We have said in the past, and still stand by it, that our goal is to promote medical use of marijuana. We are not just an advocate of the plant just for smoking sake. We want people to benefit from it.
But across the world, there are many negative stereotypes and false mythologies about the plant. Especially in some countries in the global south; it is believed the mere smoking of marijuana irrespective of the quantity and the strength, can cause mental illness, the worst of it being madness.
However, over the years, as proponents of the plant gain momentum on its medical benefits, many researchers are using their own resources to conduct studies on the plant. Although research on the plant is still low, the little studies conducted are showing that some of the negative stereotypes against the plant aren't true.
Today, we are glad to report to you that a group of scientists have announced in a new study that there is absolutely no link between marijuana use and mental health problems.
Like we said earlier, there has long been debate over the plant’s potential link to mental health problems. The Telegraph reports that a major study in 2015 found that one in four new cases of psychotic conditions, such as schizophrenia, could be the direct result of smoking extra-strong varieties of marijuana, known as skunk.
But in this new study, the researchers from Columbia University, United States, said marijuana does not increase the risk of developing anxiety or depression. The study found something else instead.
In the study, the researchers used 35,000 American adults. The researchers then looked at the prevalence of marijuana use among the participants, and then assessed their rates of mental health problems three years later.
The results showed that marijuana users are more likely to become dependent on other substances like alcohol or cigarettes. The study also showed that those who used marijuana had an increased risk of developing alcohol and drug use disorders, including nicotine dependence. Users of marijuana were also found to be three times more likely to have alcohol problems, and twice as likely to smoke cigarettes.
An associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Dr Renee Goodwin said “Our results suggest that cannabis use appears to be associated with an increased vulnerability to developing an alcohol use disorder, even among those without any history of this. Marijuana use also appears to increase the likelihood that an existing alcohol use disorder will continue over time.”
The study has been accepted and published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study has excited marijuana advocates. Gradually, the marijuana industry is becoming a big business in the United States, where multiple states have made the plant legal. People are using it to heal themselves of many life-threatening diseases, such as cancer.
People advocating for the legalization of marijuana across the United States say this new study adds to previous studies discrediting the connection between marijuana and common mental-health disorders.
A drug policy analyst, Christopher Ingraham wrote on the Washington Post that this new study is important because much of the federal government's current literature on marijuana includes claims about links between marijuana and depression.
He cited two examples to prove his claim. First, he said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) linked marijuana use to mental disorders in its official fact sheet on marijuana.
In another study published in 2014, titled The Dangers and Consequences of Marijuana Abuse, the DEA used the word depression approximately 14 times. The DEA also claimed that marijuana is linked to depression among teens, adults, and even dogs.
It is believed many of the DEA claims on marijuana are inaccurate. Officials out of serving the government have built a very dark image about the plant. Therefore, it confuses the public on the true picture of the plant.