White House Links Marijuana Use And Depression

The LA Times reports that the White House drug czar issued a warning to parents on Friday about the link between Marijuana use and depression, especially amongst teens. Here's a clip from the story:

The report, timed to be released during Mental Health Awareness Month, cited a study that marijuana use increases the risk of developing mental disorders later in life by 40%.

"In short, marijuana makes a bad situation worse," said John P. Walters, director of the drug control policy office.

Critics said the administration was trying to scare teenagers by exaggerating the dangers.

"When you start convincing young people and their parents that marijuana is the cause of problems rather than the symptom of them, you can get into real problems," said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates decriminalization of the drug. "It may cause people, parents, teens and counselors to overlook the real cause of the problem."

The LA Times stays objective in this one, the White House, as always is feeding us more BS and FUD, the American College of Physicians seems to disagree with he White House quite a bit.