Synthesis Sketch Report

 

For this post, I will write a synthesis sketch report on the decision problem I have been discussing over the last few months.  The problem is as follows:

Should you use marijuana to treat for anxiety or depression?

In order to address this problem, I have formed two hypotheses.  The two hypotheses are as follows:

Marijuana is effective when treating for anxiety and depression,

and

Marijuana isn’t effective for treating for anxiety and depression.

As marijuana is an illegal substance in most of the world, the professional studies I will use will mostly focus on the latter hypothesis.  Finding studies for both of these hypotheses are difficult, but the studies I have found mostly relate to proving the second hypothesis.  I will use three studies to address this issue.

For the former hypothesis, I will use newspaper articles that support its claim.  It was decidedly easier to find articles that didn’t involve actual marijuana use in an experimental environment because of its illegality.

Reports used after the break…

Hypothesis:  Marijuana is effective when treating for anxiety.

Medical Marijuana:  No Longer Just for Adults

Source:  New York Times

This article discusses the use of medical marijuana in kids under 18.  Several Bay Area doctors in California recommend medical marijuana for patients who suffer from a number of illnesses such as adolescents with A.D.H.D.  They claim that it is safer than aspirin as well as Ritalin. 

This article works with my claim, because it shows that medical marijuana can treat for different mental illnesses.  It has many credible sources to include those that refute the claim.

Anxiety and Marijuana:  New Studies Show it May be Beneficial

Source:  Anxiety Social Net

This article claims that various studies have established the benefits of using marijuana to treat various illnesses.  They also claim that medical marijuana has been used in treatment of psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression.

This works towards my claim, because my claim directly uses marijuana to treat anxiety and depression.  It shows the benefits of using marijuana for these purposes which will help me support this claim.

Is medical marijuana an effective treatment for depression, bipolar disorders, anxiety, and similar mood disorders?

Source:  ProCon.org

This is a good article, because it is two articles in one.  It contains an article discussing the pros of using marijuana for treatment of anxiety and depression, and it shows the cons of using the plant for such purposes.  The article claims that there seems to be an effective treatment for depression and other mood disorders and a sharp decrease in suicidal rates in 15-19 year old males.

This article supports the claim of my first hypothesis.  It will prove useful, because it also has the con argument as well.

Hypothesis:  Marijuana isn’t effective for treating for anxiety and depression.

Marijuana Use and Depression

Source:  Journal of Health and Social Behavior

The study showed that people who use marijuana to treat for depression actually have a higher depression index score.  This will be useful for the second hypothesis, because the study supports its claim.

Substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorders: Symptom interplay and effects on outcome

Source:  Journal of Addictive Behaviors

The study found that the most common Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD) in their sample to be alcohol use disorder at 69 percent.  34 percent met the criteria for opioid use, 23 percent for cocaine abuse, 19 percent for cannabis use disorder, 15 percent for a sedative use disorder, 4 percent abusing hallucinogens, and 2 percent abusing stimulants.  Using these substances showed that this could adversely affect people with PTSD.

This study is good to use, because it shows that people that suffer from PTSD often suffer from SUD without any positive effects for treatment.

Marijuana and driving in real-life situations

Source:  Europe PubMed Central

This study claimed that using marijuana and driving to be dangerous.  It also claimed that the stresses from encountering these dangers could have an adverse effect on anxiety and depression.  This is a good article to prove the second hypothesis, because the hypothesis shows that using marijuana could have an adverse effect on depression and anxiety.