Well, I'm 51 so I've smoked/eaten my share of mj in my life. I have never experienced mj having a particularly helpful effect for my mental health. My experience is that it makes me high for about 20 minutes (so I sit there all spaced out), then I get really sleepy, then I either fall asleep or the high wears off and I'm left wondering what the big deal about mj is.
*shrugs*

I hope that research continues on the benefits of thc, I also fully support the growing and use of hemp products in the USA. But just smoking or eating pot...meh. btw, I have seen even new mj smokers get paranoid on the stuff.