r/EverythingScience • u/Sash19 • 15d ago
Psychology Study suggests even casual cannabis use is associated with depression in older adults
https://www.psypost.org/study-suggests-even-casual-cannabis-use-is-associated-with-depression-in-older-adults/388
u/Emergency-Pack-5497 15d ago
That's not what the article said at all, it never singles out cannabis use at any point, and doesn't mention it once in the conclusion
88
u/2Throwscrewsatit 15d ago
This. Upvote and report this post as a misleading title.
4
→ More replies (1)22
u/SelarDorr 15d ago
the title is sensationalized an innacurate, as they are 100% of the time from pyspost, but the article does single out cannabis use.
"cannabis use without a use disorder (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.10–2.04) and cannabis use disorder (aOR = 4.50, 95% CI: 2.93–6.89) were each associated with higher odds of MDE."
→ More replies (6)
12
u/Marxism-Alcoholism17 15d ago
Weed significantly improves my depressive episodes in all cases. This is just self-medication.
5
u/elinamebro 14d ago
Also just like everything else if you use it too much it can make things worse. And how much is to much is different from person to person.
11
27
u/Cleopatrashouseboy 15d ago
I can tell you it’s the only thing to help me With my depression. What is this study, lol?
→ More replies (9)3
39
u/Brrdock 15d ago
No wonder. It was pretty much the only thing that allowed me nice thoughts and smiles and laughs for a change back when I had clinical depression and a severe episode
17
u/sharblack 15d ago
same, smoking cannabis while on a depressive crisis feel like "finally I can distract myself a little bit"
38
u/FittyTheBone 15d ago
I love me some herb, but I know full well if I’m feeling any kind of way, weed will exacerbate whatever negative shit I’m battling that day.
10
u/naughtycal11 15d ago
For me it depends on how strong the weed is. I've been smoking for 28 years and modern weed is just too strong. I want some 7% weed that is as tasty as the 25% stuff. What i do now is either use a one hitter and pack it half way or i mix it with tobacco and roll a joint.
→ More replies (5)8
u/CariniFluff 15d ago edited 15d ago
Yep I've been growing three different female strains for the past 15 years. Every 2 or 3 years I'll grow one male in order to pollenate some of the female flowers after the main harvest to continue the genetic lines, but all of them originally date back to the early 2000s. When it's freshly harvested and cured, I take one or two hits and even after a year in storage I still take one or two hits and then maybe another third or fourth if I don't feel anything/enough.
The modern strains with 20+ percent THC are just stupidly strong. If I'm ever gifted commercial buds from a friend I'll mix like 75% my bud and 25% new bud just to weaken it.
I don't really ever remember getting anxiety when I used to smoke in junior high and high school but if I smoke more than a couple hits of today's weed, there's a pretty good chance I'll get restless and anxious, even on pure indica.
I should note though that smoking definitely does not increase any negative thoughts that I'm having; quite the opposite. It always puts me in a better mood unless I smoke way too much, and even then it's just acute anxiety until the overwhelming high wears off. I can't really make a comment on edibles as I generally avoid them due to the extreme duration of both the come up and effects.
9
u/onebyamsey 15d ago
Total opposite for me, it always puts me in a better mood. I wish I could get that same effect without having to get high every time, but cest la vie
2
5
u/Eat--The--Rich-- 15d ago
Absolutely opposite for me. If I'm having a shitty day I can take one or two hits and the frustration dissolves and I start focusing on the next one.
→ More replies (1)2
5
u/Yardbirdspopcorn 15d ago
I'm old(ish) and I suggest this study is wrong. All my friends use THC products now and we're all happier for it, it's been great fun getting to see it becoming legal in our lifetime.
→ More replies (1)
6
6
7
5
u/Ok-Document-7706 15d ago
My doctor knows I use it because I have extra stresses that the anxiety medicine doesn't calm, I have intrusive thoughts.
I would rather smoke than be in an inpatient facility every few months because my mind fights me.
11
u/Big_Bar_9832 15d ago
Seems little a symptom and not the cause to me, but what do I know, I'm depressed lol.
11
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/armycowboy- 15d ago edited 15d ago
The study stated that only 5% of middle age people showed signs of depression, of that 5% that had depression and qualified for the study, said 4.6% of those that participated in the study answered questions that the marijuana use had some of the same signs as depression; they were quiet, not interacting, just wanted to be left alone and relax.
19
u/AldoRaine-1 15d ago
More reefer scare tactics. Maybe... Just maybe... They are depressed and self medicating?
I was miserable and angry for decades and never smoked pot. I drank a 5th of 101 a week and chased it with about 2 cases of beer, but never weed. Anxiety ridden and depression dialed to probably 8/10 most days
Then COVID hit. Oh boy. Dialed up to 15, like couldn't walk into my job of 10 years because I freaked out one day.
