Risks of Mixing Marijuana and Antidepressants (SSRIs)

Antidepressants are prescribed to help you ease mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety. You may be like many others who also use marijuana, whether it be to further self-medicate a co-occurring disorder or for recreational purposes. You may not understand that mixing SSRIs and marijuana may lead to adverse side effects in some cases.¹

If you or someone you love is struggling with anxiety or depression and using substances like weed, we can help. Learn more about SSRIs and marijuana below, or contact our Atlanta drug and alcohol addiction treatment center to get started with treatment.

How SSRIs Work to Treat Depression

Serotonin is a chemical in the brain, and when you have an imbalance or deficiency of serotonin, you may experience symptoms like depression and anxiety. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressants that work by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, which leaves more serotonin in the synaptic cleft and increases serotonin activity.²

SSRIs are often prescribed as a treatment for depression and anxiety because they are effective, safe, and have fewer side effects than other prescription medicines for treating mental health disorders. One reason for fewer side effects is that SSRIs only work on serotonin and have little effect other neurotransmitters in the brain.²

Examples of commonly prescribed SSRIs include the following²:

• Fluoxetine
• Sertraline
• Paroxetine
• Fluvoxamine
• Citalopram
• Escitalopram
• Vilazodone

SSRIs work by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin, prolonging its action, and increasing serotonin activity. As long as serotonin is in the brain, it can activate serotonin receptors, boosting the release of feel-good chemicals.²

What Happens When You Mix SSRIs and Marijuana?

Although there isn’t extensive clinical research on what happens when you mix weed and SSRIs, there are known side effects and anecdotal reports that suggest interactions do occur, and they can be unpleasant. Like antidepressants, cannabis affects the brain’s neurotransmitters, including serotonin. However, marijuana also affects your dopamine neurotransmitters.³

Marijuana can increase the side effects of antidepressants and reduce their effectiveness. While side effects vary for each person, you are at risk of experiencing heightened anxiety, mood swings, fatigue, dizziness, agitation, sleep disturbances, and more.³ The side effects you may experience can depend on the amount you take, frequency of use, and mental health history.

Because marijuana also impacts the serotonin receptors in the brain, it can lead to having too much serotonin when mixed with antidepressants. Serotonin syndrome occurs when there is too much serotonin, and the results can be life-threatening. Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include tachycardia (rapid heart rate), hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperthermia (high body temperature), hyperreflexia (spasms), tremor, nausea, vomiting, and clonus (involuntary muscle contractions).²

Effects of Mixing Zoloft and Weed

Zoloft, or sertraline, is an SSRI that increases the production of serotonin in the brain. When combined with marijuana, serotonin levels are boosted even higher. In addition, marijuana increases dopamine levels. The combination of Zoloft and week changes your brain chemistry and can lead to adverse consequences, like excessive sweating, digestive problems, sexual problems, headaches, dizziness, agitation, hallucinations, confusion, and in severe cases, seizures.^3,4

Effects of Mixing Lexapro and Weed

Lexapro is another SSRI, also known as escitalopram, prescribed to treat symptoms of anxiety and depression. When you combine Lexapro and weed, you may be at risk of experiencing an increase in your symptoms rather than a decrease. Symptoms that may be associated with the combination include those associated with taking Zoloft, as well as trouble staying awake, difficulty breathing, abnormal bleeding or bruising, allergic reactions, or unusual excitement.^3,5

Effects of Mixing Prozac and Weed

Prozac, or fluoxetine, mixed with marijuana, may have adverse effects on your health. According to Columbia Health, marijuana inhibits Prozac’s ability to reduce your mental health symptoms. For some, marijuana can lead to depression, making it difficult for Prozac to do its job in alleviating depressive symptoms. Plus, when mixing Prozac and weed, you may experience paranoia, fatigue, increased heart rate, and mood swings.⁶

Can Marijuana Make Anxiety and Depression Worse?

Marijuana and depression are directly linked. The Current Addiction Reports references multiple studies that show cannabis use leads to mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Heavy cannabis users are four times more likely to have a mood disorder, showing there is a strong connection between frequency of use and noticeable signs of anxiety and depression. Also, decreasing cannabis use resulted in a decrease in depressive symptoms.⁷

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) states that long-term use of marijuana can have long-term mental health effects. You may experience anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or planning, psychotic episodes, and addiction.⁸

Be careful to avoid a weed and depression cycle where you experience symptoms caused by your use of marijuana, then use marijuana to cope with the symptoms. Your mental health symptoms increase, and to manage, you increase your marijuana use, leading to increases in negative symptoms. Emotional dysregulation is connected to depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and problematic cannabis use.⁹

Talking to Your Doctor About Marijuana Use

If you are using marijuana or cannabis in any form, tell your doctor, who can explain the potential risks of combining the drug with your antidepressant. Being open and honest with your doctor can build trust in your relationship. Also, it will help your doctor understand your reasons for using marijuana and mental health medications, and address any symptoms that you may be self-medicating or that are caused by the marijuana.¹⁰

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your doctor, try talking to another professional, like a psychiatrist.¹⁰ The most important thing is that you remain safe and free of adverse effects from mixing antidepressants and cannabis.

Addiction Treatment & Dual Diagnosis Care in Atlanta

Empowered Recovery Center in Atlanta can help you understand how mixing marijuana and antidepressants can be unhealthy and the benefits of stopping the use of marijuana. If you are ready to quit, they offer various marijuana rehab programs designed to meet your individual needs. Programs vary in intensity, ranging from partial hospitalization to intensive outpatient to standard outpatient. They can match you with the program that best fits your lifestyle.

The first step is to contact our rehab admissions coordinators, who can answer any questions you may have, like, “Can you smoke weed on antidepressants?” They can also discuss the cost of rehab and help you determine how to pay for it with or without insurance. Call them today to learn more or verify your benefits online to get started with treatment.

References

1. Chrobak, A. A., Woroń, J., & Siwek, M. (2024). Green rush and red warnings: Retrospective chart review of adverse events of interactions between cannabinoids and psychotropic drugs. Frontiers in pharmacology, 15, 1500312. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1500312/full. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11534596/.
2. Chu A, Wadhwa R. (2023). Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554406/
3. Vaughn, S. E., Strawn, J. R., Poweleit, E. A., Sarangdhar, M., & Ramsey, L. B. (2021). The Impact of Marijuana on Antidepressant Treatment in Adolescents: Clinical and Pharmacologic Considerations. Journal of personalized medicine, 11(7), 615. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/11/7/615. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8307883/.
4. MedlinePlus. (2025). Sertraline. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a697048.html.
5. MedlinePlus. (2025). Escitalopram. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a603005.html.
6. Columbia Health. (2023). How do marijuana and Prozac interact? Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/how-do-marijuana-and-prozac-interact.
7. Lucatch, A. M., Coles, A. S., Hill, K. P., & George, T. P. (2018). Cannabis and Mood Disorders. Current addiction reports, 5(3), 336–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-018-0214-y. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6329464/.
8. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2025). Know the effects, risks, and side effects of marijuana. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/learn/marijuana/risks.
9. Cavalli, J. M., & Cservenka, A. (2021). Emotion Dysregulation Moderates the Association Between Stress and Problematic Cannabis Use. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 597789. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.597789. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7820070/.
10. National Harm Reduction Coalition. (2024). Quality healthcare is your right: Talking about drug use with healthcare providers. Retrieved on 11/21/2025 from https://harmreduction.org/issues/safer-drug-use/quality-healthcare-brochure/talking-about-drug-use/.