MARIJUANA DOUBLES TEEN RISK OF DEPRESSION, REPORT SAYS

Suicidal Thoughts Are One Concern

WASHINGTON - The White House drug control policy director 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 frequent
marijuana use 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.

Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month over a yearlong period
are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers,
it said.

"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-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 specialists 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 assertion 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 researchers 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 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.

Walters advised parents to watch their children for any sign of
depression and to act quickly