Cannabis and Bipolar Disorder: What do we know? What do we still need to learn?

Andrew Penn, RN, MS, NP, APRN-BC, explores the controversy of using cannabis therapeutically for mood stabilization, anxiety reduction, and the promotion of sleep.

This webinar explains how cannabis works in the brain, what we know about the risks of exacerbating mental illness, how to reduce these risks, and what we still need to learn before we know if cannabis can be therapeutic for bipolar patients.

Tell us what you think! After you’ve watched our presentation, please take our survey at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07eddge19giuo7cxjd/start

The information contained in or made available through this webinar cannot replace or substitute for the services of trained professionals in the medical field. We do not recommend any specific treatment, drug, food or supplement. International Bipolar Foundation is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or received from International Bipolar Foundation.

Andrew Penn, RN, MS, NP, APRN-BC, was trained as an adult nurse practitioner and psychiatric clinical nurse specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. He is board certified as an adult nurse practitioner and psychiatric nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing. Mr. Penn is a psychiatric nurse practitioner with Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, CA, where he provides psychopharmacological treatment for adult patients and specializes in the treatment of affective disorders and trauma. He has interest in promoting psychiatric wellness through exercise, meditation, and meaningful social relationships. He is also interested in emerging novel treatments for psychiatric disorders including MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD and the use of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for depression. He is a former board member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, California Chapter, and has presented nationally on improving medication adherence, the risks and therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, treatment-resistant depression, diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder, and the art and science of psychopharmacologic practice.

34 Comments

  1. Susan Lawrence on August 1, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    Nancy Reagen I think is being misused here with her quote of Just Say No. My understanding was that it was aimed at young ones to help them avoid drug use. I don’t believe it was an issue of medical use, but young people doing it for entertainment.



  2. Chris on August 1, 2019 at 8:21 pm

    Ive been a close to daily weed smoker for years but I can’t lie, the only time I’ve ever had a scary panic attack was right after I smoked a blunt with a couple friends. And even after that my body didn’t feel right for like 2 weeks it had to of been some kind of psychosomatic episode induced by marijuana… oh well.



  3. elchulo13agt on August 1, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    When you say its more likely to stay depressed using cannabis do you mean THC ? because ive read several articles where CBD is great for bipolar disease ?



  4. Mario F Juruena on August 1, 2019 at 8:25 pm

    Several studies demonstrate that Cannabis, Cannabidiol worst Bipolar Affective Disorder
    Cannabidiol was ineffective for manic episode of bipolar affective disorder, see Journal of Psychopharmacology January 2010 24(1):135 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881108096521?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed



  5. Gary Simone on August 1, 2019 at 8:34 pm

    Just starting my journey re this I do not have a med card So any advice I amBi So any help would be helpful



  6. Eric Houston on August 1, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    Bipolar discussion starts at 25:10



  7. Roger Navas on August 1, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    Who knows nowadays anyway? I mean this dude probably thinks you need to sleep a full 8 hours every night.



  8. Mario F Juruena on August 1, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    SEVERAL EVIDENCES THAT CANNABIS TRIGGER AND WORST BIPOLAR DISORDER

    Tijssen MJ, Van Os J, Wittchen HU, Lieb R, Beesdo K, Wichers M. Risk factors predicting onset and persistence of subthreshold expression of bipolar psychopathology among youth from the community. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2010 Sep;122(3):255-66.

    Moore TH, Zammit S, Lingford-Hughes A, Barnes TR, Jones PB, Burke M, Lewis G. Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review. Lancet. 2007 Jul 28;370(9584):319-28.

    Agrawal A, Nurnberger JI Jr, Lynskey MT; Bipolar Genome Study. Cannabis involvement in individuals with bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Feb 28;185(3):459-61. Epub 2010 Jul 31. PubMed PMID: 20674039; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2976789.

    Henquet C, Krabbendam L, de Graaf R, ten Have M, van Os J. Cannabis use and expression of mania in the general population. J Affect Disord. 2006 Oct;95(1-3):103-10.



  9. David Phillips on August 1, 2019 at 8:39 pm

    @9 iq 141
    had these issues .. cannabis gave relief,,,



  10. Gary Simone on August 1, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    Ok so bottom line if you have a
    Bi use or not use cbd ?? This presentation has confused me. Help



  11. louise Rousseau on August 1, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    I been doing a lot of research on cbd oil. I think it is safer to keep dosage very low to prevent hallucinations. Basic CBD low THC helps with pain and it has reduced anxiety.



  12. Milhu on August 1, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    It really helps with me. Helps me calm down when I’m irritated or can’t sleep. It also helps me when I’m too depressed to eat!! It helps me get hungry. So yes Cannabis helps me in sooo many ways.



  13. Lizbeth Salander on August 1, 2019 at 8:45 pm

    Bipolar II here! i smoke pot everyday since a year and a half, sometimes it’s a great helps, some others doesn’t make any change on my state, and some other times it makes worse, at hypomania or depressive, the effect it’s never the same…



  14. John Cochran on August 1, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    It seems odd that the chart at 28:00 doesn’t have a cannabis only column like it does for tobacco only. I feel this study is incomplete for this reason.



