Australian statistics suggest cannabis is linked to depression

[chillinwill]

From: http://news.theage.com.au/national/c...0929-4puh.html

Cannabis smokers are more likely to suffer depression, anxiety and psychosis than stimulant drug takers, according to Australian statistics suggesting the herb's toll on mental health has been underestimated.

The impact of amphetamines on mental state is well known but a new national report shows dope smokers display higher rates of several psychological symptoms when visiting their doctor.

Of patients who mentioned cannabis use to their GP, 48 per cent had a psychological problem, including 19 per cent with depression and nine per cent with psychosis. Six per cent had anxiety.

Only 31 per cent of stimulant users reported similar problems, with significantly lower rates of all conditions, according to the latest bulletin released by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre in Sydney.

Director, professor Jan Copeland, said the results confirm the dangers of the drug, especially for the 300,000 Australians who smoke it daily.

"It was unexpected, given what we hear about amphetamine-related psychotic symptoms, but it goes to show what a terrible impact cannabis is having on users," Prof Copeland said.

"The delusions, hallucinations and paranoia can be very distressing and people are feeling it."

The results, in data collected from 1,000 randomly-selected GPs, also revealed that mentioning cannabis use to a doctor was very rare, with the drug named in just 19,000 consultations nationwide each year.

Users were more likely to be male, young, unemployed or on a low income and indigenous.

"The low numbers are a major concern given the sheer number of users and the effects we know that use is having," Prof Copeland said.

She said too many users still believed cannabis had few health consequences or were nervous mentioning a drug habit to a doctor.

But Australian Medical Association chair of general practice Dr Rod Pearce said stressed the importance of consulting a doctor.

"Illegality is a non-issue for us and it absolutely has to be given the increasing body of research linking cannabis smoking with psychiatric illness," Dr Pearce said.

"I'm not being wowserish either. This is a serious problem."

About 1.5 million Australians have used cannabis in the past year, with 750,000 smoking it weekly.

Studies show most people do not experience major problems with occasional use but heavy use can lead to depression, memory loss, lung damage, low sex drive and even brain shrinkage.

i find this really interesting as there is another thread on here that says cannabis can be used to treat depression

[Expat98]

The results, in data collected from 1,000 randomly-selected GPs, also revealed that mentioning cannabis use to a doctor was very rare, with the drug named in just 19,000 consultations nationwide each year.

An obvious problem here is that this data is based only on the people who actually reported their marijuana use, but a patient is only likely to reveal his marijuana use if he is suffering from some problem. Otherwise there is no reason to mention it. So it could be that the vast majority of marijuana users in Australia do not report their marijuana use to their doctor and are not suffering any significant psychological problems.