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Teen-marijuana users at high risk of mental problems |
A story out of that "hot-bed" of human rights and free speech more commonly known as China, tells of the "high risk" of mental problems youngsters face if they use cannabis. But hang on a moment; Didn't the ACMD recently say the link between cannabis and mental health was at best "weak"? Unproven? Wasn't that the very foundation on which they made their (ultimately to be ignored) recommendations to government that cannabis should stay as a class C drug? It would appear the agenda news agencies are working to comes firmly out of the "never let the facts get in the way of a good story" school of journalism, and regardless of the veracity (or otherwise) on this story, it will still form part of the overall anti-cannabis tide we are subjected to daily. In the meantime Canna Zine stories which have the slightest "positive" slant on cannabis, are quietly removed from Google News whilst no-one says a thing about it. Its little wonder then the government feel they can push the UK cannabis community around, seemingly at will. | BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Teenagers who use marijuana put themselves at high risk for serious mental problems: including worsening depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide, according to a new White House report.
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| 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. The intention of the report, said John Walters, director of the office, is to "try to correct two misunderstandings: | 
US drug czar John Walters - a man who tells lies for a living.
| That teen depression is not a problem and that teen marijuana use is not a problem - marijuana use is not safe."
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| The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed are more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot -- 8 percent compared with 3 percent.
| Marijuana is one of the world's most commonly used illegal drugs. There are approximately 300 million users worldwide and 28 million users in the United States alone.
"The benign quality of marijuana, which has been an assumption since the '60s, is now seriously questioned by researchers, scientists and doctors," said Larry Greenhill, president-elect of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Teenage girls are especially at risk, the report said.
"Girls who smoke marijuana daily are significantly more likely to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety: Their odds are more than five times higher than those of girls who do not smoke marijuana," it said.
Since 2001, marijuana use among American teens has decreased 25 percent. Currently, about 2.3 million children use marijuana at least once a month, according to the drug control office.
http://news.xinhuanet.com
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