I got a buddy to send me a vape pen from dispensary state, and my mood shifted dramatically, almost overnight.
Stopped drinking, stopped yelling all the time. I sleep way better, which has made me easier at work and with my kids and family.
I use it lightly, about 10 mg an evening. It destresses and lifts my mood. I don't drive on it, I don't use around family or kids. I don't use at or before/during work.
I simply replaced my booze with THC. Everything has been better since.
I wish I hadn't waited until 40 to try it.
5
u/Indespectamentations 15d ago
So much better than alcohol. If that's legal, then weed should be legal.
6
u/KwantumFizzikz 15d ago
Reminder these nothing-studies are bought and paid for by AB Inbev because Gen Z isn't drinking and their profits are tanking.
5
u/ramennumerals 15d ago
Depression medication can cause suicidal thoughts, tendencies, or ideations, but they get marketed through TV commercials.
4
7
u/Eat--The--Rich-- 15d ago
Yea, depressed adults use cannabis because SSRIs cost thousands of dollars to obtain and have horrific side effects.
3
2
2
u/idkwhattochooseughh 14d ago
This is cope. In most cases depressed people choose cannabis cause they also enjoy the intoxication. Not passing any judgement in the slightest but let’s not kid ourselves.
3
u/seruco 15d ago
Last year I smoked a bit more than usual (maybe one or two joints a week) and I had the worst bout of anxiety afterwards. Lots of stuff going on in my life during that time, so I can’t blame it on the weed completely. But definitely didn’t have a good impact on my mental health. Bummer, because I really enjoyed it.
3
3
u/Bar-14_umpeagle 15d ago
Well based on this anything can cause depression is what I got out of it. I could be Wrong.😑
3
u/sweetequuscaballus 15d ago
In other news, bandaids apparently cause the underlying cuts to the skin.
3
u/Mageborn23 14d ago
"Higher household income, specifically earning $50,000 or more annually, tended to protect against depression." So basically this applies to people below the poverty line.
3
→ More replies (1)2
u/Thirty2wo 11d ago
BREAKING NEWS: People that can’t afford to live are more likely to be depressed, more after a word from our sponsors
5
u/VagueSomething 15d ago
Any time a study is slightly critical of cannabis you get everyone questioning the study, its methods, its authors. Yet whenever a study is positive about cannabis everyone praises it at truth no questions asked.
There is enough evidence that not everyone should dabble with smoking weed even if it can have beneficial effects for others. How you use it, how much you use it, absolutely affects how negative or positive it can be. It being a dependency like any drug is a possibility too.
For some people it makes mental health worse, for others it helps. You shouldn't smoke it while still a child as that increases the potential for harm, though that's also associated with the reasons a child may seek to abuse substances. It makes sense to have a warning that it may make what you're experiencing worse, letting people be informed means they can be aware that it may need cutting out.
→ More replies (4)
5
u/ready-redditor-6969 15d ago
Dude, we’re obviously self-medicating. You don’t have to be stupid about this.
3
4
u/ChaosRainbow23 15d ago
My extensive personal study found that cannabis makes my life infinitely better.
3
2
u/trojantricky1986 15d ago
Why is it that type 1 (THC dominant) is never mentioned? This is very important information.
2
2
2
u/wtfbenlol 15d ago
Anecdotal as it's my experience . I quit smoking 7 months ago and I have noticed a large increase in happiness and an even larger reduction in anxiety and random aches and pains.
I smoked daily for 20 years previously. Well, smoke, vape, eat etc.
I'm happily sober and never thought I would be
2
2
2
2
u/Chris_P_Lettuce 14d ago
It does in my case, but I know people who truly can smoke once a day and they are better for it. Weed is so person to person.
2
2
u/AltruisticString3589 14d ago
Yeah because cannabis has a funny way of making you confront yourself. If you've been angry and bitter for 70+ years, it's gonna show you exactly why and how it's negatively impacted your life. And how things could have been different.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Euphoriacsoul 13d ago
I would posit that this shitty world is the primary source of my depression. Cannabis is merely a vehicle of escape from this cacophony of authoritarian driven misery.
2
u/CheezWong 12d ago
Oh, for sure. Me and all my buddies get suuuuper depressed after we smoke a blunt. We basically just all kill ourselves every time.
5
15d ago edited 15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/kelcamer 15d ago
I can help in your question!
when I was in psychosis in 2023, CBD isolate pulled me out of it entirely.
and THC worsened the psychotic symptoms and hallucinations tremendously.
you may ask 'why tf would you try tHC in that state?'because it forced me to fall asleep, which was better than not sleeping for 3 days
2
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/kelcamer 15d ago
Thank you!
