Expert: Jacqui - 2/2/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi
I smoked marajuana  for about 9 years, at a rate of 3 to for times a month. I've never got into trouble with pot. I have gotten A DUI and on probation for quite some time. Drinking was really never a big deal to me I just get into trouble when I do it. I haven't smoked pot in 9 months and lately I really miss it. I really want to smoke o joint but can't. I don't miss alcohol at all. I never believed pot was addicting?

ANSWER: Hi April,

Thanks for making contact, but I am a little bit unsure about your question.  I will try to answer though.

Just because you miss something doesn't mean it is addictive.  I quite miss horse riding because I don't get much time to go nowadays, but I am not addicted to it.  If a substance makes you feel good, then it isn't uncommon that you would want to do it.  My main point is though, that if you choose to do something, then do it safely.  As for marijuana, some people express concern about the links with mental illness (although it is difficult to prove this association), so I would suggest that you don't go over the top with your smoking if you do decide to do it.  If you really don't want to, then I would try to find other things that you enjoy instead.  

Hope that this is helpful.  If you have a more specific question, please let me know.

Stay safe,

Jacqui

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: HI Jacqui
Thank you for answering my question!!! What is link btw pot and mental illness? Is it that you already have a mental illness and using it as self medication, does it contribute or does it make an existing mental health problem worse?

Answer
Hi April,

Unfortunately I cannot give you a definitive answer to this as it has been debated and debated and many researchers disagree!  However, basically there is a belief that some people, who are predisposed to mental illness, may be more likely to develop problems if they use marijuana.  The alternative argument, which you have touched up in your question, is that people who have a predisposition to mental illness are more likely to want to smoke it in the first place.  I am not sure if you know much about statistics, but the relationship between marijuana use and mental illness is a CORRELATION.  A correlation is when two things happen together.  Another example of a correlation is the link between the number of churches in a city and the number of murders (ie: more churches, more murders), but this is not because churches CAUSE murder, but rather that there is a third factor that impacts on this - the size of a city (a bigger city will have more churches and more crime).  

The problem with finding a causal relationship between two things (ie: one thing CAUSES another) is that you have to take two groups of people, allocate them randomly, give one group marijuana and the other a placebo, then see if one group develops more mental illness.  This kind of research cannot be done for obvious ethical reasons, so it is likely that the link between marijuana and mental illness will remain a correlation.

Hope that makes sense!  

Take it easy,

Jacqui