Nature’s Antidepressant

     To traditional Indian doctors, ganja is the chief facilitator of Ayurvedic medicine’s ultimate goal: joyous harmony between the patient and nature. The herb’s ability to replace melancholy with laughter was stressed by French physician Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours, a founding member of the Club des Haschischins of Paris in the 1840s. In this group he introduced the Moroccan hashish candy majoun to the French art scene. The U.S. Dispensatory listed cannabis as treatment for melancolia from 1854 until prohibition in 1937.

     There are hundreds of case reports on record, both early and modern, attesting to cures of depression by marijuana. Controlled studies are few, however, involving only small numbers of patients. Some showed great benefit, others found equivocal results, possibly due to the depressing effect of hospital surroundings.

     There are also testimonials from many people for whom psychiatric drugs have failed, who find it’s the only substance that helps them climb out of the pit. Some have also found help from cannabis in poorly understood ailments like chronic fatigue syndrome, in which depression is a major factor. Psychiatrist Tod Mikuriya says, “The power of cannabis to fight depression is perhaps its most important property.” It is one reason for the drug’s usefulness in so many different diseases. However, it does not work in all people or at all times. High-THC, low-CBD sativas are often considered better for depression than indicas, but panic attacks may be more common with them. Anxiety reactions are a common side effect of Marinol, which is pure synthetic THC.