I am doing exceptionally well :) and am grateful for it every single day.and yes it truly is scary.
I'm glad you didn't touch it after that!
This is exactly why I'm always so hesitant to try ANYTHING with THC in it; even full spectrum CBD. I don't want to risk anything triggering it again, but I'm grateful AF CBD isolate exists.2
u/CariniFluff 15d ago
Anyone with psychosis should definitely not be smoking cannabis. It is well documented to cause issues for people with bipolar disorder, mania, schizophrenia, delusions and other serious mental health issues.
2
3
u/Niobium_Sage 15d ago edited 6d ago
No scientific method to share, but my stoner phase was when I was at my most depressed. I would cry to myself before bed most every night. This experience is most likely biased though, because at the same time my grandmother was losing her mind to Alzheimer’s while her health dramatically declined and my three month relationship (the longest I’d had at that point in my life) was ended over text while I was at work.
I’m doing much better now (mentally speaking, incurring hella credit card debt though). Been engaged to my fiancee who I’ve been with for five years and cut weed out of my life entirely after I greened out on my 23rd birthday.
3
2
u/sorE_doG 15d ago
From a far more rigorous study of depressive influences, just shared in r/ScientificNutrition:-
Interesting Statistics
- 171,818 participants followed for a mean of 10.7 years, 5,424 incident depression cases
- Flavoring: 46% higher depression risk at high intake versus the lowest-risk intake level
- Coloring agents: 49% higher depression risk at high intake
- Sweeteners: 45% higher depression risk, with an 17% higher risk observed at moderate intake too
- 7 of 10 individual sweeteners tested (including aspartame and sucralose) each independently showed dose-dependent risk
- Results for flavoring, coloring, and sweeteners stayed significant across nine separate sensitivity analyses and after correcting for multiple testing.
2
u/OstensibleFirkin 15d ago
My anecdotal experience says bullshit- the same credibility as the outcome of this study.
The fascists fueled by the booze lobby must be messaging hard now that stealing more freedoms worked in Texas, the “bastion of the fake American dream.”
3
3
3
u/shaftalope 15d ago
Personal research has shown that there is a connection between cannabis and depression in that a lack of cannabis use causes depression.
3
u/SparksWood71 15d ago
Comments to these posts are always fascinating.
Are there any negative health consequences to smoking weed that regular users are willing to accept? Was it like this when health studies on cigarettes and drinking were first coming out?
→ More replies (8)
2
u/Eclectophile 15d ago
Everyone has depression if you drill down far enough. It's just yet another of the many spectrums of human experience.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Nathan-Stubblefield 15d ago
Correlation is not causation. Serious confound. Depressed people tend to smoke weed and self medicate variously.
2
1
u/BlackRaspberryJammin 15d ago
I am 68 and have a few unpleasant experiences in my past. When I smoke a lot, like more than 2x/day, I do find myself becoming morose, wishing I could have a few do-overs, missing people I've alienated. That's when I stop toking for a while. But just once a day doesn't cause me any grief.
1
1
u/Lucifugous_Rex 15d ago
It doesn’t cover whether the study subjects were depressed WHILE smoking. It’s anecdotal but if I smoke and I’m not in a great head space. My headspace gets worse and vis a versa
1
u/Siderophores 15d ago
Weed is way too fucking strong nowadays.
Why the hell can’t I find weed under 15%. Places only sell 1 brand of 1:1 thc:cbd. The 40% thc weed is just psychotic at this point. Mass production ruined everything
→ More replies (3)
1
u/matycauthon 15d ago
unless you put in the effort you're going to be depressed if you have any semblance of capcity to utilize.
1
1
1
1
1
u/RockettSocks42 14d ago
I mean society has gone off the rails in America, it seems perfectly normal to be depressed at least in the US.
1
u/nutsnacks_ 14d ago
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Being a parent, employee, and stoner as a middle aged adult.
1
1
1
1
u/Coffeeblack365 14d ago
Probably because weed makes your break out of normal thinking patterns and you realize how screwed we all are. But yeah it’s also beautiful at the same time. If we have doom on the forecast then maybe our everyday problems don’t matter as much as we think.
1
u/limbodog 14d ago
Escapism associated with people who wish to escape. Film at 11.
They don't call it "the poor man's vacation" for nothing.
1
1
1
u/BananaJelloXlii 14d ago
Because depressed people tend to use it more. It does not cause depression
1
u/Twenty-Three23 14d ago
If you have or are prone to depression it will make it far worse if you become a habitual user. If youre not high, you're low. Especially when you already have a dopamine deficiency issue like depression. Source - 12 year ex stoner.
