Feds: Teen use of pot can lead to dependency, mental illness - Yahoo! News

To me it seems like a whole lot of spin.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Okay not surprising, as cannabis has been shown to help against depression. Self-medication is very possible.

For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

Once again self-medication comes into play. The scientific community acknowledges some sort of link between certain mental illnesses and cannabis use; however, it is up in the air as to what that link is. Some believe that the cannabis is causing the illness. Others believe that those who use cannabis for extended times in their life are simply self-medicating a problem that naturally was more prone to becoming an issue.

As to the suicide, schizophrenics are much more likely to commit suicide than the average person and schizophrenia is one of the major mental illnesses linked with cannabis.

The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot — 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Until they discover a problem with smoking pot regularly for a lifetime I can't see why this sentence should be written in such a negative light.

"It's not something you look the other way about when your teen starts appearing careless about their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing interest in daily activities," Walters said. "Find out what's wrong."

"Be worried if your teen acts like... a teen!"