Teen use of pot can lead to dependency, mental illness ?

[Hum]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed -- 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

''Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years,'' said John Walters, director of the office. ''This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past.''

Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview.

For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot -- 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Experts who have worked with children say there's nothing harmless about marijuana.

''I've seen many, many kids' lives negatively impacted and taken off track because of marijuana,'' said Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, director of adolescent services for Phoenix House treatment centers in California. ''It's somewhat Russian roulette. There are so many factors, emotional, psychological, biological. You can't predict the experimentation and how it will impact a kid.''

The drug control policy office analyzed about a dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Overall, marijuana use among teens has decreased 25 percent since 2001, down to about 2.3 million kids who used pot at least once a month, the drug control office said.

While the drop is encouraging, Walters appealed to parents to recognize signs of possible drug use and depression.

''It's not something you look the other way about when your teen starts appearing careless about their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing interest in daily activities,'' Walters said. ''Find out what's wrong.''

source

[MightyJordan]

"No s**t, Sherlock!" :D

[Harlem39s Finest]

replace "marijuana" with any other drug and the end result won't be good...

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Marijuana ruins young people's lives because if you get caught with it in some states it could permanently alter your record.

The drug itself is less addictive (and thus generally less dangerous) than cigarettes or alcohol.

[troist]

I think tobacco/alcohol is far worse than marijuana, but they're never going to be made illegal with the amount of tax generated from those industries :p Thats not an excuse to use it though; it still is dangerous but I think they make it sound so much worse than it is.

The biggest worry with using marijuana is getting caught by the police, while with alcohol (even if underage drinking) and cigarettes the biggest worry is getting cancer or ridiculously drunk and puking/doing stupid things.

[maplecookie Veteran]

Anything that messes with the levels of dopamine and seratonin in your brain can lead to mental illness.

I don't see the point of using pot. It's a boring drug and so not worth it. Go running or something, that'll produce a high that's healthy.

[d4v1d05]

News just in: Doing Anything with your life at any age can have appalling effects on the rest of your life. As the Government of the world we suggest that everybody proceeds to do F all in order to live the longest. Thank you.

Seriously, as Fred said, marijuana is less addictive than most legal drugs, yet it's the one that gets all this hype. I'm sure I read somewhere else from a more respectable research team that smoking pot does f all to you :p

The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot -- 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

As they would with ANY other drug/substance (cigarettes, alcohol, illegal drugs). I'm pretty sure the percentages would be alot higher for something like alcohol, however...

Thanks for the news though :D

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I don't see the point of using pot. It's a boring drug and so not worth it. Go running or something, that'll produce a high that's healthy.

I agree with that completely. Pot is a downer drug. You end up with teens sitting in the wood-paneled basement of one of their parents' house getting the munchies and watching TV half-interestedly while making astute observations about nothing in particular.

At least alcohol gets you out of the house and chasing after some skirts.

[d4v1d05]

I agree with that completely. Pot is a downer drug. You end up with teens sitting in the wood-paneled basement of one of their parents' house getting the munchies and watching TV half-interestedly while making astute observations about nothing in particular.

At least alcohol gets you out of the house and chasing after some skirts.

Talking from experience there Fred? :D

I see pot as more of a social thing tbh, I know *people* who used to smoke it in big groups then have crazy conversations that at the time made sense and were really important, but you really wouldn't care about now :p

[jwjw1]

replace "marijuana" with any other drug and the end result won't be good...

what about xbox.......LOL

[ahhell]

Anything that messes with the levels of dopamine and seratonin in your brain can lead to mental illness.

I don't see the point of using pot. It's a boring drug and so not worth it. Go running or something, that'll produce a high that's healthy.

Totally agree with you. Screwing with your brain chemistry is NOT a good idea.

[djDaemon]

Anything that messes with the levels of dopamine and seratonin in your brain can lead to mental illness.

I don't see the point of using pot. It's a boring drug and so not worth it. Go running or something, that'll produce a high that's healthy.

What's wrong with smoking and running? While it may not be the assumed majority, there are a ton of potheads who lead very healthy, active lifestyles. Probably even healthier than many non-pot heads.

[APH-Alex]

Makes writing stuff (songs, shows, etc.) a lot more enjoyable though. :p

I really think that the outcome depends a lot more on the person using it more than it does on marijuana itself. Honestly, before I did it, I thought it was the worst thing in the world and that it ruins lives, but really it's not. I mean, if you're not a retard who blows off everything just to get high with your friends, doing it ocassionaly isn't really that big of a deal. It hasn't wrecked my life, I'm still pulling in A's and B's and I'm doing pretty good, I just really think that it all depends on how you go about it. If you're doing it just to be cool around "cool people" (who are really just a bunch of losers) then it's not worth it. I see stupid stoners now-a-days who are always getting high and they're just the most immature little people I've ever seen and it just ****es me off that they think they're so cool because they smoke weed.

It's really not that bad of a drug, just don't go over the limit with it.

[MonatanFX]

I hear a lot of people saying how its not a dangerous drug etc. This is a common misconception as it can ruin lives in many ways. 1 being paranoia. It can present itself long after you last smoked it and will ruin your thought processes in every day life. Also, its not cheap. You will find yourself spending money on it, when there are more important things to buy, like food for example.

If you can limit yourself, its not advisable, but will not present real problems. But if you have an addictive personality, steer well clear. It will eff up your life.

[Zab]

I'm skeptical, Me and my friends never were ****ed because of Cannabis more so than just being high.

Anyone I know who had those thoughts pertaining to the stated above had them before they ever even touched Cannabis (Including myself, and I feel it helped bring me out of those bad periods of my life).

