Teens Self-Medicate With Cannabis

[mdmc]

http://www.biomedcentral.com/
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/04/24/teens-self-medicate-with-cannabis/5512.html

Teens Self-Medicate With Cannabis
When legal therapies let them down, some teens apparently turn to cannabis.

A new study, published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy suggests that around a third of teens who smoke cannabis on a regular basis use it as a medication, rather than as a means of getting high.

[Forkboy]

1. It works better, and on more things, than any med I've ever tried.

Not saying it's neccesarily good for you, but I'm willing to bet taking all these meds does more damage in the long run than weed does. My poor liver and kidneys will be dead in 20 years. Plus, there's no side effects at all from the weed (except for a mac and cheese craving), unlike every single med I take, most of which cause a ton of nausea, lightheadedness, etc.

[mdmc]

2. the other links are helpful

pot helps some, and is counterproductive to others..

[no name no slogan]

3. I had a stepbrother who self-medicated with pot and hash. It harmed more than helped

He's now in a state hospital. He was suffering from what he thought was depression, but it turned out it was a psychotic disorder.

When he stopped getting relief from the marijuana and hash, he moved on to stronger street drugs like ecstacy, which made his already fragile condition even worse.

Marijuana may help with some disorders, but contrary to what some in the pro-pot movement say it is a drug like any other, and it can cause harm when used inappropriately.

[mopinko]

4. one for the "no, duh" files

however effective this is or isn't, it beats the hell out of medicating with alcohol.