Is It Okay to Smoke Pot After a Brain Injury?

I can just speak from my experience. I sustained a severe tbi 3 years ago, and have found that now my brain function is horrendous when I smoke. It's the thc and it messes with me so much now

Then why would my s sons Dr. prescribe a medical marijuana?

Is it better to drink alcohol or smoke weed after TBI?

I had an abi 9 months ago (multiple bleeds, 3 on CCS, 28 days in PTA) I tried "pot" 6 months after with no negative effects so I kept on smoking weekly for 6 weeks, I started to feel slower, "dumber" and more forgetful for a few days after I smoked so I haven't smoked for about a month and will not smoke again until it's been 12 month's since the abi.

20 years ago I became TBI. When that happened I lost everything. I had to drop out of college, my girl dumped me (wasnt part of her ten year plan), my high school friends said I changed too much and didn't want to be my friends anymore, and my grandma and mom died. I was passenger in the car. I was alone in the world but for some reason I lived. With no money, no place to live, no friend,s no living family, I had nothing and i cursed my God. Living on the streets during winter I did what I had to do to survive. I was in constant level 10 pain. I was wondering, why am I alive? I was wishing I was dead. Knowing I was going to kill myself then I was introduced to weed it took my pain away. It put me in a really good mood. It helped me to forget about all the bad things that happened to me. Marijuana saved my life and now doctors try to say its not good for TBI..... wtf? Where were these people 20 years ago to help me? I was homeless. These people mocked me, laughed at that guy who smells and hasn't taken a shower in forever. These people would not help me out.

The "answer" is absolutely wrong. Use google, countless scientific articles have been made on the effects of marijuana use before and after having a traumatic brain injury.

I had a 30 km/h longboard crash with no helmet on and it cause a fractured skull, epidermal hematoma and my heart stopped working a few hours after. I should be in a wheelchair and relearning basic life skills but within around 4 or 5 days after I was able to walk without my walker. It was brought up buy a friend that my marijuana use may be why I recovered so fast since he had heard it before . Around a year after I read a something about a study in Israel done on soldiers showing that cannabis not only helped in the recovery of tbi patients but also prevented brain damage if smoked 3 days before the cause of your injury. The first few months I had migraines from the time I woke up to the time I fell asleep, The first time I smoked weed after the crash was a little over a month later and my migraine was gone for 2 days. It has almost been 2 years since the crash and the only problems I deal with is migraines and headaches through the day, mood swings, handful of sleep problems and I twitch. Cannabis helps me with almost everything but twitching. The reason cannabis helps me function better is because I have a tolerance to the point that it doesn't make me impaired when I use it.

I would like to say as a survivor of a TBI, I was violently attacked by a man who was trying to kill me with a kitchen knife and I ended up having my neck broken, the back of my neck was stabbed, my head was stabbed over 6 times and the last time the blade broke off in my skull and pierced the center line of my brain. The bottom line is I've been using cannabis oil illicitly and have experienced an incredible recovery, to say the least. I was told I wouldn't walk again, I was told I would be having constant seizures due to the severity of my brain injury, the blood loss, and the fact I couldn't be put on pain meds and was kept awake during the craniotomy. I answered the neurosurgeon's questions while he pushed the blade from my brain and skull, and proceeded to put a metal nanowire mesh and part of my skull back on. I was put in a medically induced coma to lower my brain swelling, they really weren't expecting me to wake up after that, but I woke up after 11 days, and was out of the hospital in a month and into a rehab hospital for 1 month. I was 18 years old when this happened to me. I'm now 21 years old and my life is a wreck. I can't keep a job, I can't pay for what happened to me. I ended up putting my hands on my girlfriend in a nightmare, had the cops called on me, and am being charged with domestic violence. The man who tried killing me with a knife and snapping my neck got 15 years in jail in the state of Kansas. It took a group of 6 cops to get this man off me. I've been dealing with the nightmares and PTSD for so long without help or being able to deal with it because of memory problems and overall life situation, and the fact I would have to move to a state to use medical cannabis is purely criminal. Luckily, I was able to have a friend who worked in the industry and heard about what happened to me and brought me cannabis oil which healed me illegally in the hospital, all documented fact that my condition improved so dramatically after that first dose, they didn't have to perform the extra brain surgery to drain the fluid off my brain,or surgery for a poop sack, due to the fact my friend brought me the right strain of cannabis oil. I could not even comprehend my mental condition if I had not been taking that oil, that is FACT. I would not be alive. Doctors need to stand up for their oath, and speak on the truth of the endocannabinoid system and stand up for the truth. If you're a doctor, you know the book truths you've studied and whatever experience you've had, and ultimately what you decide. By the way, the man who attempted murder on me somehow bought legal bath salts or some compound from a gas station and was drunk, he was a 38-year-old man who was renting a room at the person's house I was staying at for the night.

