cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Links Marijuana Use and Depression





Drug Czar Links Marijuana Use and Depression
Posted by CN Staff on May 10, 2008 at 04:30:39 PT
By James Hohmann, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times
Washington, D.C. -- 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.Note: The Office National Drug Control Policy says smoking pot increases risk of mental disorders, but critics contend that the report stretches the evidence.Complete Title: White House Drug Czar Links Marijuana Use and DepressionSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: James Hohmann, Los Angeles Times Staff WriterPublished: May 10, 2008Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Teen Marijuana Use Linked To Later Illnesshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23918.shtmlTeen Use of Pot Can Lead To Dependencyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23917.shtml
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on May 13, 2008 at 10:13:37 PT
museman
I honestly believe that every person is given a special gift that is just for them. You have the gift of music but more then that. Good music helps, edifys and guides people. It is a wonderful gift. 
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Comment #25 posted by museman on May 13, 2008 at 10:03:14 PT
Hope, FoM
:-)>Gotta make the music,make it 'til I die.making wings of hopes and dreams,to help us learn to fly.Gotta keep it true,and illuminate the dark ignorance,knowing that the pain of the transcending,is but a figment of a captured mind.Millennia has passed,so many have given all they had,in unseen faith that this time would surely come,knowing in their fundamental core thathere and now is where it's always been at.I marvel at the lightthat starkly reveals the lies and obfuscationfor the children to see so clear,yet the minds that dwell in that darknesscannot see the light that shinesupon their deliberate blindness.It would be understandble to pity them,if there were substance there worthy of the effort,but their consolidated, complicated, over-rated, reiterated, twitterpated, unsatiated appetite for twisted dominance and control,has left them empty of the seeds of truth and joy.And though they devour all they can,and corrupt and destroy in their grand delusion,those seeds have no purchase or nurture, and cannot, will not grow.So it is best to just stand by,but far from the falling mortar andcrumbling stone of Babylon,having hope that all who can be brought out,have been.So I raise my culturally estabished symbol of truth, empowerment, knowlege, healing, and freedom,and with the flame of mans entitlement, I inhale.
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Comment #24 posted by gloovins on May 12, 2008 at 21:23:48 PT
it's nice to be seen & glad u feel a little better
just wish you could benefit from the policies and healers out here in California, there in Ohio...maybe someday soon hopefully = )
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on May 12, 2008 at 19:33:55 PT
gloovins 
It's nice to see you. I think I am getting better. I don't have pain like I did. The drugs I'm taking keep it in check. 
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Comment #22 posted by gloovins on May 12, 2008 at 19:00:27 PT
yeah
i'd rather be depressed and stoned than just depressed!i really only get mildly depressed when the dispensiary is closed :(museman I liked your vid and song. you are very talented. i play guitar too but only know a couple riffs i play over and over. people think i can play, but then i play my repitoire and they are like okay what else you know ? i'm like "thats it..." its funny the song is nice and i too am glad you got so much out of it FoM & you are feeling better (hopefully =))liked too the front porch analogy museman...i've learned more here than i think any other site, just the large concentrate of informed opinion with brevity by most...all my hope for many more years of love and information exchange... =) Have a great May everyone...
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on May 11, 2008 at 22:17:05 PT
OverwelmSam
Lol!"Their mere existence is the reason we are so depressed in the first place. And I flat out prefer to be stoned and depressed..., than just plain old depressed."That's good.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on May 11, 2008 at 22:14:36 PT
Museman
That was good. I loved the guitar playing. Your boys are so handsome and talented. I can't sing or play an instrument... so I really think it's awesome and so admirable that you and your family do. Your family and the obvious love and respect there is just beautiful to behold and hear.You really are a wealthy man. Maybe not in money... but in more valuable ways than money. But you know that of course.Thanks. Thanks very much. It does my heart my good to see and hear you.
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Comment #19 posted by OverwhelmSam on May 11, 2008 at 22:03:22 PT
ONDCP Grasping At Straws Again
Do these GAO approved liars have no boudaries? They just don't get it do they. Their mere existence is the reason we are so depressed in the first place. And I flat out prefer to be stoned and depressed..., than just plain old depressed. Sure would love to see that "Going out of Business" sign on their front door.
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on May 11, 2008 at 21:45:28 PT
Museman
Nearly got that video loaded. Looks like it's going to actually load the entire video, too.
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on May 11, 2008 at 21:33:55 PT
I'm happy that FoM is happy...
Thanks for coming round, Museman. I'm glad to have gotten to meet you, too.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on May 11, 2008 at 20:30:29 PT
museman
Here I go again. God really is good.
