Many people see marijuana as a harmless substance and think as a better substitute to other forms of smoking. But, studies show that the potential chemical THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), present in marijuana adversely affects human brain and mental health. And secondly studies show that regular marijuana use can not only aggravate already existing mental illness, but that it may proceed, or act as a catalyst, in mental health problems.
What are the short-term dangers of smoking marijuana on mental health?
- Impaired memory and inability to learn
- Difficulties in thinking, problem solving, and perfuming
- Distorted Perception
- Anxiety disorders or feelings of paranoia
- Impaired judgment
What are the long-term dangers of smoking marijuana on mental health?
- It can increase risk of depression, suicidal thoughts as a result of regular marijuana use, even among people with no prior history of a disorder.
- It can increase the risk of acute toxic psychosis and panic attacks.
- It increases the risk of developing uncontrollable aggressiveness.
- It may badly disrupt the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed.
- Long term use of marijuana can cause schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder.
- There is evidence of increased risk for schizophrenia in later years in some teens who smoke marijuana.
What the studies say about marijuana and mental health?
- Many studies have been suggested that marijuana is the root cause of many mental disorders.
- Several studies have documented marijuana’s link with symptoms of schizophrenia and report that it is an independent risk factor for schizophrenia.
- Heavy marijuana users are almost seven times more likely than non-users to be diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life.
- A recent study found that that the earlier the use of marijuana (age 15 vs. age 18), the greater the risk of schizophrenia.
- A study based on data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that teenagers 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely to have thoughts of committing suicide.
- Studies show that marijuana use during adolescence increases the risk of psychotic disorders in adulthood.
- A study published in 2005 found that regular use of marijuana may double the risk of developing psychotic disorders and that marijuana causes chemical changes to the brain.
- Some research shows that marijuana use can precede symptoms of depression. Girls (ages 14–15) who used marijuana daily were five times more likely to face depression at age 21.
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February 12th, 2008 at 5:05 am
This is BS. Just the opposite effect has been reported on depression.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I think that marijuana should be left underground because if it is legal the government will just make it harder to afford and harder to get.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
“A study based on data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that teenagers 12 to 17 who smoke marijuana weekly are three times more likely to have thoughts of committing suicide.”
Stop reversing it. teens smoke more weed BECAUSE they’re having suicidal thoughts. its the other way around.
suicidal thoughts are treated by smoking marijuana.
an it works for me.
June 4th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Is that Fred Leapord or “Deaf Leopard” ?
“Just the opposite effect has been reported on depression.”
Who has reported this? What’s your source? Where’s your evidence? Are you talking about the initial high? (D’oh).
June 14th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I have been smoking pot since I was 16 years old and am now 46. I am/was a heavy user smoking 3 to 5 joints a day and more on the weekends. I can attest the truthfulness of this article. Over the last 10 years I have become what I believe is Bipolar disorder. I used to smoke to lower my blood pressure and to feel good all the time. Now it has the opposite effect where I have drastic mood swings, high blood pressure and panic attacks. I quit my high paying job in a moment of rage last summer because I had been out of weed for 5 days. The week prior to quitting my job I lost a lot of things, forgot a lot and screwed up a lot. I felt like I was getting Alzheimers Disease. I was really scared because I could no longer control my mind. After I quit I thought that I would be able to destress and not have such mood swings because I left a very stressful job. I quit smoking for a while and felt great other than the insomnia. After about 8 weeks of not smoking my husband felt I still wasn’t ready to try working yet and told me to take a year off. I started smoking again and started having crazy thoughts and doing crazy things to my husband. Fortunately he is a good man and didn’t let me destroy my marriage. I got put on ambien for my insomnia and that helped somewhat. In March I started having heavy panic attacks and went to the doctor. My blood pressure was really high (already taking blood pressure medicine for 2 years). He gave me some Xanax and I had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. Only thing they found was Sinus Arithymia. I felt better for a while but was still having panic attacks. My doctor finally put me on Celexa for my moods and attacks. Coincidentally my husband lost his job on the same day, so I had to quit smoking again to dry out and find a job. Between the Celexa and not smoking pot I am doing much better mentally. I do feel that long term heavy use is dangerous to the mind. By the way my younger brother was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia 2 years ago, also a heavy user. To everyone that doesn’t believe this article it’s just because you haven’t reach this stage yet. If you are a heavy user believe me it will come. Thank you for backing up what I’ve been trying to tell users for a year, no one believes me but someday they will.