Nerts to you. In all honesty, I've suffer from chronic depression as well. Obviously the guy shouldn't move to a different state, but for me marijuana has helped considerably. I like it better than anti-depressants, to say the least.

edit: On another note, vitamin D and sunshine is most definitely important. I take vitamin D supplements myself since I live in Oregon.

Oh man. I don't know how well I would do in Oregon or Washington. I live in Missouri and some days we have sunshine, others its cloudy. I don't know what it would be like to have it cloudy all the time.

If I ever went through another depression I don't think I could ever resort to pot as an anti-depressant mostly because of what I've seen in other people's lives the effects it had on their families. Not to mention it is only a quick fix. Once that high goes away its back to doom and gloom.

i would just go see a psychiatrist.

Visiting a psychiatrist is good, but it can get expensive. I didn't beat my depression in counseling. I beat it by really just changing my outlook on life and taking steps to make myself feel better.

Yeah, it's a bummer here. Even in the summer we get gray skies 40-60% of the time.

And that's why I like marijuana. It's relatively cheap comparatively, it's physically non-addictive, and things don't go down the poopshoot for me if I stop for a few weeks. However, if the guy plays sports and likes to be super-active, change, goals and sunshine are probably the option to go with. I play games and write music, so I like bowls =P

edit: on goals, setting out to do something and accomplishing it can help in spades. Confidence is important in fending off dark thoughts.

giving him advice when we dont know how strong the op's Depression is kind of hard.

the best idea would be for him to tell someone that you are close, so that way in case of
a emergency. just remember that you dont have to be alone.

Become a leader and turn your depression into oppression

So you're saying don't take any medication from a doctor because it doesn't work when you stop taking it. GREAT logic (sarcasm). Of course someone will feel pain when they're off their pain meds... plz use brain.

You're using anecdotal evidence to support your biased and debunked "theory". Please, use your BRAIN. The only things that negatively effect people's lives when marijuana is involved are draconian laws and the non-authorities that try to enforce them.

Weed is a drug. It is not an unlimited ticked to feel good.

It is bad for the lungs when smoked, and not as harmless to the brain as was once thought.

I am not discouraging anyone, but there are pros and cons just like any drug.

^
This

I was pretty messed up in my teen years, not sure if it was depression or just being a teenager, but I did some things that were pretty terrible. The advice that E Nomine has above is exactly what I did, in addition to telling myself that I was happy constantly. Some things still bring me down a little, but I don't feel hopeless anymore and I'm able to get over it fairly quickly. Try the above, but don't expect it to work immediately, just have faith that it will work eventually. The only fast acting thing I've found are drugs, and that just treats the symptoms, not the problems. You also need to loop in your friends / family; a support structure is important to have.

Best of luck to you