- People with underlying mental illness who have a pre-existing risk for suicide ideation may be more likely to use marijuana to treat their symptoms.
- It’s unclear if marijuana directly increases a person’s risk of mental illness and suicide ideation.
- Experts say more research is needed to better understand the link.
A new study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts.
According to the findings, which published in JAMA Network Open this week, even people who used marijuana sporadically were more likely to have depression than those who didn’t use marijuana at all.
The study adds to growing evidence suggesting a link between cannabis use and mood disturbances and attempts at self harm.
But health experts say the link is not so simple.
People with underlying mental illness who have a pre-existing risk for suicide ideation may be more likely to use marijuana to treat their symptoms.
There are also likely other contributing factors — including genetic and environment factors — that may increase the risk for mental illness and suicide ideation.
Many people with mental illness appear to benefit from marijuana; however, more negative outcomes have been recorded among people with severe psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who use marijuana.
It’s unclear if marijuana directly increases a person’s risk of mental illness and suicide ideation or if the relationship is correlational. More research is needed to better understand the link.
Source: healthline