Reefer Madness Campaign UK

[mullray]

More enlightening media from the UK. Be afraid - be very very afraid!!!

 

 

Majority of teen psychosis cases used cannabis

 

As many as 60 per cent of young people in east Kent suffering from their first episode of psychosis smoke or have a history of smoking cannabis.

 


 
The new figures, provided by the NHS, reveal that in mental health patients aged 14 to 35, half had taken or were taking the drug.

 


 
For younger service users, aged 14 to 25, the rate is 63 per cent.

 


 
Karen White, medical director of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, said: “That gives you an idea of the relationship between its use and psychosis.

 


 
“The youngest group that have psychosis are or have been cannabis users and they are not very old so it is in the recent past.

 


 
“I haven’t got exact numbers [for west Kent] but it is safe to say it is the same.”

 


 
A national charity that helps people with the most severe mental illness, Rethink, has launched a campaign urging the Government to spend more money raising awareness about the psychological dangers of cannabis among children.

 


 
It aims to highlight the dangers of the drug including the fact that cannabis smokers under the age of 15 are four times more likely to experience psychosis.

 


 
Dr White said the trust, which is responsible for mental health services in the county, supported the campaign.

 


 
She said the damage cannabis can do to people’s mental health and its link to psychosis is backed up by good research.

 


 
Asked about so-called ‘super skunk’, she said: “When the biochemists analyse the cannabis of today it seems about 18 times stronger than in the 60s and 70s.

 


 
“Certainly the number of young people presenting with psychotic illnesses who have been or are now smoking cannabis is enormous.”

 


 
The charity believes the Government is wasting time reclassifying cannabis instead of warning people about the dangers.

 


 
“We have got to educate and give young people the facts,” Dr White said. “It is key to get it across in a way they will listen so they can weigh up the risks.”

 


 
She said the early intervention teams across the county were doing outreach work in local schools teaching young people about how common it is to develop psychosis and what the warning signs are.

 


 
But Dr White said there was more that could be done and that educating young people needed to be “broadened out” and include for example the criminal justice services.

 


 
The teams face a hard job when according to Rethink one in four people think cannabis is better for you than coffee.

 


 
This year the Government is due to announce the results of a review into the reclassification of the drug.

 


 
The charity said: “Changing the classification won’t stop people using cannabis. Our survey found only three per cent of people who had quit cannabis gave illegality as a reason for quitting.

 


 
“Jailing people will not solve the problem. The money spent on re-classifying cannabis again should instead be spent on health education, services for cannabis addiction and further research into the links with mental illness.”

 


 
Dr White, who previously worked as a consultant psychiatrist, said reclassification gave out the wrong message.

 


 
She said that some research suggests that people who smoke cannabis are five times more likely to develop anxiety and depression, which suggests long-term damage.

 


 
One in 10 people of any age will have an experience such as developing hallucinations and paranoid ideas – cannabis can have an adverse effect at any age, she said.

 

Source: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Majori...aspx?news=local

[Rocker]

It is people like Dr White that drive people to drugs.

 

If anyone has a predisposition to mental health problems then drugs like alcohol or cannabis can possibly exacerbate the problem.

After all it is said all alcoholics started on milk.

 

Actually Dr White and her cohorts should carry out some research into the affect on people of preservatives in their food.

Then they might find something really scary.

 

Finally, it is a given that drugs will never ever be eliminated. In one hundred years time there will be posts on forums like this about types of drugs we can't even imagine.

Edited March 9, 2008 by old rocker

[mullray]

There is some interesting research around alcohol. Something to the effect you are 800% more likely to suffer a mental disorder if you drink.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the mj thing in the UK at the moment. It's madness with what's going on in their press over there. My bet is the government is pushed into reclassifying for political points, regardless of what comes out of the committee and their proposals.

 

I know after reading this I was driven to drugs

[WantDaChronic]

funny how they say cannabis causes mental illness, but they never compare the number of people who have tried the drug to the people who go nuts on the shit

 

The teams face a hard job when according to Rethink one in four people think cannabis is better for you than coffee.

you can count me in as one of the one in four people. coffee, well caffine is stimulant and take it from a person that just got turned on to coffe, its a doozey of a stimulant even though its mild compared to speed, meth, etc. caffine picks you up, makes you feel great, you talk faster, etc. and then it drops you on your arse when you are coming down. you get cranky, lethargic and feel totally unmotivated all the while craving that next hit.

 

pot on the other hand slows the brain down and makes you feel great. sure coming down sucks, but in reality it should be called coming up because your brain processes things faster and gradually you feel right as rain. caffine works in the total opposite way and will keep you feeling like shit until you get that next hit

[Pam]

Have to agree WDC.

 

This Dr White appears to have her head firmly up her own ass.

[Dragonfan]

It is people like Dr White that drive people to drugs.

 

If anyone has a predisposition to mental health problems then drugs like alcohol or cannabis can possibly exacerbate the problem.

After all it is said all alcoholics started on milk.

 

Actually Dr White and her cohorts should carry out some research into the affect on people of preservatives in their food.

Then they might find something really scary.

 

Finally, it is a given that drugs will never ever be eliminated. In one hundred years time there will be posts on forums like this about types of drugs we can't even imagine.

 

All of the above is true, true, true . . . worked in Drug Clinics in and around Brisbane for years and saw it all . . . if you're predisposed to 'mental illness', doesn't matter what you do, take etc!

 

And yes, preservatives in all our foods need to really be further investigated, why the conflagration of ADD, ADHD etc etc in our kids? Because food manufacturers, pharma co's etc have been poisoning us all for bloody years!

 

Just my two bobs worth . . .

[jabez]

As many as 60 per cent of young people in east Kent suffering from their first episode of psychosis smoke or have a history of smoking cannabis

 

I wonder how much of them drink or have a history of drinking, I'd guess it would be more than 60 per cent!

[Guest niall]

Ha! I wonder what % of young people smoke or have a history of smoking cannabis? This is correlation at best, where are the controls for young people who haven't suffered from psychosis, and for those who do/have smoked but have not experienced psychosis? And do these young people have the gene identified a few years ago that makes them susceptible to psychosis? What about family history of mental illness etc. etc.?

 

This is not science, but perhaps the media are just scaremongering again and the actual report says something completely different.

[mullray]

Niall you seem to think we're dealing with sane and rational people Giving intelligent answers like this is pointless and would never make the Reefer Madness Press....

 

I think we should start sending out press releases like: Cannabis guilty for crimes against humanity - to be tried at the Hague in October.

Today it was disclosed that cannabis (AKA Mr Marihuana) was indicted on every crime committed in the world (nay, Universe) since 1967. "I couldn't help myself" he said, "I'm the devil and my evil emanations have led to murder, insanity and the perversion of children. Death, lust and wanton acts of sexual deviancy - an evil monster am I." The trial is expected to last three weeks."

 

And so on..... What do you think - I reckon they'd go to print