Cannabis use and mental health videos: People with lived and living experience (Described videos)

Hannah confidently walks down a corridor and puts on her white lab coat. Soft, inspirational music plays in the background.

She is in a laboratory, preparing for work by tying back her hair, and putting on protective eyewear and gloves. She takes a box of sample vials down from a shelf and gets to work in a lab. She closely examines a lab pipettor and then uses it to transfer a sample from a beaker to the vials.

Hannah: Cracking down and realizing that I wanted to become a doctor really put everything into focus, and I made that kind of my central goal in everything, and it made myself feel really, really good again, to have a goal in mind, to feel passionate about something.

Hannah takes a seat in her kitchen. Sound and lighting equipment can be seen as she sits down. Text on screen: Hannah, Age: 26.

Hannah: So, I probably got exposed to cannabis around high school.

Hannah appears full screen. The camera shows different views of Hannah as she speaks. She subtly expresses herself with her hands also, especially as she is describing very difficult moments of her journey.

Hannah: Friends of friends who were using, and kind of friend groups that I was hanging out with that weren't so good for me at the time. After that, when I learned it could be more independent with my actions, I started using more often, especially to cope with negative emotions that I was experiencing that I kind of just wanted to get rid of.

I was already dealing with anxiety and depression and using cannabis, I didn't realize at the time, was just exacerbating that.

There was a very big cyclical effect involved, so I kind of just fell into this routine thinking cannabis was solving it, but underneath it all, it was just making everything a lot worse.

Socially, cannabis took me away from very important moments I could have experienced with my friends.

Instead of going out and making memories with them, I would rather stay home, take an edible, smoke a joint, anything like that, and just be in the comfort of my own space rather than be with friends.

My “Aha” moment was probably when I realized that if I continued using cannabis in the pattern that I was, I wouldn't be able to attain the goals that I had set for myself, i.e, going to medical school and becoming a doctor, pursuing neuroscience in my undergrad.

Hannah purposefully walks down a university corridor. She enters a study room and joins two fellow students working on their laptops at a table. They smile as they greet each other. Hannah places her laptop on the table, takes off her backpack and seats herself at the table.

Hannah: So, that external motivation, as well as internal motivation that I had, was a very, very big blessing for me because it pulled me out of that cycle that I was having,

Hannah works on her laptop and shares ideas with her fellow students. They are all studying together happily.

Hannah: to make me realize that there's other ways that I can cope with my mental health issues and better ways as well, much healthier ways.

Hannah appears full screen. The camera shows different views of Hannah as she speaks.

Hannah: My favourite coping strategy for when I'm having really bad days now is probably exercise and then talking, whether it's to my friends, my boyfriend, even seeing a therapist once in a while. I know that I can tend to ball up and very much be in myself and be in my own world.

Hannah is back in the lab taking a sample from a beaker and transferring it to a sample vial. She looks towards to the camera and smiles.

Hannah: But I told myself that I have this opportunity to challenge myself now and experience new things on my own outside of substance use, or cannabis use.

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears and the “O Canada” musical signature is heard.

Augustin and a team mate walk down a school corridor. Augustin is bouncing a basketball as he walks. They enter a gymnasium and greet fellow players for a game. Augustin takes off his coat and puts on his shoes and team shirt to get ready to play. Cheerful, upbeat music plays in the background.

Augustin: For me, right now, when I see myself and how I want to see myself with respect to my activities, it's someone who's consistent. Someone who is constantly on track with their physical activity goals.

I wanted to surround myself more with people who were healthy, so I joined a basketball team to get back into the sport, which really helped.

Augustin picks up a basketball, and heads to the court. He takes a few shots at the basket and practices his dribbling skills. He sinks a basket and gives the camera a satisfied smile. Text on screen: Augustin, Age: 24.

Augustin: I realized that instead of always concentrating on hanging out with people who wanted to smoke, I wanted to go out and have an evening to talk. So I made a decisions to do just that. 

