Marijuana and depression a bad mix with teens

William Atkins
Monday, 12 May 2008 03:01

Science - Health

On Wednesday, May 9, 2008, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the report “"Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse.”


The full pdf report can be accessed at “Marijuana, Depression, and Teen.”

The Report states that marijuana use in teenagers can make depression worse.

According to the ONDCP, about 2.3 million children in the United States use marijuana at least once a month.

According to conclusions within the Report, two million teenagers felt depressed at least once in 2007 and, depression in teenagers means that they are over twice as likely (25%) to have used marijuana as non-depressed teens (12%).

Besides increasing the risk from depression, marijuana use in teenagers also increases by 40% (over non-marijuana teen users) the chance of getting other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and anxiety.

The Report also stated that depressed teenagers that use marijuana are over twice as likely (8% as compared to 3%) to abuse or become dependent on marijuana when compared to non-depressed teenager that do not use marijuana.

Please read on for more conclusions of the ONDCP report, and what the Director of the ONDCP recommends to parents of teenagers.