Posted by morgan miller on August 21, 2010, at 18:18:52
In reply to Re: Marijuana as a Medication in Depress and Anxiety » morgan miller, posted by linkadge on August 21, 2010, at 10:16:01
>But, why are teens using MJ in the first place? Some are using it for depression and or anxiety.
I think this is where we need a revolution in parenting and mental health to take place. The only way that is going to happen is for people to have an awareness of how their parents and childhood had a lasting effect on them, then take whatever measures necessary to nurture themselves closer to where they would have been if they had most of what they needed growing up(therapy, constant self refection and introspection, parenting clasees, yes, parenting classes). I know, easier said than done.
>If marijuanna use was to abruptly be terminated, there would arguably be more teens on psychiatric medications. Some would suggest this is a better route, but is it really?
I do not like the idea of giving teens and especially pre-teen children psychiatric medications. I believe the too carry the risk of interfering with healthy brain development. Like I mentioned above, we need to start focusing on the reasons why children are using drugs like marijuana and try to work on resolving that issue. I compare it to the war on drugs, we spend so much time trying to fight the people selling drugs instead of educating the masses on why people are using drugs(and it is NOT just because they are genetically predisposed to addiction, it never is, I'm afraid things just aren't that simple) and try to come up with ways to empower people with solutions on getting better. Of course these long term solutions would require actually dealing with some fairly uncomfortable issues and take a whole lot of effort and time. Usually the real solution is the one that is most difficult and takes the most time.
>One argument against the use of MJ in teens is that it causes amotivational syndrome. But, are SSRIs any better in this regard?
My personal experience with SSRIs has not been one of feeling less motivated, but I have seen so many people do worse in school and lose motivation to do productive healthy things when using marijuana. The problem with teens is they are not likely to control the use of marijuana to a point where it would be therapeutic and not destructive.
>**How about developing treatments for depression, anxiety and schizophrenia that actually work well in teens**, and then start telling teens to stop their MJ crutch.
Yes! And the rest of us grown adults will want those treatments too! Hopefully sooner than later medications will be developed that are not as invasive and may actually be good for our brains.
Linkage
poster:morgan miller
thread:958696
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100821/msgs/959348.html