Augustin appears full screen. He is seated at the island in his kitchen. He is very expressive with his hands to help emphasize his story. The camera shows different angles of Augustin as he speaks.

Augustin: I'd been exposed to cannabis, in fact, by a friend in high school who'd started, who'd tried it before me and who'd sold me on the idea.

And the first time I tried it, I’m not going to lie to you, I think I went to bed quickly because it put me completely to sleep.

At school, what happened was, sometimes I'd take some during the day and it wasn't just smoking, sometimes I'd take, we call it, cannabis oil.

I'd played basketball all through high school. I was the “jock” type, so to speak. And when I went to CEGEP, when I moved to Montreal, that's when I stopped, shall we say, sports.

I remember running up a hill, we did that, we tried to do that every day, and I wasn’t able to finish the race.

So, with my cannabis use, what it did to my mental health was that over time, over and over, taking it and abusing it, you forget yourself in there.

Augustin is on the basketball court in the middle of a game. We see players of all sexes enjoying an energetic and competitive game. Augustin dribbles, shoots, and scores a basket.

Augustin: So I focused more on my passions, on what I wanted to do. And when you're busy, when you're focused, and especially on that, that's when it takes over your habits and changes them. For me, that's it.

Augustin is seated at the counter in his kitchen.

Augustin: About my cannabis use, I kept it really private. My father had no idea about it. My mother had an idea, but she didn't know the extent of it.

But if I can say who my allies are, they're really my close friends, because they're the ones who subconsciously influence me. So that's something I've been working on a lot over the last few years, and that's to choose my influences carefully.

So, the thing I'd say to the young Augustin is, “Listen, you've gotten through what you've gotten through, you've made the mistakes you've made, and that's okay”.

There are no regrets in life, you just have to get through it and move on. And then when you look in the mirror, really visualize what you want.

We are back on the basketball court. Augustin scores a basket and gets high fives from his teammates.

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears, and the “O Canada” musical signature is heard.

Parker is in his bright, efficient kitchen. He dices a jalapeño pepper, peels a mango, and squeezes a lime, then adds it all into a bowl with other ingredients. He continues to prepare and serve shrimp tacos with mango salsa. Light, upbeat music plays in the background.

Parker: So, for me, cooking is a very positive, productive, and social experience. I really enjoy it. I find that it has a positive effect on my mental health.  

Parker walks to his living room and takes a seat on the couch. Sound and lighting equipment can be seen as he takes his place in front of the camera. Text on screen: Parker, Age: 22.

Parker: So, I was first exposed to the idea of using cannabis by a friend when I was in ninth grade.

Parker appears full screen. The camera shows different angles of him as he speaks.

Parker: Basically, it was a romantic attraction, or a crush, and sort of a desire to be cool or fit in.

The exact time where cannabis became a need for me, I would say is hard to pinpoint, but it would definitely be around the period where I began smoking all day, every day, by myself at home.

Then once you're hanging out with your friends seven days a week smoking weed, the one day that your friend can't, you're not going to stop because you've been doing it for the last month with your friends, so you just start smoking alone.

And then, over time, the friend part becomes less and less important, and the drug part becomes more and more important until you're smoking all day, every day, by yourself.

There's a lot of anxiety, especially when you know you shouldn't be doing something, but you're doing it anyway. It creates a sense of paranoia about, what if I get caught, a sort of sense of shame about knowing that I shouldn't be doing it, but I'm doing it anyway.

I would feel anxious. I would feel like my life is passing me by. Like, I have no control over my circumstances, stuff like that. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I just felt ready. I felt ready to quit.

We see an exterior view of Parker’s apartment building. Parker and a friend leave the building and enjoy a chat while they walk around the neighbourhood.

Parker: And what happened was basically on the last puff that I took when I threw it away, I experienced a sense of being freed from being a cannabis smoker and being freed from my addiction.

Parker and his friend’s shadows are seen on the pavement. They continue their walk through quiet, residential neighbourhoods to a park. It is a cold, sunny day, so they are wearing coats and gloves. You can see their breath as they speak to each other.