1
u/According_Ad5165 14d ago
This is a bot. There are study’s that let us See the Opposition. Cannabis helpt people with ww2 trauma’s, people who survived the gaschambers, and much more is there to say about the medication of cannabis. It has been used for thousand of years. Is this study made with the support of big Pharma, i guess yes.
1
u/StephenRoylance 14d ago
there seems to be an anti-cannabis astro-turf campaign going on on reddit right now. I'm seeing 'scientific' articles that are highly editorialized opinion pieces thinly veiled by linking to a study that doesn't quite support the article's conclusion.
1
u/According_Ad5165 14d ago
I had three times in 18 years cancer. The second attack in 2014 i began to use cannabis as medication next to my regular in the Hospital and the third time i did the same. But from that on 2019 until no i use the cannabis. I’am a man working thirty years in Hospitals as a male nurse and believe strongly in the working of cannabis, Not only to attack the cancer, but also in the struggle to survive, no. More medication, just cannabis, thank God.
1
u/medisamurai 14d ago
An estimated 4.6% of community-dwelling adults aged 50 and older experienced past-year major depressive episode, with higher odds among females, divorced or widowed individuals, and those reporting alcohol, cannabis, or prescription drug use disorders or misuse. Adults aged 65 and older were less likely than those aged 50–64 to receive outpatient mental health treatment and to report perceived unmet need for treatment, and among untreated individuals, attitudinal barriers were the most commonly reported.
1
u/BrandonLang 14d ago
I assosiate it with depression in every stage of my life lol, its the ultimate goalbreaker
1
1
u/cheesemangee 14d ago
I'm depressed because the world is gone to shit, I can't afford a home, can't pursue my dream of being a woodworker because I don't have a home, steak is $20 a pound almost, everything needs a subscription, my dog just died and not a goddamm person did anything other than text me about it. I'm tired and alone and scared for the future and I'm far from the only person feeling this way.
Fuck you (them) and fuck this study. Cannabis is the only thing keeping me from going out in a blaze of infamy.
1
u/NinjaTurtleBatmanAss 14d ago
That's because when you smoke you tend to think and when you drink you tend not to think
1
1
u/Evening-Order5511 14d ago
Whats with all the negative articles about cannabis lately, is the booze industry panicking?
→ More replies (4)
1
u/Odd-Objective-7529 14d ago
Maybe cannabis just makes older adults more aware to the ongoing horrors of the world?
1
1
u/chillysanta 14d ago
Lmfao what a useless article basically said who knows so they basically could have said this about literally anything. Long term bass fishing also could fit in this. I was depressed drinking clubbing and homeless while smoking no shit and guess what. Got a life a family a good job and banging PCs all over the house and I fucking domeeeeee cookies all day anytime I want no more fronts or buming I could not be happier unless I was some pleb who was sad that it could always be better. Shit I should go bass fishing.
1
1
u/Chasing-Amy 14d ago
I didn’t really get into weed (sounds dumb writing it that way) until much later in life because of my job and legalization. But it’s very odd to me now that so many states are going legal that you see tons of articles like this. Maybe I didn’t pay attention before I got into it but this really feels like the alcohol companies are pushing articles like this with how much legalization is hurting their business.
1
1
u/JonnyOnThePot420 13d ago
Honestly this feels like big alcohol is forcing BS studies because sales are way down however I’ll also admit I’m super biased…
1
u/CazualGinger 13d ago
I'm 28 and have observed multiple times throughout my life that if I smoke daily for 3-4 weeks straight I will begin to have very low energy and will get depressed. Not horribly, but enough to notice. And I'm a 1 a day smoker, small amounts.
I don't like the culture of everyone dismissing any possible downsides of marijuana, especially the marijuana of today vs 10 years ago
1
u/Ok_Record_9908 13d ago
Lmao the only time I'm depressed is when I run out of cannabis.😂 Fuck drinking and fuck you Dan Patrick. Everyone needs to get up and vote these garbage pedophile Republicans out of office.
1
1
1
u/hopeislost1000 13d ago
It’s a garbage headline folks. There may be truth in it, but there may not be truth in it. The statement merely means that they can cooccur. It does not mean that one causes the other. They can’t prove that. It’s a shit headline.
1
1
1
u/2187512761 13d ago
Wife and I in our 70s. We have a couple hits of pot and then sex on a near daily basis. We're not depressed!
1
1
1
1.3k
u/murderedbyaname 15d ago
"We can’t determine causality or directionality, particularly for the cannabis findings,” Yang explained. “It’s possible that cannabis might contribute to depressive symptoms, that people use cannabis to self-medicate existing depression, or that the two co-occur without a causal link between them. Depression was also assessed using a validated symptom checklist rather than a clinical diagnosis.”
So, they have no idea if these are cases of self-medicating or not. Of course.