TEENAGERS who smoke cannabis once a week are twice as likely to suffer
from depression and anxiety, according to research published today.

   Adolescent girls are particularly at risk of developing problems as
a result of taking the drug, the study in the British Medical Journal found.

   Girls who smoked cannabis on a daily basis were five times more likely
to have developed depression and anxiety by the time they were young adults.

   The study of more than 1,000 teenagers raises serious concerns about
calls for the drug to be decriminalized.  Campaigners for decriminalization claim that cannabis is safe and has  no serious side-effects.

   Australian researchers followed 1,601 teenagers from the age of 14 over
six years to track their drug use and mental health.

   By the age of 20, two thirds of them had tried cannabis. One in five
boys and eight per cent of girls were smoking the drug every week, while
10 per cent of boys and six per cent of girls were using it every day.

   The researchers found increased rates of depression and anxiety among
cannabis users of both sexes - but the link was particularly strong for
girls.

   Teenage girls who smoked cannabis every day had a fivefold increased
rate of depression and anxiety compared to those who had not tried the
drug.

   Using the drug once a week led to a twofold increase of depression and
anxiety problems.

   Study author, Professor George Patton, of Murdoch Children's Research
Institute in Victoria, said although rebellious youngsters might be socially
more prone to cannabis use, unemployment and crime, there was also probably
a biological reason.

   He said cannabis affected part of the brain that might control a range
of functions, including memory and emotion, adding: "These findings contribute to evidence that frequent cannabis use may have a deleterious effect on mental health beyond a risk of psychotic symptoms.

   "Strategies to reduce frequent use of cannabis might reduce the level
of mental disorders in young people."

   Meanwhile, a second study of 50,000 Swedish conscripts found those who used cannabis were 30 per cent more likely to develop schizophrenia.

   Psychologist Stanley Zammit, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, who led the research, said the results suggested a potentially serious risk to the mental health of users.

   He said: "If cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia by 30 per
cent, as implied by these results, then 13 per cent of cases of schizophrenia
could be prevented if cannabis use was eliminated from the population.

   "Such risks need to be considered in the current move to liberalise
and possibly legalise the use of cannabis in the United Kingdom and other
countries."

   Recent research found that one in 10 British children had used cannabis
at least once by the age of 13, rising to a quarter of all 15-year-olds.

   The Government has announced plans to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug, so that it would no longer be an offence to possess small amounts.

   A Dutch study earlier this year found that people who smoked cannabis
were three times more likely than nonusers to suffer psychiatric disorders
such as hallucinations, paranoia, manic depression and schizophrenia.

   Experts are unsure how cannabis affects mental health but some scientists
believe the drug may "switch on" a gene that creates biochemical changes
which in turn trigger psychotic experiences


 

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