Marijuana Use & its Negative Impact on Depression

Introduction:  With the onslaught of marijuana promotion as some miraculous “medicine,” I think I should highlight some facts regarding marijuana use and its negative effects.  This article is dealing solely with depression and suicide.  But, it is worth noting that there are over 20,000 peer reviewed research articles which associate marijuana use with dangerous mental health consequences.[1]  That’s not a misprint, that’s not hyperbole, but 20,000 professional peer-reviewed articles.  Hell, that may rival the number of pop culture media stories promoting marijuana as a wonder drug.

The National Academy of Science Accounts for Approximately 190 Nobel Prize WInners.

Rapid Fire Facts:  So, let’s just get down to the facts (sources included):

1.       Several studies, including  research from Yale, have found that marijuana use worsens the symptoms of PTSD.[2]

2.       Two separate research projects on members of the military found that marijuana use increased the risk of suicidal thoughts (and behaviors) for military personnel suffering from PTSD.[3]

3.       The National Academy of Science (the largest collection of Nobel Prize winners on the planet) conducted a massive study and found that heavy marijuana use increased the risk of suicidal thoughts.[4]

4.       A massive study of twins in Australia found that marijuana use by one identical twin (compared to the twin with the same DNA who did not use marijuana) increased the risk of suicidal ideation by 2.47 times.  In fact, “the study suggests a causal relationship between frequent cannabis use and both major depression and suicidal ideation.”[5]

Dr. Kevin Sabet’s Book, Smoke Screen - A Tremendous Resource on Marijuana & its Dangers.

The Takeaway: The fact that marijuana has been reported as a safe and effective medication is mind blowing.  This normalization of marijuana use will have dire consequences – as marijuana use increases, the negative impacts of marijuana use increase … it’s not really rocket science.  So, we need to combat these false narratives together.  The evidence relating to marijuana use is a wrecking ball to every narrative of its proponents – so, let’s get to work.

This Book has an Entire Chapter on Marijuana

[1] Smoke Screen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want you to Know, Kevan A. Sabet, Ph.D. (Forefront Books, 2021) p. 221

[2] Sabet, p 214

[3] Sabet, p. 241

[4] Injustice for All: The (Familiar) Fallacies of Criminal Justice Reform, Brian Surber (True Blue Publishing, LLC, 2021), p. 95-96

[5] Surber, p. 96.