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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Confused about cannabis?
Amy Iggulden The Telegraph
Friday 06 Jan 2006 As ministers equivocate, Amy Iggulden tries to find some answers It seems that Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, is as confused about cannabis as the rest of us. Earlier this week, he admitted that the Government may have misled the public about its dangers when, two years ago, the drug was downgraded from class B to class C. A quarter of the calls made last year to Talk to Frank, the government-backed drugs helpline, were about cannabis. But just how confused are the rest of us, and how worried should we be? Here, a cannabis user who believes the drug contributed to his breakdown, a campaigner, a medical expert and parent share their knowledge and fears. The expert Dr Zerrin Atakan, lead consultant psychiatrist at the National Psychosis Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital, Kent "Every day I see the results of confusion about cannabis, and I worry that there is a misguided perception among young people that it is harmless. This is simply not the case. Studies show that cannabis use in under-18s can be harmful to the brain, which continues to develop through teenage years. "Research also suggests that early smokers of cannabis are among the most at-risk groups. I see people who smoke regularly from the age of 12. In those who are genetically predisposed to psychotic conditions such as schizophrenia, early smoking of the drug can increase the risk of psychosis later in life by three to six times. "Even though this happens in a minority of people, cannabis use seems to induce problems where before there were none. "It is important to remember that these numbers are small, but parents should also be aware that some varieties of cannabis, particularly skunk and cheese, contain much higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], the active chemical. "Much of this information was available when the drug was declassified in 2004, so I find it hard to understand why the Government seems to be making a U-turn. "I don't believe upgrading the drug will make a great deal of difference, but we need to make people much more aware of the risks." The user Peter, 27, used to smoke cannabis heavily; he now works with people suffering from mental health problems "I used to smoke from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. I was like a walking cannabis joint; all my friends were made through smoking. "When I moved on to high-strength skunk, it gave me some really crazy ideas, until finally I was sectioned [in a mental ward] when I was 21. It would probably have happened anyway, but I really believe that the drug speeded the process up. "The problem is that you don't know how it is going to affect you. One night you might have a quick smoke, and feel a bit calm, but you can easily smoke something else two days later that leaves you stuck to the sofa until the next morning. That's the danger: there is no way of knowing how it is going to hit you. "I was OK in the end, because, even though I avoided people for a year after I went a bit crazy - even my family - I came out of it. I still smoke a bit now, but nothing like before. "One of my best friends smoked from 15 and committed suicide in his twenties. I know that skunk - as well as other drugs - was a major thing, because it completely de-socialised him. He drifted away and didn't come back. "The risks about cannabis should be advertised in the same way as smoking - then at least we will know what we might be getting into." The campaigner Paul Corry, director of campaigns at Rethink, the largest severe mental illness charity in the UK "The Government has simply failed to stay abreast of changes in the development of cannabis. Through the 4,000 help services we run in England and Wales, we regularly hear how little people know about its true effects. "In the early 1970s, when about a million people smoked it regularly, it was seen as risk-free, but the three million people who smoke it now are more likely to be smoking super-strength cannabis. "Parents who grew up in the days when cannabis was viewed lightly need to be aware that even light consumption can be risky for certain people." The parent Anne, 55, a teacher and mother of two sons in their twenties who regularly smoke cannabis "Until a year ago, I did not worry about the effects of cannabis, because when I was a student in the 1960s it seemed to be fairly harmless - even though it was illegal. "The situation seems so much cloudier now. My two sons are regular social smokers, and although I know that cannabis has become much stronger, I haven't been deeply concerned about them so far - mainly because I don't think they have a predisposition to mental health problems. "I was also fairly unworried because the attitude taken by the Government seemed to be relaxed. "Since it was declassified, though, I hear more and more about the health effects and I am concerned that no one seems to know what impact cannabis could have on things like fertility, cancer and memory - let alone the mental health risks. "As my boys are adults, I can't do anything about them smoking it, but I wish they wouldn't, and I wish the Government would give a clearer idea of any known links between cannabis and mental health problems. "There is so much ambiguity surrounding the issue that I feel I can only trust my own instinct." - Some names have been changed
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