England UK

Two articles.

<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_page_id=1787&in_article_id=339458>

Time to rethink the cannabis law

08:23am 28th February 2005

Disturbing new research by eminent medical specialists - reported for the first
time in the Mail today - reveals just how much damage cannabis can do to young
people.

It found that those who smoke the drug regularly at the age of 15 are more than
four-and-a-half times more likely to be schizophrenic by their mid-20s than
those who do not.

At a similar age the illness had struck one in ten of those who had taken
cannabis just three times as young teenagers - compared to just 3 per cent of
those who had not used the drug.

The reason for this, the researchers found, is that teenagers who use the drug
risk boosting levels of dopamine in their brains, which are still developing -
and this can lead directly to schizophrenia.

The decision to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug - the same
as steroids and anti-depressants - fuelled a popular misconception that it was
relatively harmless and has led to a dramatic rise in use since the law was
changed a year ago.

The reality is very different from that misguided belief - using cannabis can
have devastating long-term effects. It is widely blamed for leading to the use
of other stronger narcotics.

And the profound impact on mental health is as evident from a series of
shocking high-profile cases as it is from the research.

Just look at the lives that have already been destroyed.

On Saturday the Mail showed how it fuelled the psychotic behaviour of mental
patient John Barrett, who stabbed Denis Finnegan to death.

Cases linked to cannabis include the Scottish satanist Luke Mitchell who killed
and mutilated his 14-year-old girlfriend.

Then there is Reece Wilson, a promising young golfer whose life slid
disastrously downhill after he began to experiment with the drug at the age of
14.

Can there be more compelling evidence that this country will face a mental
health timebomb if it does not make teenagers aware of the real risks of taking
this drug?

And the only way to do this is for the Government, which has sometimes talked
tough but invariably acted soft on drugs, to admit that it blundered by
downgrading cannabis and reconsider the legislation.

<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=335852&in_page_id=1774>

Calls for inquiry into dangers of cannabis

08:46am 29th January 2005

Cannabis: Linked to psychosis


Campaigners have called for MPs to launch an inquiry into the links between the
use of cannabis and mental illness.

Charity Rethink made the call a year after the Home Office officially
reclassified cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug.

They said the Commons Health Committee should look into how the drug affects
mental health, after a series of studies linked it to psychosis and other
problems.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF) also warned of the links between smoking
cannabis and severe lung damage.

Cliff Prior, Rethink chief executive, said: "Government should concentrate on
the real and specific mental health dangers, not general warnings that no-one
takes seriously. "There's a clear need for more research in this area.

"We believe a health select committee inquiry is needed to help establish the
facts about the link between cannabis and psychosis."

The charity said the number of people who use drugs and have mental illness has
increased by 60% in five years.

Mr Prior said that reclassification had sent out a "mixed and confusing
message".

He said: "There is a strongly-held view that cannabis is risk-free, reflected
in the rates of its use among young people.

"Cannabis is not risk free. We have known for years that using cannabis makes
the symptoms of schizophrenia far worse in people who already have the illness.

"There is a rapidly growing body of evidence showing that cannabis can trigger
schizophrenia in people already at risk - and probably even in people who
should only be low risk," Mr Prior said.

MP Doug Naysmith, a member of the Health Committee, added: "I can confirm that
Rethink has approached the committee asking for an inquiry and I very much
support the idea."

Yesterday figures from the Home Office showed that arrests for cannabis
possession had fallen by a third in the first year since the drug was
downgraded.

The move to re-classify the drug from Class B to Class C had saved police in
England and Wales an estimated 199,000 hours of work, the Home Office said.

Cannabis is now ranked alongside anabolic steroids and some prescription
anti-depressants. Its possession is generally not an arrestable offence.

But Dame Helena Shovelton, chief executive of the BLF, said they wanted to
remind the general public about the potential respiratory health implications
of smoking cannabis.

"Research carried out by the charity found that smoking cannabis alone can
cause severe lung damage.

"We understand that some people with long-term chronic conditions may smoke
cannabis for medicinal purposes but it is vital that people are fully aware of
the dangers so they can make an educated choice and know the damage they may be
causing.

"The BLF report does not cover the legal or moral aspects of cannabis, but
simply wishes to make sure that everyone is completely clear about the
respiratory health risks involved," Dame Helena said.
--
The latest survey displays that it requires an average of just 3.8
drinkings to effect a katzenjammer. But this tablets
supports you elude hang-overs and wake up feeling immense from head
to abdomen and everywhere else.