MARGARET TRUDEAU SAYS QUITTING MARIJUANA HELPED MENTAL HEALTH

Keynote Speaker At Conference Says Sufferers Are Reluctant To Seek
Help

Quitting cannabis has been an important part of her recovery from
mental illness, Margaret Trudeau said Monday at a press conference in
Vancouver for the Canadian Mental Health Association's upcoming Bottom
Line 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," Trudeau said 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 is not uncommon for sufferers to self-medicate with alcohol or
marijuana, she said, rather than reach out to family and friends or
seek medical assistance.

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

Trudeau was hospitalized three times for mental illness.

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

Her most recent hospitalization followed the deaths of her son Michel,
and Pierre Trudeau. Although she has suffered from mental illness for
35 years, it was not until the most recent hospitalization that she
was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.

While delivering a message of hope, Trudeau admitted recovery isn't
easy.

"It's hard work. It takes maturity first to comply with the
pharmaceutical. There's the feeling that it is taking away from your
creativity, your spark. My doctor said 'No Margaret, it's your disease
that's taking away from your spark.'"

Part of the hard work for Trudeau has been completely giving up the
use of marijuana, something she once thought made her feel
"wonderful."

"I miss it," she said of the pot-smoking. "It is a daily struggle. If
it's around, I just don't stay around.

"I have found a spiritual replacement," said Trudeau, who
studies

Buddhism and the teachings of the Dalai Lama.

Spirituality is just one cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle that
includes eating well and remembering that "your mental health is just
as important as your physical health."

Trudeau said one of her aims is "to get people to start talking about
mental health more openly. It should be a conversation over the
kitchen table," she said.

Trudeau wants people to know that "you can change the course of a
depression if you catch it early."

She advocates "recognition, acceptance and compassion" as the three
fundamental elements of the disclosure and recovery process.

What she wants anyone suffering from depression or mental illness to
know is, "There will be light." She has found it herself.

Trudeau, who is a committed advocate for mental health, will speak
further on her own journey through mental illness at the conference in
Vancouver.

The conference, which is sponsored by Great West Life, focuses on
mental illness in the workplace.

For more information go to www.bottomlineconference.ca .