WASHINGTON (CNN)-- Teenagers who use marijuana put themselves at higher risks for serious mental health problems, including worsening depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide, according to a new White House report.
The report said more teens use marijuana than all other illegal drugs combined.
The goal is to "correct the blind spot we've had in our society that's caused more young people to suffer," Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters said.
"The short message is: Marijuana's not safe."
Although the report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy notes that use of the drug among teenagers has dropped by 25 percent in the past seven years, it emphasizes that more teens use marijuana than all other illegal drugs combined.
That use can have serious consequences, according to the report. Teenagers who smoke marijuana to self-medicate can compound their depression, the report said.
"The benign quality of marijuana, which has been an assumption since the '60s, is now seriously questioned by researchers, scientists and doctors," Larry Greenhill, president-elect of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said at a news conference. Watch addiction expert explain report »
However, Greenhill added, "That's possibly due to the fact that the marijuana available to teenagers in this country has increased tenfold in potency since the 1960s."
Depressed teens are more than twice as likely as others to abuse or become dependent on marijuana, it said. And teenagers who use marijuana more than at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teenagers who do not use the drug, it said.
"It's time we stop denying and we stop normalizing what we now know to be pathology and [a] serious potential medical issue," said Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction expert.
Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, echoed his remarks. Marijuana is "not going to help anything," she said. "It will make life much worse."
Teenage girls are especially at risk, the report said.
"Girls who smoke marijuana daily are significantly more likely to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety: Their odds are more than five times higher than those of girls who do not smoke marijuana," it said.
"Marijuana is not the answer. Too many young people are making a bad situation worse by using marijuana in a misguided effort to relieve their symptoms of depression," said John P. Walters, director of national drug control policy, in a written statement.
The report is titled "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse."
Parents who believe that their teenagers are using marijuana "should not dismiss changes in their teen's behavior as a 'phase,' " the report said.
"It's been shown that parents who make an effort to understand the pressures and influences on young people are more likely to keep their teen healthy and drug-free."
Chrs Robinson
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#1712
Monday May 12
USA Census 2006 reports that there are 299,398,484 persons total, minus 24.6% for the population of persons under 18yrs old leaves us 73,652,027.064.({taken from article,} 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.) So that still leaves an overwhelming amount of children that are non smokers, in fact using above numbers it leaves, 71,352,027.064.
So what I am reading is that we are down 25% of under 18yrs old who smoke, which is great. Marijuana may be used more then all other illegal drugs combined, which isnt a bad thing either, as we already know methamphetamines, and amphetimes, are not good for anyone. I would rather my child get stuck in pot then in coke or crank, and no I am not promoting any drug use by children.
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#1713
Monday May 12
ok the next article is also too long to place in one comment box, so instead of cut and paste to bring it here, I will simply post the link.
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2004/10/28/...
Chrs Robinson
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#1714
Monday May 12
So I guess the question remains, why is it that after a few studies over the last couple years done in different countries, are just now being contradicted by our govt., are they scientest's, and who do they work for? Some might say our govt works for us, but not the National office on Drug control, it works for our govt. to place propaganda as information,IMHO!
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#1715
Monday May 12
Judged:
[Nuts]
1
Why is it I can find more information to dispell this "study" then I can find to support it? And why is it that only a portion of the fac`ts are being posted? let me guess you believe everything our govt. tells you!, Wow, it realy is true, a sucker born every minute.
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#1716
Monday May 12
Q. Is It a Bad Idea to Use Marijuana to Relieve Depression?
From Nancy Schimelpfening,
Your Guide to Depression.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Steven Gans, MD
A. There is much debate as to whether marijuana might actually help depression. Participants in a 1997 pilot study1 reported that one of the reasons they continued to smoke marijuana was that they felt it relieved their symptoms of depression and anxiety. Another study2 found that marijuana did not seem to exacerbate depression, but rather was another symptom of the condition. Although there is preliminary evidence that marijuana may have antidepressant properties, many argue there are also some important drawbacks to it's usage. There is a well-known phenomenon called "amotivational syndrome" in which chronic cannabis users become apathetic, socially withdrawn, and perform at a level of everyday functioning well below their capacity prior to their marijuana use.
Sponsored Links
Top Depression Treatments
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Although the depressed person may feel relief from their symptoms, this may be an illusion of well-being if the person loses motivation and productivity. Furthermore, if the drug is smoked, it can be far more harmful to the respiratory system that tobacco use because of the fact that it is not filtered.
References:
Subst Use Misuse 1997 Feb;32(3):249-64
Very long-term users of marijuana in the United States: a pilot study.
Gruber AJ, Pope HG Jr, Oliva P.
Addict Behav. 1996 Mar-Apr;21(2):211-6
Relationship of depression with measures of social functioning in adult drug abusers.
Donohue B, Acierno R, Kogan E.
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#1717
Monday May 12
ok so the ads on the side of this article posted also.
