Teen Depression Worsened by Marijuana, Government Says

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Over the past 10 years I have seen dozens of different people for treatment for chronic pain and depression/mood disorders. My whole life I have always felt like I just worked all day in a field. Depression may be the cause of the pain, but besides the pain I have never been a happy person. Most of my family has been diagnosed with depression and I am no different. I have spent tens of thousands of $ on doctors and medication with very little effect and the same is my family that is depressed. I recently found out that some of those members smoke pot and it helps them the same as it helps me, but this was never brought to my attention because 'pot is bad'.
I have missed thousands of hours of work, activities and socializing because of this and have also been forced to drop out of college 2x because of depression and a severe lack of motivation. I scored nearly a 1500/1600 on my SAT's, nearly perfect math score so college should have been easy for me right? Not when you have a very down-depressed mood with no motivation. I have spent $40k on college and have nothing to show which doesn't help my depression at all.
The only drugs that have worked caused SEVERE side effects (one caused a car accident when I passed out, another caused a trip to the ER when my air way was swollen shut) and this is besides the fact they cost several hundred $$ to fill the prescription even WITH health insurance.
Would you believe I have had doctors tell me that I am wrong and that marijuana is the root of my depression? I have been depressed since I was a very small child and my parents fall into the extreme 'pot is bad' category so its not like I was ever around it as a kid. I waited till I was an adult, and had been very actively trying to deal with my depression for about 5-6 years with no results. In my mind it was a very justified decision. This ended up getting me kicked out of my parents house when I was 19 when they found some and were very surprised that I could be a 'drug addict' because for the past few months I had been in great moods, very motivated, making quite a bit of money and being a productive member of society. This is just one example of those blinded by the propaganda. I decided to quit smoking after that because i was thinking; hey, they must be right and my life is off track. I went into a severe depressive state and nearly went through with killing myself and causing some very close friends to completely freak out. As soon as I started occasionally smoking again, I went back to working, socializing, and a more normal sleeping pattern. And oh, the anti-depressants that did work made me fell high.
So if pot doesn't help everyone that smokes it and is labled as 'bad', then why are all these other drugs on the market because they sure don't help me at all. If a drug company can come up with a pill that gives old men erections, they should be able to come up with a pill that has the effects that marijuana has on me and cost less than pot.

Eric of CT 12:28AM July 18, 2010

I have a feeling that most people don't even know why or how Marijuana became illegal. Would it surprise you that a weed is illegal because of the self+monetary interests of politicians? It is mostly because of the hemp plant encroaching on other crops used for their fiber (like cotton for rope, clothing ect...). Our founding fathers all had their own help crop and smoked it regularly. It was also a way to segregate and single out certain minorities when they were seen as a "problem" to the people in our government.

Bob of CT 12:08AM July 18, 2010

It's always so interesting to me that whenever there is a study showing the negative effects of cannabis, the anti-cannabis people JUMP on it and say in effect, "See we were right ...this stuff is PROVEN to be DANGEROUS! Just look at the study! It proves it! However, these same people are always saying that there isn't really enough good research about the (positive) effects of cannabis and we need to study it more because we really don't know, blah, blah ,blah.......isn't it interesting that the only "good, definitive" research on cannabis is the research that shows the "negative" effects. How can that be? There are about 20,000 peer- reviewed studies worldwide showing not only the positive effects medicinally, but that just about every "negative" study has been shown to be inaccurate or poorly done. To those who have tried cannabis and either don't like it or had a very bad experience or have a problem with it, here is a novel idea - DON'T USE IT!....it is not addictive, so it's about CHOICE. It's not for everyone. When I was 17 ( in 1967) I started smoking pot. Two years later I CHOSE to stop because I found that indeed at that time in my life it made me depressed. I chose another path. However, later in life I have used cannabis on and off for many years with very positive effects. Basically everything negative thing we all were taught about marijuana just isn't true. Read the research.

Paul of CA 10:00AM July 06, 2010

I HAVE BEEN A POT SMOKER FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND THE TIME I DIDNT SMOKE WHEN I WAS USING HARD DRUGS. IM NO LONGER USING HARD DRUGS, AND JUST SMOKING POT. I SUFFER FROM HEP C AND DEPPRESION AND POT REALLY HELPS ME ON MY DAY TO DAY LIFE. OVER ALL I HAVE A BETTER AND MUCH HEALTHIER LIFE FOR SMOKING POT.

