Best Strain for depression

[eexpee]

I am thinking more of a sativa, but are there any specific sativa strains that would be good for treating depression?

Thanx

[H R puffinstuff]

I have chronic clinical depression with symptoms first showing in early childhood. About 40 years later and after trying everything since my teenage years have NOT found anything that helps the way my smoke helps. Been growing about 5 years now.

 

I have tried everthing from yoga, meditation, mantras/positive statements and thinking.Diet, fasting 1 or 2 days per week on distilled water ( purest water, dead), vitamins, herbal/bach remidies, etc etc in the holistic area none of it helped, it may help others tho'.

 

Meds and therapy useless, max amounts plus, about 20 different medications some of which made me feel so europhic but could not be repeated after the intial first day of use followed by a crash and a memeory of what it felt like to be what was probably only a notch up the scale of normality which to me was bliss. litium put me in hospital after 5 days of use which nearly finised me off. I'm going on a bit here but I have tried the lot.

 

The way to handle depression is to accecpt it, allow it and not fight against it, this keeps it in place as it becomes a goal to get rid of it one day.Thats where the suffering is in talking bout it and trying to change it when in some cases it can't be helped.You have got ta do what you find helps you.Pot is the best solution I have found and if it helps you go for it.Its your life and suffering you can ease it a lot.

 

I'm using Celtic stone and have another harvest drying. I thought it would a stronger effect and maybe a strain with 20% sativa would be on da money. Fat flo was the best strain I have smoked but I lost the Mum, bummer. CS good for sleep, appitite, and general relaxation which is important if you get a lot of strees and anxiety with your depression.

 

Pot has been awesome in keeping my hayfever away each summer, always got sinus infections every year, not anymore.

 

Try Celtic stone, fat flo if you can find it, i wish. Too much sativa will cause paranoia I have found. Read this book also it is a great help and puts a lot of stuff into perspective The Power Of NOW by Eckhart Tolle can buy in Aus or The Open Secret by Tony Parsons even better. Hope this helps, be easy on self and get out of the mind ( where depression is ) and into the body by watching the breath.Breath slowly and obsereve the breath as it fills the body not deep just relaxed breath. Do this every time you can remember and attention is taken away from the mind. Remember you are not the mind but that which is AWARE of the MIND, be that which is also aware of the body which is here and now and NOT NOT the mind that is trapped in time with conditioning, false beliefs of about self and life, worries of the past and fear of the future. Break that identification by watching how mind draws you in each time away from here and now, have a good chuff and be in the body to feel it and not in the MIND looking at depression. This works for anyone who has suffered enough. Cheers H R

[slashpot]

I'm interested in the idea of different strains being suited to different ailments. When I was diagnosed with Lymphoma (NH) in 2002 I was living in Adelaide where smoke is a lot easier to come by than in Qld. When my problems started (acute foot pain as a result of peripheral neoropathy caused by one of the chemo drugs), I tried a coupla cones but it didn't help so I just figured that Canna didn't work for acute 'burning' pain. (I'd used it before for the ache of back pain and found it quite effective). Now I'm hearing about the different types of stone offered by different strains and I'm interested again. The one thing smoke did when I tried it was help take the mind of it and sorta push the pain to the back a little.

 

Meanwhile my health is being destroyed by the huge amount of presc. drugs I'm prescribed. They tried everyting with little result and finally got a slight relief from Oxycontin. The very mild effects, far overshadowed by the itching and nausea, wore off quite soon. Now I'm on a twice daily dose of Capanol and Mexitil, a quarter of which would kill a normal person. The pain relief is very, very mild and some days non-existent. But at least my teeth are being destroyed! Of course the dentist bills are getting unpayable, so broke toothless and in pain is the total result of Western medicine.

 

The doctors often tell me that Canna might help. bt they wouldn't reccomend it as its bad for you!!!

 

Reminds me of the way Americans sterilize the needle before they give you a lethal injection!!! (they really do!)

 

I'd like to learn more about what different strains can do, and I see I have some reading to do here, but does anyone know of a resource or book which describes these things?

