Pubdate: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2014 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Michael Pond Note: Michael Pond is a Vancouver psychotherapist and a recovered alcoholic. Expert Help: Psychotherapy EVIDENCE AGAINST EARLY POT USE MOUNTS Twenty-two-year-old Mark arrived at my office looking dishevelled. He'd just been fired from his job for lack of productivity and absenteeism. His boss said he'd smelled of alcohol several times. He'd been reprimanded after he'd lashed out at a female co-worker he felt was too critical. Mark is suspicious and depressed. He's got trouble eating and sleeping. He has low energy, very little motivation, can't concentrate and is irritable. He disclosed that he was a binge drinker and stays intoxicated for 2-3 days every weekend. Mark says, "I don't like to be around people. The only time I can socialize is if I'm drunk. It's the only way I can socialize. "Sometimes I just want to end it all. At night I hear voices telling me that I'm a hopeless piece of crap. I know people are out to get me. I can't trust anyone. I hear people outside my door plotting to ruin my life." Mark has a family history of mental illness and addiction. His maternal grandmother, who committed suicide several years ago, suffered from schizoaffective disorder and alcoholism. Mark's father is a recovered alcoholic and cocaine addict, now six years clean. Then Mark reveals what I think is the root of the problem. When I asked Mark about other drug use he said, "Only pot. No big deal. It helps my brain relax." Turns out pot use, especially for men who begin smoking in their teens, is a very big deal. Mark smokes marijuana almost every day and has been since he was 16. "When I get home from work I smoke a few joints throughout the evening. Lately though I've been really freaked out. I can't trust anyone." A wave of research during the last few years has built a compelling case against teenage and early adult pot use - especially for those whose families have a history of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Now the most recent: a study from Northwestern University in Illinois. Researchers analyzed the brain changes of a group of participants in their early 20s who regularly used marijuana. Participants who began using marijuana regularly at the age of 16 or 17 demonstrated deterioration in the thalamus of the brain - an area important for learning, memory and communication. The investigators say the deterioration discovered in the thalamus resembles deterioration found in schizophrenic patients who used marijuana. Of the schizophrenic marijuana users, 90 per cent had been using the drug heavily before developing the mental disorder. My client is textbook. Mark has all the risk factors for developing a serious mental disorder. He must stop drinking and pot use. I referred him to a local psychiatrist for a full assessment. I suspect Mark is the leading edge of a troublesome trend. In both the U.S. and Canada pot smoking among teens and young adults is actually on the increase. If you suspect you've got a young pot-smoker in your house and you've got a history of mental illness, get him or her assessed now. Before the damage is done. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom