Health experts say marijuana’s link to suicide is not cut and dried

People who use marijuana are more likely to have suicidal thoughts. This is the latest round of anti-pot propaganda coming from some research groups published in the past two months. It is enough to scare the eternally living crap from parents who worry that their children will be wrapped in the novelty of the grass and then taken to a very dark place.

We couldn’t be more compassionate for these worries about their children. However, health experts say the link between marijuana use and increased suicidal behavior is not that clear-cut.

Two recent studies show a link between marijuana use and suicide. The first comes from Stanford Universitywhere researchers found an increase in suicides where marijuana was legal. The study blames the effectiveness of legal cannabis products for driving users over the edge.

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The next study is from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (yes, the federal government), which notes that people who use marijuana are more likely to have thoughts of suicide. The study shows that cannabis users are at higher risk of mood disorders and attempted self-harm.

So watch out, right?

Well…

The relationship between marijuana and suicide is nothing new. For years, scholars have found a link between those who smoke marijuana and suicidal behavior. But it’s not that the average happy person suddenly becomes fully depressed from using the herb. All the research we have on the subject seems to show that people with pre-existing mental illness are more prone to the wrath of these side effects than healthy people.

RELATED: Stanford Claims Legal Marijuana States See More Suicide Attempts

Although cannabis can help people with anxiety, it can worsen the symptoms of serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We just don’t know much about how or why. Dr. Nora Volkow, director at NIDA and lead author of the study, does not blame cannabis for an increase in suicidal behavior. She thinks more research on the subject is crucial.

“Although we cannot demonstrate that cannabis use caused the increased suicidality observed in this study, these associations warrant further research, especially given the great burden of suicide among young adults.” she said in a statement. “If we better understand the relationship between cannabis use, depression and suicidality, clinicians will be able to better advise and care for patients.”

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While high humanity could use solid research to find out more about how marijuana reacts in the mentally ill, the fact that we don’t have this data yet does not prevent legalization across the country. About 17 states have legalized marijuana for adults age 21 and older. There will even be a push this year to legalize it at the federal level. But the chances of the nation turning into the Jonestown Massacre are slim.

RELATED: Can Someone Please Talk About Using Cannabis To Relieve Pandemic Stress Disorder And Suicide?

“Most people who use cannabis are not at risk of suicide, and most people who have attempted suicide may not have used cannabis, so cannabis is neither necessary nor sufficient to” cause “suicide or mood disorders,” Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, told Health line.

Still, America could use some of that extra marijuana research that Dr. Volkow mentioned in her study. To make these types of opportunities more available, however, the federal government needs to make changes to the Appendix I classification of the cannabis plant – downgrading it to Category II. This is something President Joe Biden would change during his campaign. So far, however, nothing has been done to enforce this.

Dr. D’Souza admits that the additional science surrounding the alleged correlation between cannabis use and suicide would be of great use.“Of course, more work is needed to reveal the complex relationship between cannabis use, mood disorders and suicide.”