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Teenagers who use marijuana are twice as likely to develop a psychosis such as schizophrenia, according to a new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

• Dr. John McGrath , and his colleagues at the Queensland Brain Institute in Australia studied 3,800 young adults born between 1981 and 1984 .
  
• Among the 1,272 young people in this study who never used marijuana, only 2 percent were diagnosed with psychosis.
  
• Among those who used marijuana for six or more years, 3.7 percent were diagnosed with this illness.
  
• Even those who used marijuana for fewer than three years were at an increased risk for mental problems.

"The nature of the relationship between psychosis and marijuana use is by no means simple and more research is needed to examine the mechanisms at work," Dr. McGrath wrote in his report.

The study comes at a time when many state legislatures are considering legalizing marijuana. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported an increase in marijuana use among young people, many of who believe the drug is harmless.

Labels: marijuana, health problems

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A recent report published by researchers at the University of British Columbia indicates that many young people in British Columbia use marijuana for "therapy" or "medicinal use" instead of for "recreation." Approximately one-third of young people interviewed for the study reported using marijuana to address health problems such as depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

Area physician Dr. Pam Allardyce commented that although this type of use is fairly widespread, many young people she sees are trying to move toward more conventional treatments: "It's not surprising at all [that they are] using it to self medicate. ... They come in in their 19 or 20's and they're trying to seek employment. ... They have met a girlfriend who's not accepting of their marijuana use or there's something socially that's caused them to have to deal with it."

(Source: www.ctvbc.ctv.ca)

Labels: health problems, teen drug abuse, pot, weed

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