Sponsored Links
Top Depression Treatments
Top 10 Depression Treatments. Get Professional help for Depression.
www.HelloMetro.com
Marijuana Rehab Treatment
Inpatient Care For Marijuana Addiction Treatment Program.
www.DrugRehabCenter.com
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#1718
Monday May 12
Also note that the article in which you posted Meth is not conclusive, as it says it "may cause" does not say it does cause or any language of.
Chrs Robinson
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#1719
Monday May 12
and because you still arent satisfied, a will post another article link that raises questions also.
http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/WPS3-...
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#1720
Monday May 12
mattyb england wrote:
could i please have one of those machines for my frontroom saves time waiting for my dealer or those mad weekends in the dam that i cant remember.
Hell I thought I was talking to myself here. I also see that the Meth Head is the only one who thinks I am nuts, wonder why that is?
As for getting one of these, well good luck, and alo note that our untrusted govt. did finaly remove the machine, but not before destroying a store to make their point, as it wasnt the first time to the location, but was the first time they destroyed glass cases in which they could see through, and there was nothing there of importance or illegal, unless glass pieces are now illegal in California, which I dont recal seeing or hearing about that, as it hasnt happened.
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#1721
Monday May 12
Chantix recommended to quit smoking despite safety concerns
Email this Story
May 8, 4:57 PM (ET)
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
(AP) A man has a cigarette at the bar of a restaurant in Baltimore in this January file photo. A...
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CHICAGO (AP)- The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc.(PFE) drug is the most effective at helping people get off cigarettes.
The guidelines mention other options, too, and highly recommend combining counseling and medication. But doctors are encouraged to talk to all smokers who want to quit about trying medication.
Consumer advocates cautioned that the safety picture on Chantix is incomplete because it's a relatively new drug, on the market just since 2006.
"It is somewhat better than other therapies; on the other hand, it appears to have more risk," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the watchdog group Public Citizen. "That part of the risk-benefit equation is missing, and it's changing rapidly."
Another issue with the quit-smoking guidelines, released this week by the U.S. Public Health Service, is the lead author's past connections with Pfizer. Dr. Michael Fiore, an expert on smoking and health issues, was a consultant to the maker of Chantix. But he said he cut those ties in 2005.
Fiore's views are shaped by his past ties to the drug industry, and those ties still pose a conflict, at least one consumer advocate said. John Polito, a smoking cessation educator who runs the WhyQuit.com site advocating quitting "cold turkey," called the revised guidelines "a sales pitch" for the drug industry.
The task force overlooked research showing that quitting cold turkey works, Polito said, and studies showing Chantix is superior don't reflect how it's used "in the real world."
"People are quitting smoking to save their lives," Polito said. If Chantix's risks outweigh its benefits, "then it's insane for people to risk their lives" by using it, he said.
The guidelines are based on an extensive review of scientific evidence, were reviewed by 90 independent experts and were endorsed by 60 public health entities, Fiore said, adding that his past financial ties to the drug industry had no influence.
"Independent reviewers of it came to the conclusion that this is a document that reflects the science, and that's what we were charged to do," Fiore said.
The guideline authors analyzed 83 studies and found that Chantix helped 33 percent stay off tobacco for six months after quitting, compared with a nearly 14 percent abstinence rate for dummy pills.
The guidelines recommend combining counseling and medication as the most effective way to kick the tobacco habit, stating "both counseling and medication should be provided to patients trying to quit smoking."
Medications have not been shown to be effective in certain groups, the guidelines say. Those groups include pregnant women, smokeless tobacco users, light smokers and adolescents.
The guidelines say doctors should consider asking about their patients' psychiatric history before prescribing Chantix. Doctors also should monitor patients for changes in mood and behavior while on the drug.
Lois Biener, a researcher of tobacco use and control efforts at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, said most people who quit do so without smoking-cessation drugs.
There's little evidence that these drugs are superior in the long run to quitting without help, and while a few studies have shown some benefit, it's "way less than what is claimed" by medication advocates, Biener said.
Three of 24 panelists who wrote the guidelines reported "significant financial interests" in the pharmaceutical industry, including speaking fees and stock ownership.
---
Associated Press Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner contributed to this report.
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#1722
Monday May 12
Now I bring this up because I happen to be on this medication to quit smoking cigerettes. I am in my second week of using this med.
Please read carefully, and not that this medication may increase or cause depression and suicidal thoughts, oh wait I thought that was only pot, guess not. Oh wait there is more, because it is legal, the bennefits outway those of the risks as stated in the article. So how is this medication different than Marijuana, let me guess, because our govt aproved it!
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#1723
Monday May 12
Chrs Robinson wrote:
Yeah, did it not go through? I can send another one...
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#1724
Tuesday May 13
Ever notice that the articles between the marijuana, and teen depresiion, and the Chantix adult depression, are nearly identical, yet the only difference is the use by adults instead of children, as well as the different drug itself, but otherwise the same reults? Also notice the release dates on them,
Twain
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#1725
Tuesday May 13
Judged:
[Nuts]
1
RE: The 'Balancing Effect' of two herbs...
