MARIJUANA'S DANGERS DEBATED

Drug Czar Warns of Link to Depression, While Others Rule Out Risk

WASHINGTON -- The White House drug czar said in a warning to parents
yesterday 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 experts said the report stretches evidence by implying a causal
link between pot and developing mental illness that did not
previously exist, even if there is a 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.

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 of the chemical dependency services department at Las
Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, Calif., said he has never seen a
chronic user who was not depressed.