You may think of cannabis as a very light, recreational drug, with no serious side effects, but the truth is that this drug can leave some very serious emotional and mental scars. In the past four years, the number of cannabis users whose wellness suffers from their use of the drug, through serious behaviour or mental disorders, has actually doubled.
A study was carried out in 2008, which shows that there is actually a direct link between the use of cannabis and mental wellbeing. In particular, the ‘skunk’ form of the drug is thought to be one of the worst types to use, and in particular, ‘super skunk’ which is a very strong form of the drug.
Leading psychiatrists are now warning that those who smoke this super strength drug are around 18 times more likely to fall victim to a psychotic episode, a serious mental health break. MPs have been advised of the figures that were highlighted in the study, such as the number of people who were admitted to hospital suffering from mental or emotional problems related to the use of the drug. This rose from 651 admissions in 2008 to 1,003 in 2012, a figure that is nearly double.
Mary Brett is chairperson of a campaign group called Cannabis Skunk Sense (CanSS) and she says that this rise in hospital admissions is extremely alarming, especially considering how many warnings people have been given about the dangers of this drug. Brett claims that this does not come as a surprise, however, as she points out that Skunk has around 46 percent THC, which is a psychoactive ingredient. In traditional, old-fashioned cannabis, the level was around 1 – 2 percent, highlighting just how much more potent this drug has become.
Scientists found, during the study, that those who have suffered from a psychotic episode were 18 times more likely to use skunk than other people.