The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Get PolitiFact in your inbox. * Weekly Email Newsletter * Daily Email Newsletter Your Email Address Sign Up ![](\\" ![](\\" Donna Campbell stated on May 22, 2019 in the Texas Senate: \"A study was done, a post-mortem, so a retrospective study done, looking at autopsies and drug levels, what drugs were in the blood of veterans that committed suicide, and 70 percent had THC.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Marijuana * Texas * Donna Campbell ![\\"State](\\" State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, speaks at a Senate hearing at the Texas Capitol in 2017. JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN ![\\"Taylor](\\" By Taylor Goldenstein July 15, 2019 # Did study show that 70% of veterans who committed suicide had THC in their system? Texas lawmakers this year voted to broaden the state’s medical marijuana program to include more qualifying conditions than just intractable epilepsy. Under the bill, which was signed into law, patients with several more conditions, including terminal cancers, autism and multiple sclerosis, will now be eligible to participate in the program. During a debate in the Senate over the proposal, state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, argued against including post-traumatic stress disorder in the bill. The disorder was ultimately not included in the bill that passed. \"A study was done, a post-mortem, so a retrospective study done, looking at autopsies and drug levels, what drugs were in the blood of veterans that committed suicide, and 70 percent had THC,\" Campbell said. We decided to take a look at Campbell’s claim to see if a study of this nature existed and whether there’s a connection between veterans, marijuana use and suicide. No signs of Campbell’s study Campbell’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment. We searched far and wide but could not find a study with results matching those described by Campbell. Several experts and advocates contacted for this piece said they were unaware of a study that reflected the findings Campbell described. Several studies examine the relationship between cannabis use and suicidal thoughts. Others have cross-referenced registry data on deaths attributed to suicide with the timing of the legalization of medical marijuana in the states where the suicides took place. Dr. Arpana Agrawal, professor of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine who authored a study on cannabis and suicidal thoughts and behavior, said these types of studies have produced mixed results. In her study, which enlisted identical twins, one of whom used cannabis more frequently and the other who used it lightly or not at all did not use it all or lightly, found that the twins that used cannabis more often were more likely to report suicidal thoughts and depression. While the data suggests that the association is unrelated to shared genetics and early environment, it does not necessarily mean that the effects of cannabis were the cause, she said. It could have been another risk factor, such as trauma. A 2016 study by CDC scientists that used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that the rate of suicidal thinking was more than nine times higher for veterans with drug problems than those without, with the majority involving marijuana abuse. The study noted, however, that other factors, such as coping with post- traumatic stress, managing chronic pain conditions related to war injuries, or adjusting to civilian life, could confound the association between the two. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 What makes this subject so hard to study? Agrawal said one reason is that suicide is such a complex behavior with many aspects — from contemplation, to attempts (with or without a plan) to actual deaths. \"(Researchers) might have asked only of individuals who report experiencing depression, although suicidal thoughts and behaviors are not just limited to depression,\" Agrawal said. \"In studies of completed suicide, little may be known about the substance use history over and above a toxicology report.\" Cannabis use and veterans Research also is lacking on cannabis use and suicide among veterans specifically. A study conducted by Safe States Alliance, an injury and violence prevention national nonprofit, in March 2018 used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System to analyze U.S. veteran and armed forces deaths from suicide. The group’s study found that 9 percent of victims had marijuana in their system. It did not show whether a victim had more than one substance in their system. Sharon Gilmartin, deputy director of Safe States Alliance, said she wasn’t aware of a statistic like the one Campbell cited. Gilmartin also cautioned against interpreting her organization’s studies or others that include toxicology data as definitively linking marijuana to suicide because of the nature of THC. \"It’s not quite like alcohol where you have a certain BAC (blood alcohol content), and that directly links to impairment, then it goes away and you’re kind of back to sobriety more or less,\" Gilmartin said. \"When you think about THC, it’s a different dose-response relationship, and it also has a different latency period, so it stays in your blood long after you’re impaired.\" There are also limitations to what such data can tell us, Agrawal said, because of that age-old statistical standard that \"correlation does not imply causation.\" \"While such studies show a correlation, it is difficult to know from data at one time point whether cannabis use is a causal factor,\" Agrawal said. \"Veterans are more likely to report cannabis use and are also at risk for suicide. But that doesn\'t answer the question as to how the two are related.