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 New Report Shows Teens Smoking Pot Worsens Depression And Other Mental Illnesses
A new report analyzing approximately a dozen studies about marijuana use and mental health shows increased depression in teens that smoke marijuana, and also concludes there is a higher risk of schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide.
The report, (8 page PDF file) issued by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, analyzes multiple studies which show that millions of American teens report experiencing weeks of hopelessness and loss of interest in normal daily activities and many of these depressed teens are using marijuana and other drugs, making their situation worse.
Instead of the self medicating the teens are doing by using marijuana to help fight their depression, they are increasing their depression as well as increasing the risk of other severe mental issues such as schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide.
The title of the report is, " Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression", and the sub header for the report is, " An Analysis of Recent Data Shows “Self-Medicating” Could Actually Make Things Worse."
According to the report, weekly or more frequent use of marijuana doubles a teen’s risk of depression and anxiety. Depressed teens are more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become dependent on marijuana.
Page three of the report, the Executive Summary, shows eight key findings after analyzing multiple other studies and data which are:
**Two million teens report feelings of depression and loss of interest in daily activities during the past year.
**Depressed teens are twice as likely as non-depressed teens to use marijuana and other illicit drugs.
**Depressed teens are more than twice as likely as their peers to abuseor become dependent on marijuana.
**Using marijuana can cause depression and other mental illnesses.
**Marijuana use can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and even suicide.
**Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users.
**The percentage of depressed teens is equal to the percentage of depressed adults, but depressed teens are more likely than depressed adults to use marijuana and other drugs.
**Teen girls who use marijuana daily are more likely than girls who do not use marijuana to develop depression.
Recent national surveys showed that 8 percent of youths, approximately two million, felt depressed at some point in the course of a year and that number rose to 29 percent for high school students.
Indicators show that those teens are trying to relieve the stress and anxiety by using drugs to alleviate the symptoms saying they "make the feel good" or "feel better" with the self medicating.
However, research shows that using marijuana and other illicit drugs puts a teen at even greater risk for more serious mental illnesses. A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana (25%) as teens who have not reported being depressed (12%). Similarly, 35 percent of depressed teens used an illicit drug (including marijuana) during the year, compared to 18 percent of teens who did not report being depressed.
Source for that particular study found here.
Furthermore, the study shows that not only does marijuana make depression worse for the teenagers that are self-medicating; cannabis smoking itself may be a causal agent in psychiatric symptoms, particularly schizophrenia.
In other words, it doesn't just worsen or increase the risk of existing problems, it can actually cause certain conditions.
According to this report, teenagers that smoke pot at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users during the same period.
Another study this report speaks about shows that marijuana use was directly associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
One study was conducted over a 16-year time frame and found that individuals who were not depressed and then used marijuana were four times more likely to be depressed at follow up.
A different study conducted over a 14-year period found that marijuana use was a predictor of later major depressive disorder.
An extensive analysis of longitudinal studies on marijuana use and risk of mental illness later in life showed that marijuana use increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent. The risk of psychosis increases with frequency of marijuana use, from 50 to 200 percent among frequent users.
The authors end up concluding that “there is now sufficient evidence to warn young people that using cannabis could increase their risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life.”
Depression and suicidal thoughts are not the only conclusions this report covers and they mention a New Zealand study which showed, “a clear increase in rates of psychotic symptoms after the start of regular use” of marijuana."
This recent study also points to a study conducted over a 21 year period which gave evidence that marijuana use was associated with psychotic symptoms and suggested a causal relationship.
A study published in Schizophrenia Research found that cannabis use seems to be a
specific risk factor for future psychotic symptoms.
According to Dr. Drew Pinksy, internist, addiction expert, and host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab, "Don't be fooled into thinking that pot is harmless. Marijuana is an addictive drug. Teens who are already depressed and use marijuana may increase their odds of suffering from even more serious mental health problems."
Nora D. Volkow, M. D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, follows that up with, "Not only are adolescents at greater risk for drug abuse, but they may suffer more consequences. There is also some evidence that in vulnerable teens-because of genetic factors-the abuse of marijuana can trigger a schizophreniform disorder."
Many that have smoked marijuana in the past or still to this day will tell you it alleviates the mood; let's not mention the munchies factor where all food just seems to taste better, and there is an insatiable need to continue eating, but that does not counter these studies which have been conducted over decades and contain information that teenagers should consider before making the decision to self-medicate themselves.
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I am 52 years old. I smoked pot - having first tried it at 17, and used it off and on for many years. I started noticing however, about 15 years ago, which is essentially when I quit, that the pot of my youth was no longer. The new pot that was on the streets was incredibly more potent and you could take two hits and be absolutely blasted as compared to smoking an entire bowl back when I was in my early 20's.
I seriously wonder if pot hasn't been modified in some way that has enhanced it's potency as well as it's potential to do alot more serious damage than it did back in the '70's when I was a toker.
For the most part I wouldn't have a problem with people smoking pot, but I do seriously believe that it has been messed around with either genetically of pharmaceutic ally and is no longer the essentially harmless naturally growing plant it was in the "olden days".