That's a hard one. Anyone who knows me since I had a brain injury, and disagree with it before my injury say I'm a jerk on it, not to mention they say this after drinking or doing stuff more messed up, while when I talk to important people they love my company without knowing I smoke beforehand, and had a brain injury, so it's a catch 22 thing.

Absolute hooey.. I had a TBI 2 years ago.  3 strokes and I began having seizures.  THC and CBD are known neuro protectants.. and that is not debatable since our own government has patents on them as such.. so done with the discussion. Without High THC marijuana, I cannot live.  I am in constant seizure and after 2 years of medications that did not work and made things worse.. MMJ is the only medicine that should be used for Brain injury..

Before anyone reads my post, I think it is important to disclose that I am a strong proponent of legalizing marijuana but recognize its dangers. While marijuana used to have THC levels around 4% a few decades ago, it now has levels that reach 20 to 30% and it is possible to buy wax/dabs that are close to 90% THC. The increased potency of pot has increased the drugs unwanted side effects and led to higher chances of becoming dependent on THC and addicted to it.

I don’t like telling anyone what to do or put in their bodies and, frankly, don’t care. However, I personally have seen the dangers of smoking after TBI in the form of an addiction and increased psychosis that has led to psychotic violent behavior that ripped my own family apart and brought us close to bankruptcy. Like many other Americans, I grew up smoking pot and have fond memories of getting high with my friends. HOWEVER, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT THC IS A DIFFERENT DRUG FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE SUFFERED FROM TBI. I have spent hours reading medical journals on the effects of smoking cannabis after suffering a TBI and felt that I should probably share what I have found. I recognize that people are entitled to their own opinions, and have based my conclusions on unbiased articles from well-respected medical journals that I have access to through my graduate school library. Unfortunately, you will probably have to find the articles I cite at your own library or pay to read them. You can use links provided to read the summary of findings or abstracts.

MY FINDINGS: There are two reasons that it may be a bad idea to start smoking after a TBI:

1. After a TBI, you are more susceptible to becoming addicted to THC and other substances:

I have focused my research on addiction of adolescents and young adults (14 – 29), and there are numerous studies that have found post TBI victims are around twice as likely to develop addictions to THC. If you are older, do your own research. Here is a link to just ONE recent study I found. There are tons more if you look for them. (this link goes to a pdf of the article) - https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/69975/1/POST_Substance%20Use%20Related%20Harms%20Among%20Adolescents%20With%20and%20Without%20Traumatic%20Brain%20Injury.pdf

While I did find an Australian study from 2010 that claimed there was no relationship between increased chance of addiction to THC and TBI, the authors noted that when people who could not remember their age when their BI occurred were included in the sample, their model indicated there was, in-fact, an increased risk of abuse. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20350327

Don’t hesitate to do some research for yourself. There are a ton of studies that come to the same conclusion. Chances are that smoking once or twice isn’t going to kill you, its when it becomes a daily habit that you should be worried. The problem is that when someone is an addict, they magically convince themselves its okay to smoke all the time. TBIs seem to help people justify making themselves feel good using drugs.

