gauge if your ailment qualifies you to get a medical marijuana card (mmj card).

If you qualify, you can apply for registration to the state. The state will then process your application and issue your mmj card. With that in hand, you can purchase medical marijuana.