Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2007
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

SWEARING OFF MARIJUANA AIDED MARGARET TRUDEAU'S MENTAL ILLNESS RECOVERY

VANCOUVER -- Quitting cannabis has been an important part of her 
recovery from mental illness, Margaret Trudeau said yesterday at a 
news conference in Vancouver for the Canadian Mental Health conference.

Trudeau, who suffers from bipolar disorder, spoke openly with 
reporters about her experience with depression and the effect of her 
long-term marijuana use.

"I loved marijuana. I was a hippie in the '60s," said Trudeau with a 
laugh. "I started smoking at a young age. I took to it like a duck to 
water. Strawberry Fields Forever and all that."

Trudeau, who will be the keynote speaker at the Vancouver conference 
on March 7, said one of the difficulties in seeking help is the 
stigma associated with mental illness.

There can be a consequent tendency to "isolate," said Trudeau. It's 
not uncommon among sufferers, she said, to self-medicate with alcohol 
or marijuana rather than reach out to family, friends or for medical 
assistance.

"Marijuana can trigger psychosis," said Trudeau. "Every time I was 
hospitalized it was preceded by heavy use of marijuana."

Trudeau has been hospitalized three times for mental illness.

Her first hospitalization followed the birth of her second child, 
Alexandre, while she was still married to Prime Minister Pierre 
Elliot Trudeau and living at 24 Sussex Drive.

Her most recent hospitalization followed the deaths of her son Michel 
and former husband Pierre Trudeau.

Although she has suffered from mental illness for 35 years, it was 
not until this most recent hospitalization that she was diagnosed 
with bipolar disorder.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman