A wee bit worried

Former Member

I know this is quite similiar to the cannabis/mental health thread but I didn't want to hijack it so....

My boyfs wee brother is 17 and smokes a lot of hash.Even he admits its too much and says he worries that hes going mad but won't say why he thinks that. He can get quite aggressive and has been violent and is quite paranoid as well. He accuses my boyfriend of stealing from him when he doesn't and even woke up the whole house by coming into my boyfs room at 6am screaming that my boyf had stolen the batteries out of his phone, when he clearly hadn't. I know hes been on anti depressents but I don't know how long he was on them. Does his behaviour sound as if its caused/worsened by hash or am I reading to much into this?

Sorry for the long post:)

Former Member

Hmmm, obviously without knowing more of the background, knowing how he is as a person, knowing the anti-depressants he is on and knowing the type of hash he is smoking it is hard to make a judgement.

I would say that it is probably a somewhat typical late teenage mental health issue which is being agrevated by the use of the cannabis. That is not to say I am dismissing it as a phase or something minor. A friend of mine was hospitalised through his teenage depression and I have had more than one friend try to commit sucicide.

So, to really evaluate more it would help if you could get the type and dose of the anti-depressant, the frequency of his use of cannabis and how much he is paying for it. The later of those will help identify the type.

I would suggest that he talk again with his doctor, explain the situation and talk honestly about his drug use. A doctor can do nothing effectively unless a person is honest with them. However, he might want to check how the doctor feels about telling his parents which is a grey area as the boy is 17 I believe. Though having said that the age might be 16 I'm not sure.

He should also attempt to cut down his use of cannabis, it in the main will really only aggrevate mental health issues.

I hope that helps, as I say if you can get me those other bits of info I can look into it further and see if it could be an interaction between the medicine and the cannabis.

Former Member

Thanks! He's not on the anti depressents anymore, I don't think it was for very long and it was only 20mg and day. I have no idea how much he spends on it, but hes stoned every night without fail and more or less all day at the weekends. I know folk who smoke far more with no apparent problems but I guess it varies from person to person. I don't think he'd go to the GP to be honest, but its worth a try. I can help with the mental health issues as I've had mental health problems myself, but its the drug side i'm stuck with.

Former Member

The problem is that cannabis isnt really one drug, it is a catch all term for the plant itself.

Depending on the quality of the material smoked the experience ranges from mildly hallucinogenic to just a plain sedative.

Obviously for those with mental health issues it is probable that the hallucinogenic properties are unwise and if it is more sedative then emotions are being suppressed and therefore come out differently.

Well you cant force him to go to the GP, but presumably he must have gone to get the anti-depressants.

Good luck.

Former Member

Thanks, I'll work on him!:)

Former Member

Not a problem, I hope I have helped a little, feel free to ask anymore questions I'll do my best to answer them.

Former Member

Best thing to do is try and get him to a doctor if the whole thing is causing problems which it obviosuly is.

Good luck and hope it all works out for you and him.

Not everyone can smoke as much cannabis as others without it really fucking with their head, everyone is different.

Former Member

Thankyou for all the replies. I'll talk with my boyfriend and see if we can get his wee brother to a doctor or at least to realise that things are becoming a problem. Thanks again.:)

Former Member

one thing i've always been told and told others is that when your depressed or have mental health problems you shouldn't be using, which is why i haven't been, though i don't always take my own advise. anti-depreants and pot can make people very nasty, i've seen it in a couple of people at a small house party a while back. a guy ran out of AD's and got so freeked, and this was sunday lunch time, he had been smoking and taking AD's all weekend, and caught him smashing his head against a wall. i had to sit and hold hm still for 2 hours and try and get him to sleep to stop him doing any more damage. really really scary. but different people react in different ways so...i don't really know. try and get him to cut down on the hash, is all i can say.