 

thanks in Advance guys,

 

Happy smokin'!

[Frazz]

I'm interested in the idea of different strains being suited to different ailments

 

 

Unfortunately due to the illegality of Cannabis there have been no comparative trials on the various strains of Canna in medical applications, not to my limited knowledge anyway ...

 

I imagine trials would only ever be conducted by pharmacutical companies if they stood to turn a profit by patenting such a strain , as today it seems these things are not explored in the interests of helping humankind at large

so for now i guess its a kind of trial and error for ppl like yourself and all i can add is that predominantly sativia strains tend to be 'up high' mentally stimulating ... whilst predominantly indica strains can be compared more with a 'narcotic ' lethargic stone

IMO both strains tend too magnify the narcotic effects of the medication you presently use , but no doubt you may find that what works for me may not work for you ...

 

so all in all i can offer you no real enlightment .. im sorry i only wish i could, perhaps there are others here would can shed more light on this complex question

 

[amarkrieder]

Pure

 

I suggest you read a paper called

 

Identification and Origin Determinations of Cannabis by Gas and Paper Chromatography,

By W.M. Davis and C. G. FARMILO

Organic Chemistry and Narcotic Section, Food and Drug Directorate, Department of National Health and Welfare, Ottawa

and

ROSLAW OSADCHUCK

The Regional Laboratory, Food and Drug Directorate, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada

Published in

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY

VOL 35, NO. 6, MAY 1963 Page 751

 

and another which may help

 

Marihuana: Identification of Cannabinoids by Centrifugal Chromatography,

SCIENCE VOL 173 page 824,

 

I came across these while looking to find the best solvent for extracting Delta 9 and Delta 6(1) plus purifying them for home testing

 

Still got Photocopies if you cannot get elsewhere plus other interesting papers on its chemistry

HAPPY COOKING

 

OH please follow the references at the ends of the papers for more detailed information

Edited January 18, 2008 by amarkrieder

[slashpot]

Unbelievable, aint it? If there was a way to make money there would be studies and research up the wazoo. Whats more, those studies would find that Canna causes no harmful effects and is actually good for you! But that is the whole thing. The only way it will ever become truly legal is if the corporations can brand it, market it, position it, and sell it. Very unlikely as it will only require two stoners to have a car accident or shoot someone and it will be blamed for everything from obesity to leprosy. If tobacco eventually becomes illegal, they might turn to canna, but the politicians are shit scared thinking that everyone from Bank managers to school teachers would be stoned out of their brain 24/7.

 

Unfortunately I have no way to try different strains as my only source, when I have one, is the odd person who can hook me up with a 50, usually tiny, and mostly leaf, branches and seeds, but more importantly no idea what strain, variety or cultivar. Once in a while I'll be told whether it's hydro (it always is), but that's the limit of the information. Queensland is not the best place to get this sort of info. Sorry for babbling...thanks!

[eexpee]

Hey slashpot, it's the same with me. No idea what strain. I can tell by the high or the density of the buds if its maily indica or sativa but thats about it.

 

Turns out i have bi-polar not depression anyway...

When Im in my 'down swing' my use goes waaay up. Normaly its stable and go 2-3 days without having any sometimes.

 

Thanks for all the info guys! Really.

[Rose Gardener]

I just wanna add my two cents worth...

 

I suffer from depression myself, and it is caused by a chemical imbalance in my head. I have been around the merry go round with medications and finally ended up on Effexor XR about 4 years ago. I have also been told be different doctors that it's not depression, it's bipolar, it's not bipolar, it's depression, it's not depression, it's cyclothymia, (a half way between depression and bipolar). Personally I have no effin idea. All I know is the medication I am now on works, and keeps me on a near level playing field.

 

Personally I have found that with no pharmaceutical meds and smoking pot, my depression and depressive states are worse. But if I am on medication and have the occasional toke, my depression seems to be nearly non existent. I am more happy, relaxed, friendly and am less prone to putting my fist thru walls and aggressive out bursts, and I don't get so much difference between my high and low moods.