Parker: And then eventually, when I was ready to fully quit smoking, what really helped me was having a strong support system because, for me, what it did was it allowed me to address the reasons why I was smoking.

So, now that I've quit using cannabis, I would say that my energy levels are a lot higher, my motivation is a lot higher, and just my general interest in myself and the people around me is a lot higher because I'm not spending four or six hours a day just checking out, checking my brain out, scrolling on my phone, just being high.

Parker is seated on the couch in his apartment.

Parker: Quitting cannabis gave me a sense of pride because it allowed me to take back responsibility of my life. 

Instead of letting my life pass me by, I actually was an active participant, and I was taking control of the situations that I was in. 

Parker is crossing a bridge that is covered in “Promise Locks”. He pauses, and smiles for the camera.

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears, and the “O Canada” musical signature is heard.

Beatrice enters in to a bright, spacious practice studio and begins her warmup stretches. Soft, inspirational music plays in the background.

Beatrice: I feel so, so lucky for my life. For the things that I have, for the privileges that I have, and all of the ways that I get to express myself and, like, get to be free, and myself.

Beatrice is in her kitchen, making herself a cup of tea.

Beatrice is snuggled in a blanket as she sips her tea in a cozy chair by the window. She is writing in her journal on a winter’s day.

Beatrice: I came to a place where I realized, like, I am not in the same pain that I used to be.

Beatrice sits down at her kitchen table. Lighting and sound equipment can be seen as she settles into her chair. Text on screen: Beatrice, Age: 24.

Beatrice appears full screen. She is seated at her kitchen table. She smiles often as she speaks. The camera switches views to a close up of her face, and back again to her seated at the table, as she speaks.

Beatrice: I actually think I probably would have been able to have a pretty moderate usage of cannabis if it hadn't been for one thing.

And that one thing was I went through the world's most devastating, hideous, awful breakup. Like being just in a lot of pain and being, like, so full of this, like, I don't know, this desire to just not think about it and, like, to have something to alter my state, to, like, make things feel different for me. It started to become kind of a compulsion and an addiction, really.

And the line there is kind of thin, but I think when I realized is when I went home for Christmas and I was like, oh my God, I have no way of coping right now. I have nothing to, like, help me deal with what I'm going through at home.

My sleep was really poor. My appetite was really poor. I couldn't eat anything, and my throat hurt all the time. Like, my lungs were not, like, firing the way that they should have.

Realizing that I was sabotaging myself in that way was a big moment where I was like, this is, this can't continue.

Beatrice is in the practice studio. She continues with her warmup stretches. Soft, inspirational music plays in the background.

Beatrice: The big realization for me was like, I don't want to be 80 years old and getting high all the time.

Beatrice is seated at her kitchen table.

Beatrice: To be able to step back from that and to have the support that I have in my life, and to have the outlets and the creativity that I have in my life, I'm so lucky for that, and I feel really, really grateful for that...

Beatrice continues her warmup routine in the practice studio. She then is shown spinning gracefully in a suspended acrobatic hoop while her trainer looks on.

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears and the “Oh Canada” musical signature is heard.

Dr. Hellemans walks through a research laboratory at Carleton University. She passes by pristine workstations, and enters a conference room. She opens the door and smiles at the camera. Text on screen: Dr. Kim Hellemans, PhD, Associate Dean of Science, Carleton University.

Dr. Hellemans: My name is Dr. Kim Hellemans, and I'm a Professor in Neuroscience at Carleton University and my research program really explores how young adults use cannabis products.

Dr. Hellemans takes a seat in the conference room. Sound and lighting equipment can be seen around her as she settles into a chair.] 

Dr. Hellemans appears full screen. The camera shows various angles of her as she speaks. She is passionately expressive with her hands and arms to help emphasize the points she is making.

Dr. Hellemans: What I would say is why I would have concerns about teen use of cannabis products is it relates to why do we have a legal age when we use first use cannabis products? And that's because the brain is still developing.