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Comment #15 posted by museman on May 11, 2008 at 20:29:40 PT
FoM
Wow. I am honored and humbled. Thank you.This place of yours, kind of like a front porch hang out from a better time, makes me feel so welcome I keep coming back...and finding relativity. I find it rather awesome.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on May 11, 2008 at 19:27:11 PT
museman
Sometimes it's hard for me to put into words what I want to say but I'll try. In life I believe that we are sent angels when we need help. You have been that to me.
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Comment #13 posted by museman on May 11, 2008 at 19:11:26 PT
Hope
In retrospect I realize i should have called it "Mr. Amerika" But it was written during the early Clinton Years, I hadn't realized how appropriate it would become.The next time I record it, or release it I wil call it that.
Mr. America
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on May 11, 2008 at 15:27:05 PT
Museman
Which one? The url please.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on May 11, 2008 at 13:55:25 PT
museman
That's really interesting.
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Comment #10 posted by museman on May 11, 2008 at 13:42:32 PT
#7..
Just as an aside, I'd like to share an unusual discovery I recently made, My most watched music video on youtube has the highest number of viewers -more than the US- in Iran....I'm not sure how to take it. Is it Iranian hippies or what?
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Comment #9 posted by ripit on May 11, 2008 at 12:02:03 PT:
yeah right! so wasn't
dr drew giving advice on love and relatonships and crap like that when he was on mtv?(i thought he was a dr. ruth wannabe!) what the f&%* does that have to do with addiction? an so how many of these ppl went into rehab for just cannabis?more likely they were there for heroin coke meth and alcohol and not just weed. Dr. Drew Pinsky, a medical director for chemical dependency the host of the VH1 show "Celebrity Rehab," he said the first six months of trying to quit the drug often bring suicidal thoughts.
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Comment #8 posted by gloovins on May 11, 2008 at 01:13:09 PT
This Doctor Drew...
He has been spouting this supposed depression link to cannabis use for years now. It's has now gotten national exposure, congrats...real hard in this administration...anyway, this link is so bogus and untrue. I saw some of this celeb detox on vh1s website. Dr Drew was comparing the comedown of heavy cannabis use detox to that of heroin withdrawl! No shit people...correct me if I am wrong but I saw that. Jeez, wtf is our world come to? The scare tactics of these prohibitionists and big pharm in concert is insane these days...I have nothing against the doctor, if he helps people God bless him but these lies I hear him say are just ridiculous, beware.
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Comment #7 posted by observer on May 10, 2008 at 15:49:50 PT
Where Prohibitionist Fanatics Agree...
Here's something else your controlled mainstream news (i.e., every US TV/radio station, every major printed newspaper) won't play up, emphasize, or otherwise note or draw attention to --The fact that the rabid slobbering marijuana-and-hippie hating crowd in America, is just like (and of course deeply appreciated by) the rabid slobbering marijuana-and-hippie hating crowd in Iran. Sure, their accents and dress differs, but they can always join and unite, the two-bit cookie-cutter Drug Czars like John Walters and the his counterpart two-bit cookie-cutter Mullahs in Iran, when it comes to persecuting the cannabis user. Nothing will stop either prohibitionist fanatic in their religious jihad drug war to punish and jail and hurt (and maybe even kill), the cannabis user. Iran, Islamic Republic of: Depressed teens, marijuana a dangerous mixFound: Sat May 10 13:03:34 2008 PDTSource: Tehran Times (Iran)Webpage: http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=168347
 The U.S. fanatical war on cannabis users - Iranian mullah -approved!
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Comment #6 posted by observer on May 10, 2008 at 12:48:54 PT
analysis
[1]
Washington, D.C. -- 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 . 
(Sentence 1) re: "depression" - Prohibitionists claim any use of currently illegal drugs cause death, illness, lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "teens" - Prohibitionists forever claim that children are corrupted by drugs, and this is why adult users must be punished harshly. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[2]
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 . 
(Sentence 2) re: "anxiety", "depression" - Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man. Why if not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis, and plague shall cover the land. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "teen" - "Chemicals have long been inextricably linked in prohibitionist literature with the ... corruption of young people." [W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[3]
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% . 
(Sentence 3) re: - Drugs, scream prohibitionists, cause all bad things in life: crime, violence, insanity, etc. If not for prohibition (i.e., jailing drug users), then criminality, violence and psychotic behavior would explode upon the land, the prohibitionist assures us. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "marijuana use" - The rhetoric of prohibition will assume that "use" and "abuse" are identical. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) re: "marijuana use increases the risk of developing mental", "Mental Health Awareness Month, cited a study that marijuana" - Also, taking cannabis makes "fiends of boys in 30 days"! http://tinyurl.com/2ern46 
 