:-)
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I always maintained and still do that people that use drugs to "escape" or to avoid problems or as a crutch are far more likely to become addicted and develop these types of problems that those that simply party now and then for the sake of partying and not to self-medicate.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Pam.
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Anything I read from the White House I take with a massive grain of salt. OF COURSE they are going to say marijuana leads to depression and psychotic behaviour. It's in their best interest to show that the "war on drugs" is a valuable cost, even if no "win" in this war has ever dented supply or demand.
I laughed out loud when I read marijuana may cause suicidal tendencies. It's the kind of alarmist statement the White House would make in order to sound proactive and concerned. "See that joint your son is smoking before seeing the Ben Harper concert? It's gonna make him wanna slit his wrists!"
I'm not making light of the drug abusers out there who truly are modifying their mental landscapes by extreme habits, whether it's smoking pot or drinking booze or overdosing on sleeping bills. There will always be bad apples in every bunch. But to categorize marijuana as a link to abject depression is almost ludicrous. Has anyone at the White House even smoked pot? With a few people, it causes over-thinking and paranoia at the worst, but most tokers say they relieve some stress and think about things they normally wouldn't...often pleasant things.
You could show me 25 studies that say marijuana is harmful and I'd say they were full of dung. Why? Marijuana studies are notoriously controlled by government and state authorities, since they're experimenting with an illegal substance. The true studies, by independent researchers, have yet to come to fruition.
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I tried some pot when I was young, but didn't inhale either.
What? You don't believe me?
Seriously, pushing 60 now, I haven't tried it since my early 20's and rarely drink either. Just no interest in either.
What does astonish me is how many oppose tobacco and when they win a through legislation, celebrate by lighting up a joint.
You could show me 25 studies that say marijuana is harmful and I'd say they were full of dung. Why? Marijuana studies are notoriously controlled by government and state authorities, since they're experimenting with an illegal substance. The true studies, by independent researchers, have yet to come to fruition
Need I say more?
Perhaps all those anti-tobacco studies are also "notoriously controlled by government and state authorities," -
@ David Silverberg
Anything I read from the White House I take with a massive grain of salt. OF COURSE they are going to say marijuana leads to depression and psychotic behaviour. It's in their best interest to show that the "war on drugs" is a valuable cost, even if no "win" in this war has ever dented supply or demand.
I laughed out loud when I read marijuana may cause suicidal tendencies. It's the kind of alarmist statement the White House would make in order to sound proactive and concerned. "See that joint your son is smoking before seeing the Ben Harper concert? It's gonna make him wanna slit his wrists!"
I'm not making light of the drug abusers out there who truly are modifying their mental landscapes by extreme habits, whether it's smoking pot or drinking booze or overdosing on sleeping bills. There will always be bad apples in every bunch. But to categorize marijuana as a link to abject depression is almost ludicrous. Has anyone at the White House even smoked pot? With a few people, it causes over-thinking and paranoia at the worst, but most tokers say they relieve some stress and think about things they normally wouldn't...often pleasant things.
You could show me 25 studies that say marijuana is harmful and I'd say they were full of dung. Why? Marijuana studies are notoriously controlled by government and state authorities, since they're experimenting with an illegal substance. The true studies, by independent researchers, have yet to come to fruition.
David, follow the links in the PDF file, the White compiled this report but the studies were not conducted by the White House.
You claiming the New Zealand researchers are crooked or the other dozens of studies this report speaks of and has links to?
Did you even follow those links to see that the "White House" didn't conduct them nor had anything to do with the individual studies?
Sorry, the "White House" argument doesn't cut it when independent researchers are the ones that provided the data.
Generally people that wave away studies that have taken decades to produce, usually have no argument other than "I don't trust them", the data is provided...can you provide data from decade old studies to disprove it?
Night everyone. -
I think it would be a mistake to assume that scientific studies are unaffected by the political inclinations of the people performing the studies...
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I suspect the report is basically anecdotal in construct.
I am reminded of the studies done for Nixon and Reagan which never saw the light of day...
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@ David Silverberg
Anything I read from the White House I take with a massive grain of salt. OF COURSE they are going to say marijuana leads to depression and psychotic behaviour. It's in their best interest to show that the "war on drugs" is a valuable cost, even if no "win" in this war has ever dented supply or demand.
I laughed out loud when I read marijuana may cause suicidal tendencies. It's the kind of alarmist statement the White House would make in order to sound proactive and concerned. "See that joint your son is smoking before seeing the Ben Harper concert? It's gonna make him wanna slit his wrists!"
I'm not making light of the drug abusers out there who truly are modifying their mental landscapes by extreme habits, whether it's smoking pot or drinking booze or overdosing on sleeping bills. There will always be bad apples in every bunch. But to categorize marijuana as a link to abject depression is almost ludicrous. Has anyone at the White House even smoked pot? With a few people, it causes over-thinking and paranoia at the worst, but most tokers say they relieve some stress and think about things they normally wouldn't...often pleasant things.
You could show me 25 studies that say marijuana is harmful and I'd say they were full of dung. Why? Marijuana studies are notoriously controlled by government and state authorities, since they're experimenting with an illegal substance. The true studies, by independent researchers, have yet to come to fruition.
