cannabisnews.com: Studies Link Cannabis Use With Depression 





Studies Link Cannabis Use With Depression 
Posted by CN Staff on November 21, 2002 at 20:31:57 PT
By James Meikle, Health Correspondent
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Frequent cannabis use appears significantly to increase the risk of suffering depression or schizophrenia in later life, researchers say today. An Australian study suggests daily use by young women might lead to a five-fold increase in the odds of suffering later depression and anxiety, while weekly use doubles the threat. An updating of a review of Swedish conscripts' mental health indicates cannabis use might carry a 30% increased risk of developing schizophrenia. 
And monitoring of young people in New Zealand suggests that a vulnerable minority using cannabis as teenagers experience schizophrenia in adulthood. These were young people who had already shown symptoms of psychosis at the age of 11. However, in contrast to the Australian study, cannabis use in adolescence did not predict greater risk of depression years later. Reports on the three projects, published in the British Medical Journal, reflect growing concern over the health consequences of using the recreational drug. The Australian study, which followed the progress of 1,600 students from 44 secondary schools in Victoria, suggests that by the time they reached 20, 60% had used cannabis and 7% were using it daily. By then nearly 10% of the young men and 22% of the women were reporting depression and anxiety. The relatively small number of young women who said they used cannabis daily, 4%, were, however, five times more likely to be depressed than non-users. The review of evidence of later schizophrenia among 50,000 young Swedes who were conscripted in 1969, and whose medical histories were followed up to 1996, was led by Stanley Zammit, a clinical research fellow at the University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, who is funded by the Medical Research Council. Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: James Meikle, Health CorrespondentPublished: Friday, November 22, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis & Mental Health - BMJ Reporthttp://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/325/7374/1183Marijuana Use Linked To Schizophrenia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14801.shtmlCannabis Could Cure - Wall Street Journal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11398.shtml
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