2. Post TBI cannabis use can delay recovery and lead to increased symptoms of psychosis:

From what I understand, post TBI problems can be categorized as cognitive or behavioral. Cognitive problems include things like test performance and memory issues while behavioral problems include problems like anxiety, depression or violence. While there have only been a few case studies that are limited due to problems finding enough people with TBIs to conduct a full study, I was able to find 2 articles that discuss the effects of THC on post TBI mental health.  

The first study is from 2010 and involved 1 person. The authors found that THC did not alter the subject’s cognitive function but that it did seem to have led to higher levels of anxiety and depression. While the authors did not go as far as to say that THC was detrimental to the subject’s behavioral health for sure, they did cite papers linking increased anxiety and depression to psychosis. The authors also noted that the subject did not abstain from smoking during the entire study and that while his anxiety and depression decreased after abstaining from smoking, he began smoking less than he had before and was able to keep his depression and anxiety levels lower after using other methods to help lower his depression and anxiety. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10834343  

In the last two weeks, a study came out with findings that cannabis may act as a psychological stressor that increases a TBI victim’s risk of psychosis significantly more than it can provide therapeutic benefits. The authors also noted that THC is the least beneficial drug in cannabis and that most people have medical marijuana that contains high levels of THC. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26849855

If you aren’t worried about behavioral problems, then these articles aren’t relevant. However, most people don’t know the extent of their TBI related behavioral problems until 3 years after their injury and many are in denial that their problems even exist. If you’re worried about behavioral problems, you might want to think twice about starting to smoke again.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Unfortunately, there is a plethora of incorrect and biased propaganda circulating the internet on this topic. Almost every article found using a simple google search or post found on this website either cites a personal experience or study that was conducted on the neuro protective benefits of marijuana achieved a few hours after the occurrence of a traumatic brain injury. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF WEBSITES CLAIMING THAT MEDICAL MARIJUANA HELPS TBI RECOVERY, THEY ALL CITE ARTICLES THAT ONLY CLAIM TO SEE THOSE BENEFITS IF MARAJUANA IS IN SOMEONES SYSTEM IN THE FEW HOURS BEFORE OR AFTER A TBI!! Any article that talks about neuro protective benefits of cannabinoids is talking about their protective qualities in the time immediately before and after a head injury.

CONCLUSION:

I have thoroughly searched medical journals on the harms and benefits of smoking after a TBI and have only found studies that indicate smoking pot during recovery of a TBI could have negative consequences. In short, the pro-pot people who claim that the government is spouting all kinds of biased and incorrect information, are actually the ones circulating lies.

I do recognize that cannabis is probably a better alternative to the highly-addictive prescription drugs that doctors over prescribe. However, you should be aware that THC is addictive and could have drastic consequences that hurt you and your family. If you’re using drugs in a way that is detrimental to you or the people around you, DON’T BE IN DENIAL, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM AND SHOULD GET SOME HELP! Just like chemo therapy isn’t the appropriate drug to treat the flu, cannabis isn’t the right drug to help people that have behavioral problems associated with TBI. Pot has its medicinal qualities but its benefits are not worth risking your mental health.

Here's another study that directly contradicts the "doctor's" advice:

http://concussionpolicyandthelaw.com/2013/09/13/study-points-to-marijuanas-potential-benefit-post-concussion/

and another:

http://www.nature.com/jcbfm/journal/v35/n3/full/jcbfm2014218a.html

This is an expert discussing the potential benefits relating to brain injury in a letter to the NFL:

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/03/01/harvard-professor-to-nfl-treat-concussions-with-pot/

I am quite shocked after finding this page.  Not only is the advice offered by the "doctor" at best completely wrong and without any factual basis, it is at worst outright harmful or even potentially deadly!  As far as I can tell, he's not even a medical doctor, but merely a PhD, who really has no business dispensing medical advice as a supposed "expert", particularly when it concerns something he clearly knows practically nothing about (cannabis).