STACY of OK 5:45PM July 02, 2010

Marijuana is a potent antidepressant in low does, but worsens symptoms in high doses, according to a new study
THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, increases serotonin when smoked in low doses, similar to SSRI antidepressants, such as Prozac, according to researchers from McGill University and Le Centre de Recherche Fernand Seguin of Hôpital in Quebec and l'Université de Montréal in Montreal.
But at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression and other psychiatric conditions like psychosis.
During the study, published in the October 24 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, laboratory rats were injected with the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2 and then tested with the Forced Swim test — a test to measure “depression” in animals.
The researchers observed an antidepressant effect of cannabinoids and an increased activity in the neurons that produce serotonin. However, increasing the cannabinoid dose beyond a set point completely undid the benefits, said Dr. Gabriella Gobbi of McGill University and Le Centre de Recherche Fernand Seguin of Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine.
Bottom line....everything in moderation.Anything has negative effects when abused.Of course the Government will continue to deny the positive effects in low doses.It will continue to do so based on it's own agenda,which has very little to do about the truth behind marijuana.It is up to the people to realize the difference!

Dave of CA 7:48PM June 11, 2010

i smoke pot everyday, some times five times a day, i was a A- student before i started smoking. now im a college drop out and have near no friends, all the so called friends i have are in the same loser boat as me. you said you think in the negative, i do to, my mind is always thinking the worst of people and its starting to show in my personality, some times i feel like theres two of me, one angry at every thing, for any reason it can find, the other depressed as i relize ive done this to my self.... i love weed, when i smoke once a week its not that bad, but once a abuser always a abuser,
i abuse

Keltic of CA 7:03PM June 10, 2010

smoking pot started as such a euphoric and fun thing.. now it's just become part of my everyday life and it is just becoming a big hassle.. i feel like it did turn my life around. i used to be more social and used to go out and do everything. and now i always think negative and don't know what to do anymore.. this is because i smoke marijuana on an everyday basis. if anybody can relate, reply.

joe springer of IA 1:02PM May 22, 2010

I am years out of high school, and I no longer smoke pot because of the experiences of self-hatred that Kelly of CT described. Drugs effect different people differently, and so there are probably some people out there for whom marijuana makes depression worse. There are also probably a few people out there whose body chemistry is such that marijuana makes them feel less depressed. I think that this article sends a mixed message because it is linked with government anti-drug campaigns, but I wouldn't dismiss the science behind it. If you have depression, there are better coping skills that can be learned than simply medicating yourself, either by prescription or by self-medication. It takes time and commitment, and possibly a good therapist, but its worth it. The sooner that you can begin learning these skills, the sooner your life will be something that you enjoy.

Nicole of WA 1:17PM May 19, 2010

Teens who are depressed and having thoughts of suicide often inflict harm on themselves. When they choose to smoke marijuana, they are in a way trying something that they hope will make them feel better without getting physically hurt. Many high school kids are becoming involved with drugs and dropping their self-harm habits, because they feel that they no longer need to. In a sense, emo kids are just upgrading to stoners and are happier than they had been. It all depends on the individual though.

Monica of CA 1:15PM May 19, 2010

I am a 17 year old girl in high school. I was not depressed until around my sophomore year of high school and I began heavily smoking marijuana in my freshman year consistently up til now.
Whenever I would get high with friends it slowly began with negative thoughts, constantly judging myself, and then soon became unbearable to get high anymore because I was constantly thinking "I hate myself" and thinking about every thing I had done wrong, just really not wanting to be me. ...I used to love getting high because of the body high, it felt really nice but it began to also include severe negative thinking so I'd rather be happy than have my body feel great.
I have become severely depressed, diagonosed with major depressive disorder. I have to be on medication for the rest of my life.
I definitely think that there is a relation to smoking weed and developing depression.
What sucks is I wish I could just have the regular amount of chemicals in my brain as the average person, so I could have fun and smoke and drink. But I have a major lack, and smoking and drinking makes the lack severely worse.

Kelly of CT 3:53PM April 18, 2010