Can Marijuana cause Depression?

My (ex) BF smokes it everyday. In the past few months I've seen him sink into depression.

He has no motivation. if he isn't working he sits at home watches TV and smokes.

I don't know how to talk to him about this? and should I? I'm worried about him. He has changed so much....

Help

Pot might cause depression , but I never experienced it. To me, the lack of energy and lethargy made me feel depressed about my life. Sitting with a box of Captain Crunch watching American Chopper does nothing your self-esteem.

I'd challenge him to skip the herb for a month and see if he'll talk to you.

He has to want to put down the bong and live like an adult.

Marijuana is a depressant. link removed

Theres been alot of research done on this. If you google 'marijuana and depression' it comes back with 1000s of links. The most trusted sites would be those that are medical sites etc.

Whenever I've smoked marijuana (it happens very rarely), I get a high, and then a few hours I come off of it and the next day I'm really really depressed. So yes, it definitely depresses you.

I've had 2 friends in my life that smoke marijuana constantly (like eight times a day) and they are not happy with their lives. They really rely on the drug to make everything better. When they are not on it they are really irratable and depressed.

I agree with the above posters, but I'd like to point out a distinction between a nervous-system depressant and the term depression. There is a small difference in what those terms mean.

Roughly put, a NSD slows the action of the nervous system, and depression is a function of emotions brought on by various influences.

My opinion is that he is smoking excessively in an attempt to cure his depression. The depression came first.

It's not going to work though....

Pot is hard on the body and hard on the mind. Best used in moderation (as with many things) if at all.

I don't know from personal experience but yes, it can

3 months ago I smoked, had an anxiety attack, and it sent me into a clinical state of depression. I couldn't do anything, I thought I was dieing, and still haven't recovered. I am getting better, but to answer your question YES.

For me, I had a reason, heartbreak that I had been holding in from my family and friends. But to everyone I know that smokes weed, they passively admit they are depressed. I had an emotional break down, they are depressed because they smoke weed all the time.

hm, good question. i was depressed before i started smoking, so i can't help you out much.

i do know this one guy who smokes just about every other day. he doesn't seem to be depressed, but then again you really don't know.

but if you think weed makes you depressed, you should see what acid does to you. that REALLY messes you up.

see now here's the question:

does smoking pot make you depressed?

or does depression lead you to smoke pot?

hmmmmmmm.......................... there's definitely a positive correllation between the two.

Maybe he is bummed about the break-up? That can knock a person on their butt and send them to old behaviors.

Didn't ya ever do something indulgent or stupid after a break-up? It's a wacky time.

And the LAST person who should be coming to aid is the Ex. What a head trip that would be.

Yes of couse it can. Has to alot of my old exs friends

I did a lot of research into it and my main concern was the lack of proof and concrete evidence out there. It is a bit of a gamble to take a drug regularly when there is potential for harm to the brain. I am especially concerned about young children that smoke whoses brains are still growing and it is unknown what this could do to the brain reaching its full potential. It is addictive though and anything that you rely on to feel good can be a dangerous recipe. Having said that I don't think the rare occasional smoke is dangerous but I have seen lives go down the gurgler when they depend on it daily to feel "normal".

Those who consume marijuana occasionally or even daily have lower levels of depressive symptoms than those who have never tried marijuana. Specifically, weekly users had less depressed mood, more positive affect, and fewer somatic complaints than non-users. Daily users reported less depressed mood and more positive affect than non-users.

link removed

In my younger days, I was a pothead. I found no connection between the buzz of weed and my lifelong depression.

I was constantly high on the pernicious weed while working long hours at a demanding job and getting raises. I lived very well, making more money than I ever saw, playing and enjoying life. My job folded, a big company snapped me up based on my reputation, and they started nationwide drug testing. I quit the herb.

In some cases, weed opened my eyes to the natural world, the arts and being more understanding of those different from myself.

I smoked a little in the past year, after a 20+ year hiatus, and it wasn't very interesting. Once was during a bout of heavy depression. It was distracting, but as far as depression made little difference. Another time I was in a good mood and stayed there while buzzed. Not exactly a clinical trial with a large sampling, but anecdotally compelling to one person.

I have no stash.

I haven't toked in many years but was once an avid pot smokers. As a teenager I was depressed, and still am to a certain degree, and I found marijuana to help my depressed state. However, when the high wore off I'd go back to being depressed.

marijuana effects everyone in different ways. it's funny because weed makes me sleepy at times and i can get pretty lethargic yet i have many friends who say they get all "speedy" and can't sleep. so, again, it effects people in different ways. it's not so much like alcohol where everyone gets drunk and feels pretty much the same way all around.

since i tend to have anxiety and i also tend to worry a lot, i find that smoking can help me calm down. but if i smoke too much, it can amplify that anxiety.

i never felt "depressed" during or after smoking. the only thing that made me a little sad about smoking weed is i sometimes feel bad for smoking so much and spending money on it when i shouldn't. other than that, i think weed is s miracle drug that should be legal. no one has ever died from a weed overdose and i honestly never heard of someone committing suicide while high on weed alone.

It has been proven to have a link with paranoia.

I'm always a bit paranoid when breaking the law.

I had amazing conversations, lots of silly fun but spent way too much time in the kitchen baking or going to the all night store for chocolates.

Alchoholism was rife in 16th century England due to the cheapness of rum in comparison to beer. The government actually changed the law to combat it because it was causing such depravity.

But that doesnt mean that everyone was alchoholics- only those who were always going to find some way o take their minds off their problems.

The stuff available now is much stronger than when I was a teenager- but it was enough to put me in hospital. I would have been in a mess anyway i believe.

Everyone does stupid things especially when they're depressed- but i dont believe depressed people shouldnt be doing anything to take away the pain. That just prolongs the agony. That goes for any substance/relationship/tv show/website i reckon. It's never a good thing to turn away from a problem because I think its hard to look back again

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Smoking pot makes you content. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you are lonely and you smoke, then you're no longer lonely. You are content. But that can prevent you from going out and fixing your loneliness (or fixing other problems) and, once your life sucks because you haven't fixed the problems, you can easily get depressed.

I don't think there is a direct cause and effect. It's more about the way you let the pot influence you.

I wouldn't necessarily blame it on the pot. Blame it on your bf not fixing whatever he need to fix in order to have a satisfying life.

It's hard to see how your behaving when you constantly smoke weed. I was smoking everyday for 2 years with my bestfriend and we've both recently decided to stop. The reason being that we were both becoming increasingly paranoid and were in a haze the whole time. My self confidence has become extremely low and i find it extremely hard to talk to people and when i do im the most awkward person alive. so basically it shuts you off from reality and doesn't let you see whats happening to you. Definitely tell your boyfriend how he's changed as he probably won't have picked up on it as well as you have and if he has he'll be ignoring it and forgetting about it by smoking more weed. Tell him to stop for a month to clear his system of it completely and he can start smoking again if he wants to after that. That way he'll be more aware not to let it get out of control next time round. thats exactly what we're both doing

i think its best not to smoke pot every day.

i find smoking it once a week, with or without friends, barely affects my life at all and in fact makes it great.

it puts me in a very creative state of mind and i like to do write or watch films while high. i don't consider myself depressed or lonely, so yeah, it really depends!

best to keep it to a minimum if you find you are frequently depressed, and/or don't know what to do without it. its important to fix major problems in your life before you turn to drugs. the drugs should be for fun in your downtime IMO haha

It is linked with a lot of mental disorders; not just depression.