- The number of people reporting generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode nearly doubled, increasing to 5.2 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively.
- Suicidality didn’t change much in adults but increased by 44 per cent among youth. Younger Canadians also saw some of the strongest cannabis–mental health connections.
- The number of people using cannabis multiple times a week more than doubled, while the number of people who reported using cannabis in the last year increased to 20.7 per cent.
- Canadians who used cannabis at any level, compared to those who did not, were more likely to meet criteria for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive episode and report suicidality. The connection between cannabis use and these mental health problems strengthened over time.
- In 2022, Canadians who used cannabis regularly (two or more times a week) were about five times more likely to report anxiety, depression, or suicidality than those who did not use cannabis.
Ok maybe. But that’s not profitable way to sell drugs or violently enforce prohibition. What do you expect them to do? Improve social conditions? Yeah, sure.
I guess differentiating between correlation and causation would be a good start but that whole “improving social conditions” thing sounds promising too.