The younger you are when you start using cannabis products, it relates to more harms later in life. We know that there's these relationships between using cannabis products, particularly high THC content products, and the development of things like depression and anxiety, and in particular, psychosis and psychotic-related disorders like schizophrenia.

So, a lot of people use cannabis products because they're self-medicating. They might have low mood; they might be feeling depressed or they're anxious.

And over time, what happens is that your low mood gets lower and lower and lower, and your anxiety gets higher and higher and higher.

So, daily, or near-daily, use of cannabis products over time will have a significant impact on your baseline mood. And in particular, if you're using products that are high potency, and what that means is really high concentration of THC, this is where we're really in a high-risk category or territory.

So, initially people use and they're with their friends, and this becomes a very recreational or a way to bond with their peers. But over time, daily or near daily cannabis use, what we tend to see is social withdrawal, loss of motivation and energy.

The reality is that when we take substances regularly and when we develop addictions, they target key brain regions that are involved in decision making and as well as reward, learning and memory.

And over time, the regions of the brain that are involved in making decisions are actually compromised.

What's really important to know is that sometimes substance use is used as a way to cope with stress. It is, I'm not feeling great today. I've had a stressful day. Using this makes me feel better. Right?

And the reality is that to be empowered with other coping strategies and other ways in which to manage stress, that's the joy of life. Right? 

So, if we engage in things like learning new recipes, finding recipes online, dancing, going with friends, going for a run, these are all incredible ways that you're actually training your nervous system to experience joyful moments that are naturally produced with those endorphins and those bonding hormones instead of a substance where the brain quickly learns,

Dr. Hellemans snaps her fingers to emphasize this point

Oh, this feels good, this feels right, but can have long term, very negative consequences. So, the more we turn to those other more healthy social coping strategies, the better it is for our health and wellness, full stop. 

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears, and the “O Canada” musical signature is heard.

Exterior view of CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal. Dr. Chadi walks through a lobby area and up a flight of stairs. He walks along a series of window-lined corridors, and ends up in a lecture room.

Dr. Chadi walks on to the lecture stage and takes a seat. He is surrounded by sound, lighting, and camera equipment. Text on screen: Dr. Nicholas Chadi, MD, Paediatrician and Researcher, CHU Ste-Justine.

Dr. Chadi: My name is Nicholas Chadi. I'm a pediatrician and a scientist specialized in adolescent and addiction medicine. In clinic, I see young people who use substances and have issues related to substances.

We know that regular use of cannabis at a young age can have several impacts on both physical and mental health.

Dr. Chadi appears full screen. The camera shows various angles of Dr. Chadi as he speaks.

Dr. Chadi: Smoking cannabis will affect lung health. It may have impacts on fitness, ability to do sports, and increased risks of getting respiratory infections, or chronic cough. We also know that it affects how brain will develop.

So, in the moment, using cannabis can affect how a young person can focus and concentrate. But with several years of use, a young person may not be able to achieve the same levels of learning and performance when it comes to different tasks.

Research shows that using cannabis regularly as a teen has a direct impact on mental health. While in the moment, a young person may think or find that using cannabis helps with things like anxiety or depressed mood, we know that using cannabis for a long time on a regular basis will actually increase risk of having mental health problems like depression or anxiety or even psychosis later on during life.

Being active physically or doing extracurricular activities that bring you joy, and pleasure are a fantastic way of getting a feel-good feeling that some people may be seeking from using cannabis.

There are really many things that can trigger this reward pathway in the brain that brings you this sense of pleasure, joy, and feeling relaxed.

Some people may get this from using cannabis for a period of time, but activities like sports or dancing or arts or cooking could all be really great ways to get this same dopamine rush, which will trigger the reward and pleasure signals in the brain as you may be seeking using cannabis or other substances.

Text on screen: To learn more about cannabis and mental health, visit Canada.ca/Cannabis.

The Canada wordmark appears, and the “O Canada” musical signature is heard.