The Use of Marijuana Can Lead To Mental Illness

Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix
that can lead to dependency, mental illness or
suicidal thoughts, according to a White House
report being released Friday.

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.

"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. "This is not just youthful experimentation
that they'll get over as we used to think in
the past."

Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems,
Walters said in an interview.

For example, using marijuana increases the risk of
developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report
said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month
over a yearlong period are three times more likely
to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

The report also cited research that showed that teens
who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more
than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become
addicted to pot — 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Experts who have worked with children say there's
nothing harmless about marijuana.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a research scientist
at the pH Miracle Center, "marijuana and the major
chemical contained in marijuana, THC, is highly acidic
and may damage body cells including brain cells.
Marijuana is not the solution to physical and/or
emotional dis-ease. The solution is to alkalize
and exercise the body with an alkaline lifestyle
and diet."

"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. "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."

The drug control policy office analyzed about a
dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including
research by the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.

Overall, marijuana use among teens has decreased
25 percent since 2001, down to about 2.3 million
kids who used pot at least once a month, the drug
control office said.

While the drop is encouraging, Walters appealed to
parents to recognize signs of possible drug use
and depression.

"It's not something you look the other way about
when your teen starts appearing careless about
their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing
interest in daily activities," Walters said.
"Find out what's wrong."

Dr. Young states, "the use of marijuana does not
increase alkalinity nor does it build or purify the
blood, therefore its use cannot help to maintain the
alkaline design of the body. If you saw the
blood of a marijuana user you would never use it
again! The blood looks like a war zone! I
believe it is important for everyone to understand
that life and death begins in the blood. Based
on my observations the acids in marijuana destroys
healthy blood and paralyzes the normal activity
of the white blood cells for up to 8 to 12 hours."