My medical history has proven that a thoughtful balance of our two most widely smoked herbs....tobacco & marijuana.....combined with the
RELATIVE ABSENCE of
societal/criminal PARANOIA.....results in my physical and mental health and well-being IMPROVING.
Now....I AM NOT ADVOCATING THE USE OF TOBACCO....or THE USE OF MARIJUANA.....
just stating that....the nicotine and other stimulants in tobacco was been my way of
'tempering the THC levels' which allowed me to discover a splendid (and creative) physical calm...while improving my level of concentration....and my productivity and pleasure.
I tried quitting both.....but found that I lost of of my creative drive.....and interest in many things which I loved and cherished.....and gained cleaner lungs.....and 50 pounds.(I have since adjusted my diet and exercise and lost 60....and am back to a very 'normal' 6-0 and 190#.
YES...I HAVE BEEN STUDIED and TESTED...and
YES.....(as Chris et al. have stated) several world class research universities are finding the same results that I have chosen to 'beta test'....
on myself over the past 35 years.
I WAITED UNTIL I WAS 20 TO 'TRY' THC.....and was not a 'pack a day' tobacco smoker until I could afford it....which was AFTER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION.(When last I smoked marijuana....my daily average usage was ONE CIGARETTE per DAY....just like it was within 3 years of my first experience.)
I am fully aware that (relatively) LOCAL/HOMEGROWN NON-TAXED HERBS ARE STRONGER NOW THAN IN THE 70's...to which I say....THANK GOD and THANK YOU to:
N.O.R.M.L., HIGH-TIMES, and 'People Like ME....and US.
I KNOW SEVERAL YOUNGER USERS WHO WOULD BE WELL SERVED TO 'SEE THEIR ADDICTIONS' AS A CHANCE TO LEARN & GROW.....and..if they so desire....continue....AFTER THEY UNDERSTAND THAT:
everything....EVERYTHING you ingest...legal or otherwise....and everything you THINK or DO...can and indeed does have both positive and negative effects and consequences.
DO NOT SELF MEDICATE....unless you have carefully
considered such a decision.
By the way....our 'legal' drugs (i.e. Alcohol and Caffeine) prove both the theory.....and should
also point to the absurdity of prohibition.
IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE FOR PROHIBITION....or for
self-inflicted damage.
peace.
Twain
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#1726
Tuesday May 13
"was/has" been my....etc, etc.....
again....I AM EXPRESSING MY OPINION....and
not reporting not claiming to be either a typist or editor.
-T.
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#1727
Tuesday May 13
Judged:
[Nuts]
1
Twain wrote:
"was/has" been my....etc, etc.....
again....I AM EXPRESSING MY OPINION....and
not reporting not claiming to be either a typist or editor.
-T.
Thank goodness too I thought I was going to go nuts filling in the words I think you ment to place in some places! j/k!
I agree, I think experimentaion with ones own self is required, but also knowing how to retreat when all else fails is rule number one. As a person who responds to disasters throught the world, the first rule is know your exit and strategy before you enter as things can and often do!, as for the potency of the THC, I agree thank goodness, cause I get tired of trying to smoke 3 bowls to get the effect of what one of quality does!
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#1728
Wednesday May 14
Yes Meth, I think you have proven you are nuts, but thats ok, we still alow them their opinions too, to bad you couldnt find any real evidence that marijuana kills people like you suggest, better luck on another topic! Care to go have a drink and burn one, I'll twist up a fatty, and we can smoke till you puke and smoke some more while we discuss why marijuana should be legal, and how it will be soon?
Have a nice day!-)
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#1729
Wednesday May 14
Federal Medical Marijuana Program Marks 30th Anniversary on May 10
May 6, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.— A little-known federal government program that supplies medical marijuana to a handful of patients will mark its 30th anniversary on May 10.
The federal medical marijuana program -- referred to as a Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program -- resulted from a lawsuit filed by glaucoma patient Robert Randall, who successfully showed that his use of marijuana was a medical necessity.
The program slowly grew for over a dozen years. In the wake of a flood of new applications from patients battling AIDS -- who found that marijuana boosted their appetites and relieved the nausea often caused by anti-HIV drugs -- the George H.W. Bush administration closed it to new applicants in March 1992, but continued supplying federal marijuana to those already receiving it. Four of those patients survive today.
"Most Americans would be shocked to know that the federal government supplies medical marijuana to patients while claiming that marijuana is a harmful drug with no medical value," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "If federal officials believe their own statements, they're knowingly poisoning four innocent people, but in fact they know better. The four remaining patients in the federal program have benefited from their medical marijuana use, groups like the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association have said that marijuana is a safe and effective medicine and, as a result, we must change the federal laws that prohibit medical marijuana."
Officially, the Compassionate IND is a research program. Participants were required to sign a consent document calling the program a "study." Yet the federal government has never studied the patients in the "study." In fact, the only study ever published of these patients was privately financed and conducted.
"May 10 marks the 30th anniversary of federal hypocrisy and dishonesty about medical marijuana," Kampia said. "When future historians see how much effort our government made to avoid learning that marijuana is a safe and effective medicine, they'll shake their heads in disbelief."
With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org .
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