Citation

Nussbaum A, Thurstone C, Binswanger I. Am. J. Psychiatry 2011; 168(8): 778-781.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; and the Department of Behavioral Health Services, Denver Health, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10121769

PMID

21813494

Abstract

The associations between marijuana use and mental illness are numerous. In the United States, marijuana is the most frequently abused illicit substance, with over 16.7 million Americans reporting past-month use, and it is identified as the primary substance of abuse in 17.1% of substance treatment admissions. A growing body of evidence associates marijuana use with an earlier onset and more adverse course of psychotic disorders.

What is less well known is that longitudinal studies associate marijuana use with depression. While infrequent marijuana use does not appear to be associated with depressive disorders, the medicalization of marijuana encourages regular use, and regular use has a modest but significant association with depression that endures even after controlling for possible confounders.

Language: en