"Some individuals who are depressed turn to marijuana. They enjoy the euphoric feeling and temporary lifting of the depression they get as a result of smoking marijuana. Little do they know of the extremely dangerous consequences that can result from smoking marijuana. Marijuana can cause permanent brain damage, lung damage, persistent personality changes, memory impairment, chromosome alterations, and motivational disturbances.
Scientific findings that marijuana is dangerous are convincing. Experiments with monkeys revealed there are immediate changes in behaviour and brain wave activity. With time, the brain wave changes become permanent. Research has shown that individuals who have smoked at least two cigarettes of marijuana per day for two years have abnormal brain wave readings, and also have corresponding behavioural changes (such as chronic lethargy, loss of inhibition, etc.). Regular users of marijuana (once or twice per week) show evidence of memory impairment, sleep disturbance, swings of mood, and in general they function at a lower level.
Research also revels that toxic substances in marijuana accumulate in the brain. These substances have long-range detrimental effects. They can permanently alter the fatty tissue of the brain. However, the changes are so slow and subtle that they may go unnoticed until after significant damage has been done. While marijuana does affect the pleasure centers in the brain, and thus can give a temporary euphoria, in the long run it produces a loss of motivation and even more depression.
Happiness is a Choice – Frank Minirth, M.D. & Paul Meier, M.D., 1994, Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49516."
Guess they worked for the White House too, huh?
Thank you, Susan, for another good post. -
@ Sheba
"Some individuals who are depressed turn to marijuana. They enjoy the euphoric feeling and temporary lifting of the depression they get as a result of smoking marijuana. Little do they know of the extremely dangerous consequences that can result from smoking marijuana. Marijuana can cause permanent brain damage, lung damage, persistent personality changes, memory impairment, chromosome alterations, and motivational disturbances.
Scientific findings that marijuana is dangerous are convincing. Experiments with monkeys revealed there are immediate changes in behaviour and brain wave activity. With time, the brain wave changes become permanent. Research has shown that individuals who have smoked at least two cigarettes of marijuana per day for two years have abnormal brain wave readings, and also have corresponding behavioural changes (such as chronic lethargy, loss of inhibition, etc.). Regular users of marijuana (once or twice per week) show evidence of memory impairment, sleep disturbance, swings of mood, and in general they function at a lower level.
Research also revels that toxic substances in marijuana accumulate in the brain. These substances have long-range detrimental effects. They can permanently alter the fatty tissue of the brain. However, the changes are so slow and subtle that they may go unnoticed until after significant damage has been done. While marijuana does affect the pleasure centers in the brain, and thus can give a temporary euphoria, in the long run it produces a loss of motivation and even more depression.
Happiness is a Choice – Frank Minirth, M.D. & Paul Meier, M.D., 1994, Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49516."
Guess they worked for the White House too, huh?
Thank you, Susan, for another good post.
Thanks Sheba.
It isn't pot I am against perse, until more conclusive proof is in, but I know for a fact that anybody, teens or adults that use any mind altering substance to alleviate depression is at a much greater risk of becoming dependent on that substance and addicted, while the underlying causes of their original depression have not been dealt with in any manner.
That to me poses more danger than a person that smokes a doob at night while watching a movie, not using it to "escape" but just as someone would have a beer, to catch a small buzz.
I am not recommending pot, but to me one situation is far more damaging and dangerous than the other. -
If it can in fact be demonstrated that pot is more dangerous--in the long-run or in the short-run--than booze, I'll agree with you; but presently I've seen nothing credibly convincing.
As for my personal experience--I've not had a toke since the early eighties...
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Pot can cause depression, but can't every single drug that is abused cause the same thing? I agree with some of the comments that say using pot is escapist; that much is very true for some people. Others (like me) tried it out of curiosity - there was nothing I was trying to escape from, but I certainly realize that it's a highly addictive substance that certainly can destroy ambition.
I say that pot is a drug that can be consumed in moderation - a lot like alcohol - but one shouldn't turn to drugs or alcohol to escape. It's best used in a recreational setting. Unfortunately, a lot of the teens are trying it; and who can blame them? In the era we live in, a highly-alienated suburbia with virtually nothing to do within walking distance, what else do you think the majority of these kids are going to do?
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I certainly realize that it's a highly addictive substance that certainly can destroy ambition.
I am unfamiliar with any studies which have concluded that to be the case. Can you direct me, please..? -
That's based mostly on personal conversations with pot smokers and personal observations. It doesn't happen to everyone, of course - but if one typically suffers from a lack of ambition (we all knew someone that just never wanted to get a job, or never wanted to go to class, etc), pot almost undoubtedly worsens that conviction.
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@ Szplug
That's based mostly on personal conversations with pot smokers and personal observations. It doesn't happen to everyone, of course - but if one typically suffers from a lack of ambition (we all knew someone that just never wanted to get a job, or never wanted to go to class, etc), pot almost undoubtedly worsens that conviction.
Yes, just as people that use any drug to "avoid" or hide from their problems are subject to becoming addicted. Add a Comment
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