Marijuana – A Cocktail Molotov for Teens
Marijuana – A Cocktail Molotov for Teens
Using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, adolescents who smoke pot al least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who don’t use the drug, teens who use marijuana to minimize the symptoms of depression are at high risk of becoming addicted to pot and the chances that they develop an advanced form of depression and anxiety, which may lead to suicide, increase, a new White House Office of National Drug Control Policy report shows.

The report, called Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows “Self-Medicating” Could Actually Make Things Worse, is based on data obtained after analyzing about a dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including research by the by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years,” said John Walters, director of the office, according to the Associated Press. “This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past.”

“I've seen many, many kids' lives negatively impacted and taken off track because of marijuana,” said Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, director of adolescent services for Phoenix House treatment centers in California, according to the same source. “It's somewhat Russian roulette. There are so many factors, emotional, psychological, biological. You can't predict the experimentation and how it will impact a kid.”

According to the report, above 2.3 million children currently use marijuana at least once a month.



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i dont buy it at all
By advocate for pot, (2008-09-22 16:13)
there are plenty of studies done in this country as well as others that provide more accurate information than this. this article doesnt really list the sources on why its harmful to children and such. there are countries around the world who have pot legalized.. some children smoke it and they are fine. i believe that they are mixing this up with the environment a child lives in. if you think about it a childs environment is what really influences them to make decisions. if a parent/relative is abusive, it'll create an unstable environment.. if a child has an absent parent.. this will creat an unstable environment.. there are so many factors and we need to show why children turn to pot. i've been smoking pot since i was 16. i smoked it because i had high levels of anxiety and depression. i believe that pot saved my life. before i smoked, i used to hurt myself and think about suicide on a monthly basis.. i have a doctor and i have tried almost every anti-depressant, mood stabilizer, and anti-anxiety. they never worked for me and i had negative side effects on most of the meds. i even overdosed on mood stabilizers one time and almost died. that sad thing is my father who found me and sent me to the hospital had no idea and thought that i was acting up. i was actually having an overdose. i realized i actually have a problem with prescription medication. i would self medicate with prescription meds.. meds that are non-narcotic and are your everyday mental health medications. i have never had a negative experience with pot like i do with prescription medication. i am now married and have children and no i dont advocate letting your children smoke until they are of certain age to understand the legal issues and even some of the minor (and trust me they are very minor) health issues you get from it. the truth is about pot no one has ever been able to accurate diagnose cancer, tumors, organ failure, heart disease.. ect,ect, to pot. they've only been able to diagnose "temporary" side effects from pot, including paranoia, anxiety, decrease in lung capacity. but these are all minor and dont effect everyone.

thats my piece i thought i could shed some light on this topic.

the thing is if your curious about whats legit.. read "non-biased" reports about marijuana. yes they are long but they are the most accurate texts out there. an article like this doesnt help.. and i agree i think tobacco, prescription narcotics, and alcohol are far worst and have been medically proven to cause severe effects.
An important question not asked about kids & marijuna
By Minter, (2008-05-11 04:05)
How did kids get their hands on marijuana in the first place. If that didn't happen. Then, this article wouldn't be written. Plus, the ONDCP Reports are always just surveys & highly biased studies. You will never find an ONDCP Report on the great many peer reviewed studies proving that marijuana has many medicinal uses. Or, that marijuana is far safer than alcohol or tobacco. Which it is. Kids get their hands on marijuana due to our laws. We prohibit marijuna so only criminals sell it. They don't card for age. They'll sell to anyone. If we really had control we'd legalize it like tobacco. Low cost will drive drug dealers out of business. Merchants do card for age. This is the right signal to send to our kids. It will no longer be so easy to get.
Bigmac
By Bigmac, (2008-05-11 00:09)
“Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years,”

Thats funny, how have they been treating it? Lets see: minimum pot penalties, $20 billion a year of OUR TAX DOLLARS going toward the war on drugs.

All the while, Alcohol and Tobacco (both worse than pot in my, and many others opinions) are legal as hell. Why is that? Maybe because they are multi billion dollar industries.

The government should not be allowed to dictate what neuro-receptors we are and arent allowed to use. Thats not freedom at all.
cannabis and teens
By shrdlu, (2008-05-12 13:43)
These "studies" are offered as real news from time to time but they are anything but scientific; they are clumsy political propaganda excercises that are used for a variety of purposes. The biggest purpose is to maintain the fear factor as a diversion from real news and protect the profits of liquor companies. But the purpose of this one at this time is to discredit Sen. Barack Obama in his bid for the presidency. He has admitted to actually inhaled a bit of hemp smoke when he was younger so the "study" is being launched by our very compliant media to make it appear that voting for him would be voting for someone who is mentally unstable and at risk for getting worse. It's an old, but tried and true tactic that repressive and oppressive governments having been using probably since the days of ancient Rome and likely even before that.
 
 
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