I have to rant about this every so often. I just love these bone-headed "studies" that show that pot use causes depression. These bonehead researchers are people who fail to look at the relative world around them and see that beauty "causes" ugliness, up "causes" down, right "causes" left, front "causes" back etc etc! It really isn't anything "causing" anything else, it's just the simple fact that relativity is the foundation of our experience of reality! If the answer is to do away with everything that causes unhappiness, then all of life must be obliterated! And then there is that dreaded word "dependence". "Marijuana causes psychological dependence!" (gasp!) You want to rid yourself of dependence? You'll have to do a lot more than quit doing drugs. In fact if you really want to become truly independent, you'll have to commit suicide. I don't recommend that. Instead I recommend we come to grips with the basic facts of our existence...dependence, and even some level of unhappiness. It even bugs me when people in recovery talk about being "clean and sober". "Sober" doesn't bother me so much because it just means not drunk, and yes, there are people who need to avoid alcohol. It's the "clean" part that bugs me. I exercise, eat healthy, shower and brush my teeth and put on clean clothes at least once a day,....I'm about as healthy and hygienic as anyone, but somehow I am unclean because I smoke marijuana. Give me a break! Can't they just use a neutral word like "abstinent" that can indicate that they are overcoming their lack of control without casting all people who use illegal drugs of any kind as being dirty? After all, shouldn't part of recovery from serious addictions be taking responsibility for your own lack of control instead of seeing yourself as a victim of the evil forces in the world? Sorry this is turning into a long rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. Thanks for listening. O
Marijuana causing depression, doubtful. Marijuana causing irritability, probable. Weed has withdrawl symptoms like any other drug, though very low. If you stop smoking one week chances are you're days will be a bit more irritable for a week or two. After that I think you'll be back to a normallity. At least that's how it is with me.