Now weed does have an effect on people and does change them a lot but I disagree with the statement that it screws up so many of them as much as stated above, and I am willing to bet that these people had issues far before their use of Cannabis. And to say because of their use of it is why they are more screwed up is an assumption that shouldn't be made.

[Dc'1]

I know a good few teenagers who smoke cannabis, and they are all very happy, they have never seemed in any sort of negative mood. Some of them are even heavy smokers of cannabis, while some aren't but still smoke it more than once a month.

The majority of them are very fast runners, and they all drink. Some even take worse drugs.

I'm not saying that smoking cannabis will make you healthy, or run fast, I've just never seen anything wrong with them who do smoke it.

I used to smoke it, and I NEVER had any suicidal thoughts, I thought it was a great experience, just laughing at everything that isn't funny in any way lol, but I stopped it a while ago.

[Knife Party]

nothing is better than smoking up with friends, chillin and getting the munchies so that you can order KFC :)

[rpgfan]

*sigh* I don't do the stuff, but I've had friends that do. It does have GOOD uses, just like whiskey does (ever heard of the tactic to cure a baby's sore tooth by rubbing whiskey in their mouth? ^_^). I agree with Fred and others who believe that it is a pointless drug. However, I also know that there are reasons why teens smoke marijuana. There is the whole issue of rejection by one's peers. Smoking marijuana is a way to feel like you belong somewhere - even if that "somewhere" is with other potheads. In fact, I would say that using it could actually be rehabilitative somewhat. You can feel socially adept rather than socially inept. Of course, I wouldn't recommend long-term usage of the stuff. Anything that can affect your nervous system technically should be considered harmful. Then again, skydiving is harmful, but people do it. Riding on a plane is harmful, but people do it. Why should this be any different? Everybody is aware of the risks.

In addition, the results of using marijuana don't affect only teens. It isn't like adults are magically immune to its long-term effects. *sigh* Also, how long did this study take? 40 years? After all, back then it was the 1960s... If people were using it that long, I can understand the findings of this study. However, I really do doubt the findings of this study. Did they investigate whether the addicts had previous medical history of another illness or possibly genetically inherited problems? In all seriousness, it is like saying "I got dyscalculia because I smoked marijuana, though I already had dyslexia when I was using the stuff."

*sigh* (again)

Edit: One last thing. Has anybody ever heard of salvia (technically named "salvia divinorum")? Umm... I witnessed firsthand how amazingly horrible those things can make people act just a few months ago. One of my roommates smoked some salvia cigarettes (I think 10x), and he went nuts. He nearly kicked another person's door, and went running wildly like...wow. That's the best way I can describe it. Again, that was my firsthand account. It doesn't have that effect on everybody, and the high doesn't last nearly as long as pot. In fact, it probably has to do with the will of a person. If they're weak-willed, the effects take over. My other roomie tried it, and he was fine other than the short and intense high that he got. However, I really think that if something were to be made illegal, it should be salvia.

Edited May 9, 2008 by rpgfan

[maplecookie Veteran]

I'm skeptical, Me and my friends never were ****ed because of Cannabis more so than just being high.

Anyone I know who had those thoughts pertaining to the stated above had them before they ever even touched Cannabis (Including myself, and I feel it helped bring me out of those bad periods of my life).

Now weed does have an effect on people and does change them a lot but I disagree with the statement that it screws up so many of them as much as stated above, and I am willing to bet that these people had issues far before their use of Cannabis. And to say because of their use of it is why they are more screwed up is an assumption that shouldn't be made.

Not everyone suffers ill effects from pot use, but it does make the chance of it much greater than the person who has never smoked pot.

I'll be completely honest. I was incredibly sick before I tried it when I was 18. In no way do I believe it made my bipolar worse than it is today. I KNOW I've suffered from depression and later bipolar since I was probably eight and I tried it because I was so sick (I was very manic and making VERY bad decisions during that time in my life). But I do firmly believe that if a healthy person makes smoking pot a normal habit in their life, they are more susceptible to having mental health problems later on. It doesn't guarantee that they'll end up with depression or something else, it just makes it more likely.

[rathefeare]

nothing is better than smoking up with friends, chillin and getting the munchies so that you can order KFC :)

Except maybe going out with your girlfriend grabbing a steak and getting laid. Not that one activity precludes the other, but just saying.

[Zab]

Rath, how about chillin with friends right after work, then going out with the girl and then eating the steak and getting laid?

Sounds awesome to me :D (and it sounds like you wouldn't object :p )

[Knife Party]

Except maybe going out with your girlfriend grabbing a steak and getting laid. Not that one activity precludes the other, but just saying.

haha, ok ok, i'll include some sex aswell.... "getting the munchies..start nibbling on my girlfriend :D

[psybapunk]

Except maybe going out with your girlfriend grabbing a steak and getting laid. Not that one activity precludes the other, but just saying.

Why not smoke some with your lady then go get the steak. It'll be the best steak you've EVER had. Smoke another bowl then have sex. Everyone wins.

[duritz]

i know someone that does it once a week perhaps more, and she doesnt seem depressed...

i believe weed causes anxiety and paranoia which leads to depression.

[rathefeare]

Rath, how about chillin with friends right after work, then going out with the girl and then eating the steak and getting laid?

Sounds awesome to me :D (and it sounds like you wouldn't object :p )

Pot isn't my thing, but it isn't uncommon for me to meet my friends at a bar and share a few beers after work and prior to my date. So yeah I totally relate.

Why not smoke some with your lady then go get the steak. It'll be the best steak you've EVER had. Smoke another bowl then have sex. Everyone wins.

Now I know cigarette smoke dulls the taste buds. Doesn't Pot do the same thing?