“from 2008 to 2019, suicidal ideation, plan and attempt increased 40 per cent to 60 per cent over increases ascribed to cannabis use and major depressive episode (mde),” study authors write .
“while we cannot establish that cannabis use caused the increased suicidality we observed in this study, these associations warrant further research, especially given the great burden of suicide on young adults,” dr. nora volkow, director of the national institute on drug abuse (nida), part of the national institutes of health, says in a statement .
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researchers looked at data from the 2008 to 2019 national surveys on drug use and health , which includes information from those 12 and older on cannabis use and use disorder, depression, suicidality and other behavioural health indicators.
published this week in jama network open , study results indicate “that even people who used cannabis non-daily, fewer than 300 days a year, were more likely to have suicidal ideation and to plan or attempt suicide than those who did not use the drug at all,” the nida statement notes.
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