More Depressed People are Using Cannabis – And that’s a good thing!
I recently read a Reuters Article that claimed that “more depressed people are using cannabis”. As one can imagine, the final thoughts on the article was “This is not a good thing” however, today we’ll be running through their “findings” and showcase why it is indeed “A good thing”.
Before we can start we will need to take a closer look at what the researchers did and who the lead researcher was. Once we understand “motivation” and “technique”, we can make a more-informed decision on the findings of the research.
How did they conduct the research?
Essentially, Researchers collected “data” from “almost 729,000 people.” Right off the bat, the process of this study seems dubious. How you can you “almost” reach 729k people. Perhaps this was an error in reporting on the part of Reuters, but if you’re going to be throwing claims around within today’s information-driven economy – you better be 100% certain of you numbers. “Almost 729k” seems like they are trying to stretch their findings to make it seem more authoritative. But I digress.
The researchers pulled data from between 2005 and 2017 which included concepts like, “prior month cannabis use” and “depression experience over the past year”.
Once more, there are issues with this statement. Firstly, why would they only account for cannabis “in a month prior” yet open “experience of depression” to span over the period of a year. What if the person smoking a month prior “Just smoked for the first time”? Does that indicate that they are using cannabis specifically for depression, or is some other random event the main motivation for use?
Nonetheless, this is what they did to substantiate their research.
What did they find?
While I’m not going to get into the numbers they find - because as we saw within their methodology it’s truly not accurate - I will state that they saw an “increase” over the years. We’ll get into more of the challenges the researchers claimed they encountered throughout the process.
Study Limitations
Here’s a snippet directly from the Reuter’s article;
One limitation of the study is that researchers relied on study participants to truthfully report any cannabis use or depression symptoms; they didn’t have lab tests for drug use or medical records to confirm a mental health diagnosis.
Researchers were also unable to account for whether cannabis legalization might have impacted the proportion of people who used the drug or how participants thought about its safety, the study team notes. – Source [Reuters]
In other words, there was no scientifically accepted method of conducting the research. All their findings are essentially based on “hearsay” and as a result cannot be considered to be fact. Additionally, they didn’t factor in the increase of cannabis use due to legality within the states. Prior to 2012, only medical marijuana states existed within the US, however, since 2012 more than half of the US states had some sort of cannabis program in play.
To exclude this factor from influencing consumer decisions is disingenuous and bad science.
Who was spearheading the research?
Dr. Renee Goodwin is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University and her main focus is “Substance Abuse Problems” and “Mental Health and Physical Health problems” within individuals across a lifespan. You can read more about her right here.
In other words, her narrative was pre-defined to find a “problem” with people utilizing cannabis for depression and utilized non-scientific methods to justify her findings. Money paid for by the University, which was probably obtained via a Federal Grant – which was in all likeliness paid for by – YOU!
It’s amazing to see your tax dollars funding pseudo-scientific bullshit!
Why people seeking to use cannabis for depression is a good thing?
I previously wrote about another clinician who is utilizing cannabis to assist with mental health issues – Jan Roberts – Who explained that cannabis and the endocannabinoid system plays a vital role in maintaining emotional homeostasis.
Obviously, Mrs. Roberts utilizes cannabis within a clinical setting and controls the doses and potency of the cannabis for her patients – however, throughout her “real world practical research” where she treats more than 16,000 patients per year – she found that cannabis in fact helps quite a lot with depression.
THC, being one of the major components to help disrupt depressive responses to stimuli. Of course, we need more research on the subject, however the preliminary results are positive.
Unlike the study in question, Roberts do not rely on anecdotal research to make estimations as is the case of Goodwin. Yet, Reuters reported on Goodwin’s findings…yet ignores findings like that of Roberts.
Nonetheless, if we were to look at these two sources in relation to cannabis and mental health issues – I’d pick Roberts over Goodwin any day.
“There is anecdotal evidence that some folks perceive cannabis as less risky than psychiatric medicines and with legalization, (cannabis) may be less expensive and more available and associated with less stigma,” Goodwin said.
People need to understand, however, that cannabis may actually be riskier for people with depression.
“There is no evidence to suggest that cannabis use will ease depression symptoms, except temporarily, and there are data to suggest that cannabis use may worsen or prolong depression,” Goodwin said. “Historically, patients in treatment/recovery from depression are advised to avoid cannabis use.”
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