\" For example, she said, people who are vulnerable to suicide might use cannabis more often to self-medicate; or people who use cannabis more heavily may report more suicidal thoughts; or alternatively, some other factor might influence the use of both cannabis and risk for suicide, such as trauma exposure. Our ruling Campbell suggested that cannabis plays a role in suicide among veterans, claiming that a study showed 70 percent of veterans who committed suicide had THC in their body. But the study Campbell cited doesn’t seem to exist. Some research does exist on this topic, but experts questioned the validity of drawing a conclusion about the connection between marijuana use and suicide generally — let alone among veterans. We rate this claim Pants on Fire. PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Email interview with Dr. Arpana Agrawal, professor of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine, July 3, 2019. Phone interview with Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, July 9, 2019. Texas Observer, Texas’ New Medical Marijuana Law Doesn’t Cover Veterans Suffering from PTSD, July 2, 2019. Suicidal ideation among young Afghanistan/Iraq War Veterans and civilians: Individual, social, and environmental risk factors and perception of unmet mental healthcare needs, United States, 2013. Psychiatry research, 245, November 2016. Major depressive disorder, suicidal thoughts and behaviours, and cannabis involvement in discordant twins: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet Psychiatry, 4(9), September 2017. Deaths From Suicide among U.S. Veterans & Armed Forces in 16 States. Safe States Alliance. March 2018. Phone and email interview with Courtney Lenard, a spokeswoman for the CDC. July 2, 2019. ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Taylor Goldenstein ![](\\" ![](\\" Allen West stated on February 19, 2021 in a Facebook post: \"Since 2006 Texas has given $19B in taxpayer subsidies to wind energy companies. Over the past 2-3 years Texas has tripled our dependence on wind energy to 23-25 percent of our energy distribution system.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Taylor Goldenstein • March 26, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" John Cornyn stated on June 11, 2020 in an interview: The United States has not completed a “top-to-bottom review of our criminal justice system at the national level since 1965.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Taylor Goldenstein • July 2, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on June 1, 2020 in a Facebook post: “A declaration of disaster, has been issued for the state of Texas. House Bill 1177 Allows any Texan who can legally own a firearm to carry their handgun, open or concealed, for a full week after a state or natural disaster is declared.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Taylor Goldenstein • June 5, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Greg Abbott stated on May 5, 2020 in a press conference: “Almost 75 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 in the state of Texas are a result of people contracting COVID-19 who are age 65 and older.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Taylor Goldenstein • May 21, 2020 ![](\\" ![](\\" Chris Salcedo stated on December 5, 2019 in a radio interview: Says justices of the peace in Texas are being asked to choose: \"give up your career or violate your religious beliefs\" and perform same-sex marriages. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Taylor Goldenstein • December 17, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donna Campbell stated on May 22, 2019 in the Texas Senate: \"A study was done, a post-mortem, so a retrospective study done, looking at autopsies and drug levels, what drugs were in the blood of veterans that committed suicide, and 70 percent had THC.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Taylor Goldenstein • July 15, 2019 ### Did study show that 70% of veterans who committed suicide had THC in their system? * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jon Tester stated on September 8, 2024 in a Facebook ad: Tim Sheehy “would let politicians like him ban abortion, with no exceptions for rape or to save a woman’s life, and criminalize women.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 8, 2024 in a Threads post: “Elon Musk is going to expose Bill Gates soon, says ‘he’s evil.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Gordon Ramsay calls Tim Walz a ‘woke creep,’ throws him out of Hell’s Kitchen.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"ÚLTIMA HORA Río Nilo se pinta de rojo sangre\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Photo shows Elton John wearing a “MAGA” jacket. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a photo: The Minnesota Vikings have denounced Tim Walz: “We don’t suppᴏrt his values.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in Instagram posts: Immigrants get $2,000 each time they cross the border illegally. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 30, 2024 in a Facebook post: Video shows tornadoes in Canada. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows a Ku Klux Klan member at a rally for former President Donald Trump. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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A study was done a postmortem so a retrospective study done looking at autopsies and drug levels what drugs were in the blood of veterans that committed suicide and 70 percent had THC