 
[6]
Critics said the administration was trying to scare teenagers by exaggerating the dangers . 
(Sentence 6) re: "teenagers" - Being a prohibitionist means you can never shed too many crocodile tears for the "children". (As you lustily jail or kill their parents for using drugs.) (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[7]
"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 . 
(Sentence 7) re: "young people" - "Since the Harrison Act of 1914, the user and the seller of illicit drugs have both been characterized as evil, criminal, insane, and always in search of new victims, the victims are characterized as young children." [W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[8]
"It may cause people, parents, teens and counselors to overlook the real cause of the problem."
(Sentence 8) re: "teens" - "Nothing can so excite an adult population as can anything which appears to threaten their own children." [W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[9]
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 . 
(Sentence 9) re: "addiction", "depression", "mental illness" - Drugs, claim the prohibitionist, cause insanity, violence, and terrible sickness. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "drug use" - Prohibitionist propagandists repeatedly assert that "use is abuse." Details about "using" as opposed to "abusing" drugs are ignored. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) 
 
 
[11]
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 . 
(Sentence 11) re: "depression", "mental illnesses" - The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "leads to" - Prohibitionists often claim that a targeted drug is a "gateway" to abuse of more dangerous drugs. (Use is Abuse, Gateway (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#4 ) re: "marijuana can cause depression and other mental" - Central to the demonizing of cannabis users is the insinuation cannabis "causes" mental illness, or that cannabis prohibition somehow contains or limits mental illness. 
 
 
[12]
"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 . 
(Sentence 12) re: "depression" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "young people" - "The inflaming of this fear about the fate of our own children [makes] it difficult if not impossible for most Americans to take a careful and reasoned look at our drug policies."[W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[13]
Among experts inside and outside the government, opinions are mixed on the relationship between teen depression and marijuana use . 
(Sentence 13) re: "depression" - It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed, whacked out, high flying drug users. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "marijuana use" - Prohibitionists try to hammer in the idea that 'all use is abuse.' The rhetoric of prohibition needs to deny that many people can use currently illegal drugs without abusing them. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) re: "teen" - Drug war propaganda plays on parental fears for the well being of their kids. If drug users are not jailed, says the prohibitionist, then your children will surely suffer. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[16]
"Depressed teens are more likely to exercise less, stay indoors and watch TV . 
(Sentence 16) re: "teens" - Prohibitionist propaganda continually whips up parental fear, invoking lurid images of children corrupted by drugs. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[20]
Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, said many youths who smoke cannabis never become depressed . 
(Sentence 20) re: "Drug Abuse", "Abuse" - "This strategy equates the use and abuse of drugs and implies that it is impossible to use the particular drug or drugs in question without physical, mental, and moral deterioration." [W.White,1979] (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) re: "youths" - Prohibitionists are champions of "the child", "kids", "children", etc. Only continued or increased punishments of all adults caught using "drugs" will send the correct "message" to children. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[21]
She said evidence indicates genetic factors make some teens more vulnerable to mental disorders so that marijuana can trigger their onset . 
(Sentence 21) re: - Drugs, claim the prohibitionist, cause insanity, violence, and terrible sickness. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "teens" - Prohibitionist propaganda continually whips up parental fear, invoking lurid images of children corrupted by drugs. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) re: "mental disorders so that marijuana" - Classic 'Reefer madness' claims cannabis causes (violent) mental illness. 
 
 
[25]
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 . 
(Sentence 25) re: "mood swings", "depression" - Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs" bad things would not exist. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "children" - Drug war propaganda plays on parental fears for the well being of their kids. If drug users are not jailed, says the prohibitionist, then your children will surely suffer. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
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Comment #5 posted by potpal on May 10, 2008 at 11:53:30 PT
That's right...
Mr. Walters obsession with cannabis is depressing everyone.Cannabis prohibition is the crime.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on May 10, 2008 at 10:03:40 PT
And to make matters worse... and it's possible...
The police, after convincing her, with threats, to do this... they are blaming her.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on May 10, 2008 at 10:01:52 PT
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
Another Drug War Victim.I picked this up over at DrugWarRant.http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080510/NEWS01/805100317Suspects lead police to Hoffman's body in Taylor County
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on May 10, 2008 at 07:46:18 PT
Big Pharma Czar Spouts Again
"Walters advised parents to watch their children for any sign of depression and to act quickly" [sarcasm on]Let's get those emotional-explorers on SSRI drugs ASAP says the Big Pharma Czar[sarcasm off]"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."That's what I'm talking about!
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Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on May 10, 2008 at 07:03:40 PT:
experts....
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.
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.
... point made.
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