Marijuana Is Good For
Depression, But These Two Articles Are NOT!
Context For The Medical Marijuana Debate
(Marijuananews note: Prohibitionists claim that
medical marijuana is unnecessary because there are pharmaceuticals that do everything that
it does.
See
New Study Shows How
Marijuana Eases Pain;
Will Someone Do A Study On How The Suppression of Medical Marijuana Causes Pain?
They are particularly dismissive of its use for mood disorders, which actually provide one
of the largest markets for pharmaceuticals, such as Prozac and its many variants. In fact,
as the article below makes clear, most people who use these very expensive, often
addictive, and perhaps dangerous drugs, are dissatisfied with them.
See
Atlanta Man Who
Killed 13 Had Prozac. What If It Had Been Marijuana?
Of course, there is no mention of medical marijuana here, which is
rather depressing, but not at all surprising.)See
Prescriptions For
Anti-Depressants Increase 17 Percent In One Year,
But What Works Better and Faster?
The Context For Medical Marijuana. – An Article and A Letter
and
Study
Shows Both Under and Over Use of Anti-Depressants; The Context For Medical Marijuana
Debate
and
Prohibitionist
Oregonian Paper Takes Objective Look at Prozac Use By Kids; Almost A Million Take
Anti-Depressants
and
New Study Shows How
Marijuana Eases Pain;
Will Someone Do A Study On How The Suppression of Medical Marijuana Causes Pain?
and
A Letter From A
Medical Marijuana User Who Found That It Relieves His Depression And Bi-Polar Disorder
and
The
Lancet Reports That Thousands Are Killed In Accidents Caused By Tranquilizers
and links
November 29, 1999
Few patients satisfied with antidepressants
NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters Health) -- Just a third of patients on long-term
antidepressant drug therapy report being very satisfied with their treatment, according to
results of a new survey.
"If there is one message (from the survey results), it's
vigilance,'' said Lydia Lewis, executive director of the National
Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association, which conducted the survey. She told
Reuters Health that patients must work with their physician to "hone in on the right
treatment.''
The Association conducted an online survey of close to 1,400 patients who were taking
an antidepressant or had received antidepressant treatment within the past 5 years. Three quarters of the respondents were women.
Eighty-one percent of survey participants reported that that their depression continued
to impair their social life ''moderately'' or "extremely'' while they were taking
antidepressants. Depression continued to affect the family lives of 79% of those polled,
and it impaired work performance in 72%.
Sixty percent of patients reported that their prescribed medication caused drowsiness,
and 17% said that they had stopped taking their medication because
of side effects. Patients also reported headaches, insomnia, agitation, nausea and other
gastrointestinal symptoms, and sexual dysfunction as a result of antidepressant
medication.
Overall, 61% described themselves as "somewhat'' or "very satisfied'' with
treatment, while 25% said that medication had had no effect on their symptoms. Forty
percent reported no improvement in fatigue and loss of energy, and 35% reported no
increase in ability to experience pleasure while on antidepressant treatment.
Two thirds of respondents reported a "less than satisfactory
relationship'' with their treating physician. More than half said that their
physicians did not understand them.
Lewis told Reuters Health that the survey findings underscore the need for effective
antidepressant medications with no or minimal side effects.
"There are about 20 antidepressants available and they all work -- but they don't
all work for every patient,'' she said. ''We need to continue with research on new
medications... (patients) shouldn't have to choose between treatment of depression and
quality of life.''
Lewis also has some advice for depressed patients when it comes to choosing the right
doctor. "If your doctor isn't right for you, look for another doctor,'' she advised. "Patients really have to become informed consumers.''
(Marijuananews note: Indeed! But of course if they become informed consumers and find
out that only medical marijuana really helps them, what are they supposed to do? It would
not appear that they could find out from the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive
Association, which does not mention medical marijuana.)
November 30, 1999
US group calls for federal patient protection
(Marijuananews note: And just to cheer you up…)
NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The National Academy of Sciences is calling for a new
federal agency to protect patients and said Congress should require healthcare providers
to report mistakes that cause serious injury or death, the New York Times reported on
Tuesday.
In a report, the academy's Institute of Medicine said research
suggests that medical errors kill 44,000 to 98,000 people per year in hospitals alone.
See
Column By Authors of
the IOM Report On Medical Marijuana
Shows Why The Public Does Not Trust The Medical Establishment –
And Why They Should Not! With Analysis by Richard Cowan
and
Painkillers
Put Millions At Risk Of Ulcers; Hospitalize 76,000 & Kill 7,600 Annually; One That
Doesn’t Kill Is Illegal
and
UK Victims of Tranquilizers Urge That
"Far Safer" Medical Cannabis Be Made Available -- IoS
"More people died from benzodiazepine usage than from such
drugs as heroin and cocaine."
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