DEPRESSING DOPE: IS MARIJUANA A CAUSE OR EFFECT FOR TEENS?

Unknown centuries after someone first decided that lighting up
marijuana led to good feelings, the debate continues over the drug and
its effects.

Proponents argue it's a natural way to alter the mood and feel better,
with few or no side effects.

Opponents, while not proclaiming it the "evil weed" portrayed in the
old film "Reefer Madness," cite new scientific evidence that marijuana
has longer short- and long-term effects than known years ago.

A new White House report links marijuana use in teens to a dangerous
combination that can lead to dependency, mental illness, or thoughts
of suicide, according to the Associated Press.

The survey reported that teens who had been depressed at some point
during the past year were more than twice as likely to have used
marijuana as those who did not report depression- 25 percent, as
opposed to 12 percent.

"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture
has treated it in the last 20 years," John Walters, director of the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the AP. "This
is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used
to think in the past."

Walters' office states marijuana use among teen-agers has decreased 25
percent since 2001, with about 2.3 million kids who used it at least
once a month.

It's hard to quantify that amount, or whether marijuana use leads to
depression, say local people who work with drug prevention and treatment.

"It's the chicken or the egg. Are they smoking, and is that leading to
depression, or is the depression leading to smoking?" said Levi
Keehler, preventions programs manager, Anti-Meth Coalition and Access
to Recovery treatment coordinator for the Cherokee Nation.

Keehler also is an adjunct professor in Northeastern State
University's program leading to a master's degree in substance abuse
counseling. He said many teens may be undiagnosed for depression and
turn to marijuana as a form of self-treatment.

"I don't think anybody knows that to this point," he said. "It tends
to be individualized - certain people use certain behaviors for
various reasons."

Research doesn't necessarily answer all the questions of why people
use substances, be they illegal or legal like alcohol.

Keehler said depressed young people also tend to exercise less and
stay indoors more.

"Marijuana is actually the most-used illicit drug in our area," he
said. "But it pales compared to alcohol use, which also is prohibited
in teens."

Teens often are lectured about the hazards of drinking and driving,
and face penalties including loss of their driver's licenses for a
longer period than adults convicted of such offenses. Alcohol also can
result in other complications, including poor judgment and teen pregnancy.