The association between depressive symptoms and cannabis use is investigated. Due to the fact that depression has been a common psyquiatric disorder in adolescence, depressive cases usually present high rates of psychiatric comorbidities and the abuse of psychoactive substances is frequent. Systematic review, studies at PsycInfo, ProQuest, Web of Science and Lilacs databases analyzed between 2000 and 2005 are discussed. Results show that nine out of the thirty-six studies discuss depression and cannabis use or addiction in adolescents. Whereas the association between depressive symptoms and the use of cannabis during adolescence is confirmed, it is more frequent in an early and continuous cannabis use. Research shows that depressive symptoms are related to cannabis use, abuse and dependence during adolescence. Abovementioned variables must be investigated in clinical practice and in prevention programs that simultaneously focus on these disorders.
Depression; adolescence; cannabis
