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Stronger laws against cannabis use

The United Kingdom is expected to tighten its laws against cannabis use soon.

Government ministers have signaled there is a need for a change because of the known link with cannabis use and mental illness.

The Home Secretary ordered a review by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs which is due to report now.

The Home Secretary told the Council to look at the mental health problems of the stronger cannabis called skunk and the medical evidence from studies in New Zealand and the Netherlands.

(Source: The Telegraph, United Kingdom 9 January 2008)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This review is significant because the UK government downgraded its laws against cannabis in 2004 but now wants to reverse their decision.

The scientific evidence of the link between cannabis use and mental health problems is stronger now than ever before.

It is good for governments to have the courage to reverse past ineffective drug policies.

In Australia we need to treat cannabis use as serious and learn from the mistakes of other governments.

The most effective way of avoiding mental health problems from cannabis use is to strenuously discourage use in the teenage years.

Cannabis users should be provided with detoxification and rehabilitation to get them drug free before any mental health problems occur.

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Cannabis withdrawal syndrome

A study reported at an American Psychiatric Association conference has confirmed that cannabis users have withdrawal symptoms when they attempt to quit.

A large majority of those that have withdrawal symptoms relapse into their cannabis use.

The study of heavy cannabis users who relapsed, use more cannabis, were unable to cut down, spend a lot of time using and gave up other activities in order to use cannabis.

Withdrawal symptoms included stomach upset, nausea, irritability, anxiety, sadness, insomnia, disrupted appetite, disrupted libido and cannabis cravings.

About one third of those who quit reported improved memory.

The study was funded by the US government.

(Source: Medpagetoday, 7 May 2008)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This study confirms the need for effective detoxification at withdrawal as cannabis addiction is hard to quit.

As has been proven overseas, countries that use their courts to refer into detoxification and rehabilitation and supervise the addicts progress have more success in getting an addict off drugs.

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia so we NEED court supervised drug detoxification and rehabilitation.

In order to reduce the extensive Australian cannabis using population we NEED a comprehensive and effective drug detoxification and rehabilitation system.

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Cannabis causes fatal collision

The Victorian Coroners Court has heard evidence that cannabis caused the death of seven people in a horror crash in North West Victoria.

Five adults and two young children died when a sedan smashed into a van traveling in the opposite direction in September 2006.

Police informed the Coroner that the driver of the sedan, who was killed in the crash, had been smoking cannabis in the hour before the crash.

The police of the Major Collision Investigation Unit informed the Coroner that the collision was caused by the driver of the sedan due to the level of THC in his blood.

The crash caused an inferno engulfing both vehicles.

(Source: AAP News Service, 6 August 2007)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This is the latest evidence that cannabis causes road crashes by impairing the motor skills of drivers.

Random illicit drug tests are a good way to identify cannabis users.

This latest cannabis related road death confirms why Australian federal, state and territory governments must divert cannabis users into detoxification and rehabilitation to get the users off cannabis.

The detoxification and rehabilitation costs are a good investment when compared against the cost of crashes and the lives of five adults and two children.

Reducing the number of cannabis users in the community reduces the funds being provided to cannabis pushers and reduces the demand for cannabis.

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Cannabis is five times worse than Tabacco

Smoking a single cannabis joint is as harmful to lungs as having five cigarettes in succession according to recent research.

Cannabis smoking damaged both the lungs small fine airways used for transporting oxygen and the large airways used for airflow.

The study by the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand tested 339 people comprising cannabis users, cigarette smokers, users of both and non smokers.

Cannabis smokers complained of wheezing, coughing and chest tightness.

Cigarette smokers suffered from the rippling lung disease emphysema but cannabis use stopped the lungs from working properly.

Lung damage was directly related to the number of cannabis joints smoked, that is, more joints leads to more damage.

According to the British Lung Foundation, the dangers of cannabis to respiratory health are consistently being overlooked.

The study was published in the medical journal - Thorax.

(Source: Reuters News Service, 31 July 2007)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This study like many others relating to lung damage and brain damage confirms why cannabis use MUST remain illegal.

The study confirms that cannabis causes great damage to users and great costs to the health system.

These studies confirm why Australian federal, state and territory governments must divert cannabis users into detoxification and rehabilitation to get the users off cannabis.