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UK: Cannabis is ruining lives - MP

Herfordshire Mercury

Wednesday 15 Jun 2011

BROXBOURNE MP Charles Walker has warned of a major public health risk with young people "playing Russian roulette" with their lives through the use of skunk cannabis.

Charles Walker MPIntroducing the Commons adjournment debate, Mr Walker (Con, Broxbourne) said the drug had changed over the past 30 years and was now "highly toxic and highly dangerous".

He called on the Government to do more adding: "We can't talk about harm reduction – we have to talk about harm prevention.

"Up and down the country too many families are suffering the torture of watching their children squander their futures – bright children who have so much to live for ending up with so little.

"This is brought about too often by an addiction to skunk cannabis, a drug that is ruining lives."

The drug, he said, created a sense of euphoria, but had many side-effects including hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, attention impairment and emotional impairment.

Mr Walker said: "Child and adolescent mental health services across this country are dealing with thousands of youngsters and adolescents who are suffering severe psychotic illnesses and there is a causal link with skunk cannabis."

He said one in four carried a faulty gene for dopamine transmission and if a youngster had that gene and smoked skunk cannabis they were six times more likely to get a psychotic illness.

He added: "Skunk cannabis is like holding a loaded revolver to your head and playing Russian roulette. You don't know if you have the gene and you don't know when the bullet will fire."

Responding to Mr Walker's concerns, health minister Anne Milton MP (Con, Guildford) pledged to do all she could to protect the health of young people, and acknowledged that skunk cannabis was on average four times stronger than herbal cannabis.

She said: "Our position on cannabis use is clear: we will continue to focus on young people because if they are protected right from the start, they will be safer throughout their lives."

http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Cheshunt-and-Waltham/Cannabis-is-ruining-lives-MP-14062011.htm

see also
http://alunbuffry.blogspot.com/2011/06/re-cannabis-russian-roulette-warning.html

 

 

 

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