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GBR:Expert says cannabis use is highest in the country
Julia Lewis | icSouthlondon | January 9th, 2006

CANNABIS use in South London is among the highest in the country.

That is the view of a top psychiatrist who says taking the drug leads to mental health problems such as schizophrenia.

Professor Robin Murray's comments come as the Government is considering reversing its decision of two years ago when it downgraded the drug to class-C.

He says that move was a mistake. The professor, who works at The Institute of Psychiatry at The Maudsley Hospital, de Crespigny Road in Denmark Hill, is one of a team of psychiatrists who have been carrying out studies to find out whether cannabis has a detrimental effect on mental health.

One project under-taken in conjunction with psychologist Louise Arseneault in New Zealand followed a group of people over 10 years to see which ones developed schizophrenia.

It turned out that those who had smoked cannabis in their teens were four times more likely to develop the mental condition.

Prof Murray said: "First of all they become anxious and paranoid and, if they keep smoking, they become psychotic - they have hallucinations and hear voices."

Looking back, he said, they and their relatives could see it was after they started smoking cannabis that they went from being normal and sociable to fearful and paranoid.

But Prof Murray said the classification of the drug was less important than educating people about its dangers.

Possession of a class-B drug carries a maximum 14-year sentence, class-C, five years.

Prof Murray said: "When it was a class-B drug we still smoked more cannabis than the Dutch.

"Reclassifying it would not make much difference. People need to know what the risks are.

"If you smoke cigarettes you can develop cancer. If you smoke cannabis one of the risks is becoming psychotic.

"South London is one the areas where cannabis is smoked the most.

"Around here, most kids do not think cannabis is a drug at all.

"You ask them if they take drugs and they say no.

"Then you ask them if they take cannabis and they say yes."

He believes the situation was made worse when the Government made it a class-C drug.

He said: "They [cannabis users] told us what we were saying was wrong and asked why they should believe us.

"It is helpful that Home Secretary Charles Clarke is now saying he agrees it can cause psychosis."

The professor said colleagues were engaged in a further study, using scans to see how the drug affected the brain.

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"Those who do no harm to others should not be harmed by others..." Ethan Nadelmann
"Revolution is not a right, it is an obligation." John Locke
"Do SOMETHING besides argue emotions against the law, because it simply isn't a rational way to affect any type of change whatsoever. No offense intended, but your opinion on things is a moot point unless you take actions to change the law, rather than ramble about how unfair or injust it is." troublemaker_42
"'Just say no' to drugs, except those marketed by big pharmaceutical companies." Ignorant Politicians

 

Buzzby

More accurately: If you smoke a very large amount of cannabis and you are a male in your early teens and you are pre-schizophrenic, you run a risk of the disease presenting earlier than it would otherwise.

The good doctor fails to note that there is merely a correlation between high levels of cannabis use by young male pre-schizophrenics and an early inception of the disease. No causal mechanism can be inferred. It is quite possible that these young men smoke large quantities of cannabis because they're pre-schizophrenic.

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Tokamak

"Around here, most kids do not think cannabis is a drug at all.

"You ask them if they take drugs and they say no.

"Then you ask them if they take cannabis and they say yes."

This is a very encouraging commment. The distinction between hard drugs and cannabis SHOULD be obvious. People don't automatically lump alcohol with drugs. We should work towards the same for pot.

Peace.

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"He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know."
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

fight4rights

I think it's bad to start lumping drugs into "soft" and "hard" categories. People make strange inferences when those terms are used. They wouldn't consider that alcohol and tobacco are some of the most addicting and damaging substances out there. It's better to just understand how the drug works and what the risks are for using it, rather than trying to catergorize them on a scale.