Some serious issues need to be addressed concerning existing knowledge and evidence.

Some important and relevant facts to consider:

1) The US government holds a patent on the medical use of cannabinoids (including CBD, which is typically the 2nd most prevalent cannabinoid in most cannabis strains) as antioxidants and neuroprotectants (relating to both neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury).  http://www.google.com/patents/US6630507  "The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia."

2)  Already mentioned 2 posts below is the study that found that in serious TBI cases, patients with cannabis in their system were a remarkable 80% less likely to die than those without!

3) CBD and other cannabinoids have been found to promote neurogenesis (production of new brain cells):

Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509

Cannabinoid receptor CB1 mediates baseline and activity-induced survival of new neurons in adult hippocampal neurogenesis

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1478-811x-8-12.pdf

The anxiolytic effect of cannabidiol on chronically stressed mice depends on hippocampal neurogenesis: involvement of the endocannabinoid system.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23298518

Activation of Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor (CB1R) Promotes Neurogenesis in Murine Subventricular Zone Cell Cultures

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23704915

Now, all that said, I would never recommend smoking anything to someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury (or really anyone wanting to use cannabis for its medical benefits in general).  It would be much smarter to to use non-smoked ingestion methods such as vaporization or consuming edibles or concentrates in order to get the medical benefits.

I use it occasionally, and I find it can help my muscles, mood, attention, problem solving ability, balance, and even my memory. That is when I use a good kind wt a lot in THC, balanced in wt a little bit of CBD. Unfortunately since it still illegal in my state, finding a good kind is a little bit difficult. Cheaper kinds that I am able to find wt low levels of THC, don't seem to help my abilities, and the high CBD levels just leave me wt a non complacent stoned feeling. I don't like that stoned feeling, as it can really hurt my cognition. Still I do get a lot of benefit from kinds wt higher levels of THC. Even scientists are finally admitting it helps people wt seizures & post concussive syndrome, which incudes a lot of us wt brain injuries. This link is about the benefits to post concussive syndrome. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=mariquana+helps+post+concussive+syndrome&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

This site seems to have an oldschool/untested point of view. Search "marijuana and brain trauma" and you will see mixed results, however, even the national institute of health has credited thc with neuroprotective properties that can increase survival rates and ease management of severe tbi

This is a reply to the person who asked if you can smoke cigarettes post TBI, about ten questions down? I don't see why not, but why would you ever want to? Besides all of the health risks associated with it, it can also cause oxygen starvation, in the brain. Stick wt Mary Jane, both for a healthier body, and brain.

Every brain injury is different. Cannabis isn't going to overdose you. Several prescription drugs used are derived from cannabis. Natural is better and safer. For me dark plants are best in alleviating my plethora of symptoms in small doses. I've tracked several different delivery methods and over twenty strains. I can honestly say six strains are perfection. You don't have to be stoned to get relief just lightly elevated with 15 drops , two capsules, or one light toke. Each delivery method and mixture will relieve different issues without negatives if used responsibly. Permanently free the green for home cultivation of TBI patients and I can teach you to save others lives from the plethora of issues associated with TBI.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25264643

My son had a fairly severe brain injury in his teens, 5 years ago.  For most people looking at and talking with him, they would say there was nothing wrong.  He has pretty severe motivational issues and forgets to do basic things.  If you talk to him he has lots of ambition to achieve all sorts of things but they mostly don't get done.  Of late he has been smoking a lot of weed and I am convinced it is linked to his inability to get things done.  when he stays off it he can be quite clear thinking, as soon as he is on it again everything becomes 'fine' for him, 'I'll do that later', and everything starts to fall apart.

So, I'd say if it is memory and motivation that are the problems then weed is not the answer.