  15. jeremiah mcmullins on August 1, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    You need to use small doses and build your tolerance slow and small doses you can relax and not be impaired but you no people they dont have self control if you sick enough you will



  16. steve & emily west on August 1, 2019 at 8:50 pm

    i had been sick for 20 years, BIPOLAR disorder , sever pain, epilepsy ,ibs with diarihia , cannabis oils saved my life thanks for the video dan



  17. Dakota Barton on August 1, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    cannabis has helped me tremendously. I have Bi Polar II and I found that it brings me down when I become manic and it also helps me sleep while I’m manic, this is a hard thing to do. When I’m depressed it allows me to feel better and suppresses thoughts. I am completely thankful for this medicine and would like to try to push for medicinal use sometime. I can function on this medicine because it slows down my thinking and allows me to think things through.



  18. Jay D on August 1, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    Bipolar I, Disability, SSI. Marijuana helped for three years tremendously, and in the last two years sent me into a haze of panic attacks and confusion, avoid usage.



  19. Stanley Plock on August 1, 2019 at 8:53 pm

    There were 2 times that marijuana would give me severe anxiety. It was like a dark evil cloud surrounded me. Like being in hell!
    When I started taking Prozac (both times) I could smoke more with NO anxiety whatsoever.
    My first 3 manic episodes were stress related and I thought of them as "Nervous Breakdowns" and not a medical condition.
    I can no longer take Prozac because it may elevate me into mania.
    I am currently testing Indica strains for mania and insomnia.
    Seroquel seems to help eliminate my marijuana cravings.



  20. Julie A. Fast on August 1, 2019 at 8:54 pm

    Great webinar. Those of us with bipolar have trouble with THC. This is especially true if we also experience psychosis.  I choose not to use any cannabis as I get manic and psychotic ever time, even with the lowest possible THC. If people with bipolar are going to use cannabis, the safe route is CBD only where you have a professional assurance that the THC is extremely low. Weed from the street will be high THC. I wish I could use it, but I prefer to be stable. Julie Fast



  21. bo g tv on August 1, 2019 at 8:54 pm

    I broke my ankle and started using the CBD oil and it helps tremendously I no longer need the Vicodin and Percocets the prescribed me for the pain, it also helps my social anxiety also, it also helps me sleep at night so I love CBD and it has definitely improved the quality of life for me.



  22. jeremiah mcmullins on August 1, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    When it comes to your kids i think my bipolar has me more impaired that what marijuana does and atleast they can see there parent happy what does bipolar do makes you want to sleep for days would rather smoke marijuana and be on the couch. There is no good situation here there is bad or worse i would choose bad just saying and you are more aware than people think you do not pass out and not watch your kids thats alchol



  23. Noah on August 1, 2019 at 8:56 pm

    Smoking weed makes me manic. Being sober makes me depressed.
    Mania makes me 10x more productive than the average person.
    Depression makes me 10x less productive than the average person.
    I’ve never been able to find CLOSE to a middle since this has started. This is new to me and I’m so scared. If my manic actions were consistent, it looks like I’d be on the road to becoming an extremely valuable member of society who can create abundance for my community and family. If my depressed actions stay consistent, it looks like I’d be on the road to poverty…just a miserable soul feeding off the productivity of my family. Should I keep trying to benefit off manic episodes, or should I quit smoking and just deal with the depression? I genuinely would appreciate any advice or shared experiences.



  24. Jim Jamesson on August 1, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    Can someone give me the gist and save me the hour twelve?



  25. martinmodule on August 1, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    Thank you Andrew Penn for providing the most informative, unbiased and useful report on Cannabis I have found.



  26. Making It on August 1, 2019 at 9:00 pm

    Dope is the wrong way to go



  27. Robert Russell on August 1, 2019 at 9:04 pm

    Thank You for presenting the data it will aid in my decisions.



  28. Cary Horton on August 1, 2019 at 9:06 pm

    Are you reading from the same outdated and misleading medical sources that Jeff Sessions reads? Because it sounds as if you are as ignorant to the facts that cannabis has many medical benefits as does he. A little word of advice for you, if you want all those little initials you add to the end of your name to actually carry value then try reading from other sources than just those printed by the AMA.



  29. Alan Rochin on August 1, 2019 at 9:06 pm

    I used cannabis before I had bipolar



  30. blunt hitter on August 1, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    Good for my depressionWORSENS MANIA/PSYCHOSIS i stay away



  31. Ben sken on August 1, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    I have personally used cannibis to treat my bipolar disorder haven’t taken medication for years I don’t think it’s a solution for everyone as we’re all different but it’s definitely good at stabilising my moods as they changed very quickly when untreated



  32. mowdong on August 1, 2019 at 9:11 pm

    when i was a teen i used dab pens, and a dab pen is not a good route. they say oh its just this but its actually so many other unhealthy things you find in it. i can take 2 hits and hallucinate and cant feel my body and its just wack. now for marijuana that isnt so produced badly (like most dab pen carts come from someones basment) they just make me feel calmer. but the dab pen sent me to the hospital and they found it wasnt just marijuana and natural stuff. watch out what you take and do, i dont do it at all because its scary and i dont wanna feel that again. i know the non dab pen ones work very well, i just felt calm and not so irritated. but dab pens (basically o pens) are not good. they may smell like marijuana but theres just terrible stuff.



  33. Marilize Van der Walt on August 1, 2019 at 9:16 pm

    If people are using cannabis in their youth to treat bipolar disorder, it’s likely because they don’t have an alternative. I think an effective way to address stopping its use it I think would be to take the "let’s replace it with something that will help you a little bit better" route.



  34. Ruszsa Van den Haute on August 1, 2019 at 9:16 pm

    Quetaipine is utterly pervasive and insidious to health an well-being . His reaction is very telling. It’s very expensive and over prescribed. Hmmmm