Studies have shown that marijuana users are more likely to experience symptoms of poor mental health than those who do not. Many have been puzzled by this, as marijuana has become an increasingly accepted treatment for mental disorders throughout Western medical practice. Could there possibly be a causal relationship between marijuana use and one’s emotional decline? If so, what does this entail for the rising generation, where cannabis’s recreational use is so widely normalized? Could this potentially mean that we’ve been inviting the culprit behind America’s mental health crisis into our very homesteads?
First, we must ask: does marijuana use cause symptoms of depression, or is it more complicated than that? Some argue that early marijuana use affects adult mental health because it hinders one’s transition into adulthood, disrupting processes of educational attainment, occupational attainment, and marriage (Codina et al., 1998; Hartnagel, 1996; Johnson and Herring, 1989; Johnson and Kaplan, 1990). If this is the case, marijuana use may not immediately produce depressive symptoms but rather be strongly implicated with life circumstances that do.
As humans, our brains don’t fully mature until our early twenties. Before then, we are still undeveloped in our capacities to make knowledgeable decisions and exercise appropriate self-control. Due to this, adolescents are especially vulnerable to the mal-effects of cannabis use. Studies have even provided evidence to suggest that cannabis use may stunt one’s intelligence level (IQ) in the long term (Camchong et al., 2017). As such, prolonged marijuana use contributes to one’s compromised educational and/or occupational attainment. It has also been suggested that higher degrees of success in these arenas are associated with lower signs of depression (Kessler, 1982; Ross and Mirowsky, 1989). In this way, prolonged marijuana use during adolescence may be to blame for the onset of one’s depressive symptoms later on in life.
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How may marijuana use affect marital status then? Studies have shown that marijuana users are less likely to be married than nonusers, and being married is associated with good mental health (Bourque et al., 1991; Carter, 1980; Kaestner, 1997). It is reasonable to assume that stereotypical traits of marijuana users, such as lack of interest or productivity, may be at play. These lackings may even create patterns of isolation between users from nonusers, causing a snowball effect of social and emotional/psychological decline. Regardless of the mediating factors, marijuana use is counterproductive to social relations (marital or not), and thus counterproductive to emotional/psychological well-being.
Another explanation for the relationship between early marijuana initiation and adult psychological distress is that the substance is often ineffectively used as a coping mechanism for occurring life stressors. By disengaging from the problem(s) at hand, a person may use patterns of avoidance to cope. Although immediately comforting, avoidant coping is usually detrimental in the long term. This sort of avoidant behavior may likewise result in a sort of snowballing effect, making circumstantial matters worse/appear more permanent, putting a person at greater risk of depressive symptoms.
Though in the cases discussed, marijuana use does not directly cause depressive symptoms, one should think twice before introducing the substance into their every day. Because, as we’ve seen, it appears to be quite a slippery slope once a person begins. To illustrate the gravity, according to Harder et al. (2006), “the odds of current depression among past-year marijuana users are 1.4 times higher than the odds of depression among non-users”. Taking this application even broader, greater consideration should be taken before a person attempts to ‘treat’ their current depressive symptoms with a substance that may just make matters worse. For today’s clinicians who believe that marijuana may be effective in post-depressive rehabilitation: this doesn’t seem to be the case. With the evidence that studies have provided that attests to the contrary, I firmly argue that there are better paths moving forward in treatment.
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