OCD by Anonymous

I am a sufferer of OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, seriously, for 25 years. It is chronic and I have used SSRI's for 14 years. I recently started using marijuana again at age 50 after more or less quitting for several years and was amazed at how much better I got. I prefer to take one big hit of good pot as it limits side effects, but if you take more hits, I get even better results.

The effects are truly amazing. I am better than I have been in 25 years, since the illness became severe. I recently spoke at a public meeting and was calmer in speaking in front of a large group (800 people) than I have been in 29 years. I cannot use just marijuana. If I go off SSRI's for a week, I start to relapse. But after about 5 days off pot, I start to relapse too. I really need both the SSRI (Lexapro 20mg) and marijuana. I really have no interest in using pot recreationally anymore, and I use it only for medicine. At this point, it is one of the best medicines that I have for this illness. I dare say it is essential.

I am recommending it to other OCD patients, many of whom suffer profoundly. Sadly, on a large OCD board, the owner has shut down all talk of pot for OCD and locked all such discussions. She claims that pot harms OCD patients, without providing the slightest evidence that this is true. She also says it makes them depressed and can make them go psychotic. As many of these folks are terrified of going psychotic anyway, this is really not helpful. She is a clinical psychologist. The prejudice against this drug in your field is profound.

I really tire of this endless campaign about pot making people nuts. Surely in some cases it may be so. I have yet to see a pot user develop schizophrenia. In my case, what is so bizarre is that pot actually makes me sane. Yes, it enables me to control my thoughts. A week or so off pot, and my mind starts going wild again. In my case, pot is just another psychiatric drug like any of the others, but without the stigma.

It is unfortunate that I am on Section 8 Housing and can have my Sec 8 revoked for using my medicine, although California has legalized this for me.