Welcome to GUBU.ie - if you're new here check out Housekeeping for more info. Any queries contact us.

Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

All threads that don't fit into the existing categories. We will distribute them into dedicated forums as threads are posted.
Post Reply
User avatar
mariannaspring
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:01 pm

Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

#1

Post by mariannaspring »

My girlfriend with Aspergers/ADHD has used cannabis to self-medicate since her late-teens. She was in CAHMHS before in the past and unsurprisingly, didn't find much help from them. She's stated smoking cannabis on her J1 in Canada and found it more effective than any psychotropic meds.

She's back home in Ireland and still smokes the odd spliff but wants to stop because of the quality she's getting and go on meds again and/CBT. I advised her that it would be a bad idea to tell her GP or psychiatrist about this because I think they would look at her differently. Drugs are already stigmatized in society but many doctors ironically also perpetuate the stigma. I know friends in America who have had pain meds taken away or had to do urine tests because their doctors think they're selling meds or taking other illegal drugs.

Is honesty really the best policy?
PogMoThoin22
Posts: 322
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:00 am

Re: Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

#2

Post by PogMoThoin22 »

I would tell her to definitely not mention it. Doctors are taught pharma and have no time for self diagnosis even if it works
User avatar
Apelles
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:19 am

Re: Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

#3

Post by Apelles »

PogMoThoin22 wrote: Sun Mar 12, 2023 4:44 pm I would tell her to definitely not mention it. Doctors are taught pharma and have no time for self diagnosis even if it works
I dunno, I'm friends with three different doctors and all of em smoke doobies, just not with tobacco mixed in . . . thats bad for your health apparently.
DeletedUser
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:38 am

Re: Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

#4

Post by DeletedUser »

Medical marijuana - excellent idea when prescribed by therapist, with qualifications and experience.

Knobhead spliffing up with anything they get from Anto on the corner - going to make any mental health WAY worse.
“I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” - Voltaire

"I'll see you out there!!" - Roy Keane
User avatar
Cyclepath
Verified Username
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:37 pm
Location: Dublin

Re: Is it a good idea to tell doctor about cannabis use?

#5

Post by Cyclepath »

I think it depends on the doctor. Unless you have serious reservations about a particular medic, you should always be honest with your Doc if you want a proper diagnosis. Yes of course they are going to stick to approved pharmaceutical paths but that's because (as Planespeeking said) you can't verify the quality of what Anto on the corner sells you.

Cannabis strains have radically changed and the new varieties are well known to increase paranoia (various ahem, friends of mine, have quit smoking in recent years because they simply can't access a supply with the ideal balance of THC and cannabinoids).
Post Reply