 

I mainly smoke pot for pain relief and to help me sleep but I feel that the effects on my mood are just an added bonus.

 

I don't think that pot is the be all and end all answer to anything, it's more a 'to be used in conjunction with' thing. But each persons circumstances are different, and everybody reacts differently. Leafy said that he (? sorry if you're a gurl. ) can't smoke because of family history. I have known a few people like that. It's just like pharmaceutical meds. Not everybody reacts the same way. There will be some people that have adverse reactions to any medication that is out there, whether it be legal or (currently) illegal...

 

But that's just my opinion on the topic.

 

Cheers n have a good one.

~M.

[slashpot]

Jeez Midnight, you sound an awful lot like me.

I've had a bit of depression most of my life but never really bad or long lasting so I avoided the meds. My worst problem was occasional moodiness and the odd boxing match with the Gyprock when I was younger, never got angry at people, just upset (usually as a result of women or being a rabid Collingwood supporter!).

 

Then after the chemo, when the pain got too much the quack put me on Effexor as well as my other opoid drugs coz its apparently been found to help pain - something to do with Serotonin and all that stuff - It helped a bit, but if I try to stop the Effexor, or forget to take it, I get real bad depression. Clever bastards those drug makers!

 

When I was in Adelaide I also used to find I got worse depression when I smoked a real lot (it was a whole lot easier to find down there), but the occasional toke on top of the meds helped a lot - and an occaional toke is all ya can find on the Sunshine Coast. I don't think it's a wonder drug for me, but it certainly helps. For some people though it seems to be a life-saver. A mates' Granny has Cannabis tea for her arthritis and although she doesn't get toasted from it, she says it makes life worth living. As you say, it's clearly different tokes for different folks!

 

But again, who's gonna pay for the research.

[amarkrieder]

Back in the late 70s The 3 species were easy to seperate

C.Sativa = long thin bright green fingers, single stem.

C.Indica = Short fat Dark green fingers, single stem.

C.Ruderalis = long thin bright green fingers, multi stem.

and so were their effects,

since then cross breeding and the introduction of Polyploids (more than 1 set of genes per cell)

has really confused the issue, leaving the plants morphology not a good indicator of its chemistry therefor its effects.

Back then i was hopeing to find a way to match delta 9/delta 6(1) ratio to its its species,

Now genetic's a better bet

As 3 doctors told us during inpatient education Q&A session at Devon Clinic: "Cannabis belongs in a seperate class of drugs from narcotics called Mood Enhancsing drugs because,

1. it doesn't have an amine group attached to its molecule (Chemical definitation).

2. it doesn't cause narcolepsis (sleep) in greater than 50% of test subjects (Behavioral definitation)

3. it is nearly impossible to achieve LD50 and LD100 (lethal dose for 50% of the test subjects or 100%) via normal ingestion methods (defination of a biochemical poison)

What they did find in us patients was whatever mood we were in we felt it more intensely and could change it if we wished

thier example was "If you get an attack of the munchys you are slightly hungry and the cannabis has strengthened that feeling and if on the way to the shop mr pc plod pulls you over and you need to act straight while you hand over your license, you will forget about the hunger real fast and act as straight as you personally think you should and more intensley because of the cannabis in your system"

After I haveing been forced to suppress my real feelings all my life, having the ability to increase feelings intensity when depressed is a bonus for me, allowing me to voice what i feel rather than brood about how much i would like to be dead, mind you I could choose that path and then cannabis would make it worse. but I hope I will not get stuck on that path.

Mania is fun when not smoking, but I can be too intense for others when smoking and manic

 

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

 

Sad thought opposite happy thought, sad thought oppersite happy thought, = balenced person

happy thoughts greater that 50% of the time = happy person

sad thoughts greater that 50% of time = sad person

 

These things help me I hope the help you in your personal journey of life.

[loylty gets u nothing]

i am diagnosed with depression

i like the performance of skunk 1

most indys do me well

some sativas after a few days the racy stoned sends me a bit silly

anything indy dominant is my idea of a great strain for depression

all the best

bil