Twitter

Cannabis Causes Psychosis in Healthy People

The latest scientific research shows that high THC cannabis called skunk can cause healthy people to develop psychotic illness.

The effects of this cannabis are to leave users with hallucinations, delusions and cognitive impairment.

The potency of the cannabis increased from 6 per cent THC to 14 per cent usually by growing the cannabis using hydroponics.

The study involved taking healthy men and injecting some with the high THC and others with a dummy which established the link.

The high THC content skunk is the norm in cannabis use today.

Similar research has now been concluded in the UK, USA, Holland and Brazil.

(Source: Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, July 2009)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

Anyone who is healthy can become psychotic by smoking cannabis even if they don't already have a mental illness.

However other recent studies have shown cannabis link to cancer, respiratory, heart and bone conditions.

The mental health effects of any cannabis use are real and significant to the user, their family, health authorities and the community as a whole.

The Australian Crime Commission has consistently warned Australian authorities of the prevalence of cannabis grown by hydroponics.

Australia must reduce demand for cannabis by getting our users off drugs by court ordered and supervised detoxification & rehabilitation.

Twitter

Cannabis Arrests High

Cannabis accounted for the greatest proportion of drug arrests and seizures.

Two out of three national drug arrests were for cannabis.

The majority of cannabis arrests occur in Queensland.

Acknowledged harms of cannabis include psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, impaired concentration, drowsiness, rapid heartbeat, impaired short term memory and deficits in learning.

Victorian research indicates that drivers who use cannabis are at similar levels of risk of having a car accident as drivers with a blood alcohol concentration over .05.

(Source: Australian Crime Commission Illicit Drug Report 2007-08 released 2009)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This warning about cannabis driving being more of a crash risk proves that cannabis is the most dangerous illicit drug in Australia.

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in Australia so the risks to the community are high also.

As well as the harm of cannabis above, cannabis causes cancer, damage to the human immune system, unborn babies, the brain, respiratory system and cardiovascular system.

These high risks mean that cannabis users must be diverted into detoxification and rehabilitation to get them free of cannabis use.

The benefits of getting cannabis users off drugs also benefits the community by reducing long term health costs, detection costs and death and injury to other community members.

Twitter

Cannabis Addiction Increasing

A 2004 study in the American Medical Association Journal suggested that stronger cannabis is contributing to higher addiction rates.

Increased THC means that cannabis today is five times more potent than cannabis used in the 1970's.

One in every six people seeking drug treatment was addicted to cannabis in 2007 compared to one in eight seeking treatment ten years earlier.

Almost six out of ten people seeking treatment for cannabis addiction were ordered to do so by law enforcement.

Addiction rates for cannabis were similar to addiction rates for cocaine.

Cannabis induced psychosis is contributing to more medical emergencies at hospitals.

(Source: New York Times, 19 July 2009)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

This U.S. information shows that, like Australia, cannabis addiction is more dangerous because of the higher toxins from different methods of growing that are more popular today.

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia.

Cannabis use is more dangerous to teenagers whose brains are still developing.

Cannabis use is starting at an earlier age so the damage and harms are likely to be more profound and lead to addiction.

As is the case overseas cannabis policy should help cannabis users to quit by placing identified users into court ordered and supervised detoxification and rehabilitation which most drug users want.

Twitter

'Is my child using cannabis?'

It isn't easy to live with adolescents under normal circumstances. The situation becomes a whole lot worse if they start to use drugs.

Lack of communication, arguments, secrecy and self-centredness are all part and parcel of growing up, so it isn't always easy to tell if drugs are involved.

Cannabis is the drug most young people begin with, and we know that its use can lead onto harder drugs, there is evidence it primes the brain for harder drugs, so preventing use is vital.

Parents should follow their instincts. If you have a feeling that things are not as they should be, talk to your child and to the school. If your child is using cannabis (and the age of initiation is falling in the UK to an average of age 12-13), your child is almost certainly getting supplies from another child at school - ask the school what their policy is on possession and dealing of the drug. Be confident - they are in loco parentis and most children begin their addiction at school!! You may be able to nip things in the bud. Get together with other parents - parent power is strong, remember you are the clients. Find out as much as you can about drugs to empower you. Remember that cannabis is not the same as it was in the 60s and 70s, it is 2-3 times more powerful and potentially very dangerous to the mental health of the young! As one addict said to us "Skunk' may be Class C but it has a Class A effect. "I've tried just about everything but it was that stuff that I couldn't handle, completely messed with my head, it was awful." So there you have it - from the horse's mouth.

SO WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR?

• A combination of changes in behaviour, physical appearance, emotional outbursts, money going missing, school grades dropping and new friends being substituted for old ones, should all start to ring alarm bells.
• Constant lying, treating the rest of the family with disrespect, continually challenging their values and even becoming verbally or physically violent towards them.
• Staying out for long periods with no explanation, secrecy as to where. Try to get a land-line number of where your child is staying overnight, (no number, no stop-over). Check what your child's friends' families' attitude to skunk is - discourage visits to homes where smoking is allowed or a blind eye is turned. Make your home a drug-free zone immediately, (and smoke-free zone if you can, including the garden, to avoid any confusion).
• Stealing money, shoplifting or making secretive phone calls.

• Dilated pupils are a physical sign that is pretty fool-proof for parents, and evidence of Optrex in bags and pockets is one to look out for.
• Lack of interest in the future, lacking in ambition, couldn't care less attitude in a child who was once conscientious.
• 'Baggies' in pockets, (small plastic bags) with pungent, strange smelling residue or substance (usually green), large or small Rizla papers, bus-tickets/card torn in shape of a 'roach' (used to make a filter). Items connected to drug taking include; matches, burn marks on clothes or furniture, plant seeds/stems, small cardboard tubes, silver foil, candles, blackened spoons, clothes with an unfamiliar or smoky smell, pipes.
• Unpredictable eating and sleeping patterns, unkempt appearance and neglect of hygiene, speech slurred, more infections, stomach upset, indigestion.
• School grades slipping, classes skipped or even playing truant, teachers disobeyed and held in disrespect.
• Old friends discarded and new ones, often older, encouraged. Never having money and being very antagonistic to any type of authority.
• Mood swings are common, as are insensitivity and emotional outbursts. They find it difficult to concentrate and pay attention, so have difficulty in remembering things. Time is meaningless, and they are secretive about where they have been and whom they have been with.
  
  © Talking About Cannabis www.talkingaboutcannabis.com