WHITE HOUSE DRUG CZAR LINKS MARIJUANA USE AND DEPRESSION

The Office National Drug Control Policy Says Smoking Pot Increases
Risk of Mental Disorders, but Critics Contend That the Report
Stretches the Evidence.

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 new report by the Office of 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%.

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

Critics said the administration was 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-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
does not exist, even if there is consensus that depression is a risk
factor for drug use.

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

Questioned about the drug control policy 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 teen depression and marijuana use.

"Both conditions could be related to something else," Dr. Victor
Reus, a psychiatrist at UC San Francisco, said 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 youths 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, said he has
never seen a chronic user who was not depressed. Also the host of the
VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab," he said the first six months of trying to
quit the drug 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.