PARENTS WARNED THAT POT INCREASES DEPRESSION RISK IN TEENS

WASHINGTON -- The White House drug czar said in a warning to parents
Friday that depressed teens are medicating themselves with marijuana,
running risks of even deeper depression.

A report by the Office National Drug Control Policy said that frequent
marijuana ingestion doubles a teen's risk of depression and anxiety,
based on data compiled from published studies.

The report, timed to be released during Mental Health Awareness Month,
cited a study that marijuana use increases the risk of developing
mental disorders later in life by 40 percent.

"In short, marijuana makes a bad situation worse," said John P.
Walters, director of the drug control policy office.

Critics said the administration is trying to scare teenagers by
exaggerating the dangers.

"When you start convincing young people and their parents that
marijuana is the cause of problems rather than the symptom of them,
you can get into real problems," said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the
Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates
decriminalization of the drug. "It may cause people, parents, teens
and counselors to overlook the real cause of the problem."

Some addiction experts said the report stretches evidence by implying
a causal link between smoking pot and developing mental illness that
did not previously exist, even if there is consensus that depression
is a risk factor for drug use.

A British government advisory group concluded in a report in April
that there is not convincing evidence to show "a causal relationship
between the use of cannabis and the development of any affective disorder."

Pressed at a news conference about the report's claim that, "Using
marijuana can cause depression and other mental illnesses," Walters
demurred and acknowledged there is no proof one leads to another.

"Marijuana makes things worse, not only for young people in general,
but it particularly makes things worse with regard to mental health
and depression," he said.

Among experts inside and outside the government, opinions are mixed on
the relationship between teens, depression and marijuana.

"Both conditions could be related to something else," said Dr. Victor
Reus, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco,
in an interview. "Depressed teens are more likely to exercise less,
stay indoors and watch TV. Take your pick as to which one is causal."

Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse
at the National Institutes of Health, said many kids who smoke
cannabis never become depressed. She said evidence indicates genetic
factors make some teens more vulnerable to mental disorders so that
marijuana can trigger their onset.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, the medical director for the chemical dependency
services department at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., said
he has never seen a chronic user who was not depressed. Also the host
of a VH1 show called "Celebrity Rehab," he said the first six months
of trying to quit often bring suicidal thoughts.

Walters advised parents to watch their children for any sign of
depression and to act quickly, instead of dismissing mood swings as a
passing phase.