Statistics show that half of all 16 to 29 year olds have used cannabis at least once, despite severe health risks linked to the drug. But is it really that dangerous? Or does it have anxiety and stress-busting properties that vastly outweigh its dangers?
There is increasing evidence that teenagers are “self-medicating” with cannabis to help them with anxiety. Bearing in mind that as many as one in six young people experience mental illness should we be worried?
London Cannabis Cub member Orson Boom explains many young members of the London Cannabis Club use the drug to treat mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. He says: “It is more common than you realise as cannabis used correctly has less nasty side effects unlike many pharmaceuticals.”
“Cannabis should be legalised for anyone aged over 21 and sold via licensed premises. This way it could be taxed and regulated much like they are doing in the state of Colorado.” said Orson, who is in his twenties. “Allowing criminal gangs to run a billion pound business is ridiculous and offers no safety to the young and vulnerable.”
Orson is himself a medical cannabis user. He benefits from using natural plant that offers him great pain relief, “without any of the addictive properties of opiate based medicine.” Orson explains that he is against smoking cannabis, because of how bad it is for the lungs, but argues there are ways of consuming cannabis safely, including vaporisation, ingestion and topical creams.
There are even some medical experts who agree with Orson that cannabis isn’t that dangerous. Dr David Nutt is chairman of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD), the leading body on the harms and benefits of both legal and controlled drugs in the UK. He works to ensure that the public can access clear, evidence-based information on drugs without interference from political or commercial interest; he used to be drugs advisor for the Government but was forced to resign over his views on cannabis. While Dr Nutt has said before that “of course cannabis is harmful, all drugs are harmful”, he disagreed with the classifying of marijuana as a class B drug, saying that the harms of cannabis are less than the harms of alcohol.
However, another member of the ISCD, Professor Val Curran, says that when it comes to teenagers, they may be more susceptible to harm from cannabis use than adults and more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders in the future.“
Using cannabis to relieve anxiety can increase your chances of becoming dependent on it and cannabis has been linked to triggering of or an increase in mental health issues”, she says. “Short lived feelings of anxiety and/or paranoia are relatively common with cannabis use, particularly with high THC low CBD cannabis (what many people call skunk). We would therefore not recommend teenagers use cannabis at all and particularly if they suffer from anxiety."
Where the problem lies in people self-medicating with cannabis is that every person, and every brain, is different. Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the charity Re-think mental illness, likens it to the risk of peanuts- cannabis is very dangerous for some people, but not such a problem for others.
Re-think Mental Illness do work to raise awareness of research which shows if you already have a psychotic illness, cannabis use severely reduces your chances of getting better. Paul Jenkins is the charity’s chief executive and has been concerned for years about the risk of cannabis. “This concern is driven by both the results of scientific studies and first hand and devastating experience of members of our charity who have developed psychosis as a result of taking cannabis or have seen this in relatives whom they care for,” he said.
When describing why they worry more about people who already have mental health issues using cannabis, he says: “We liken it to ‘playing Russian roulette’ because the risks are much higher for those already with some other susceptibility to mental illness.
”Meanwhile, Royal College of Psychiatrists found recent research in Denmark that suggests there is such a thing as cannabis psychosis- a short-lived psychotic disorder that seems to be brought on by cannabis use but which subsides fairly quickly once the individual has stopped using it. However, it is important to note that in the whole of Denmark they found only around 100 new cases per year.
For many mental health organisations and charities, such as Re-think Mental Illness, their position currently is campaigning for better education rather than a reclassification of cannabis as a class A drug. They’re calling for the Government to spend more money on campaigns similar to that in France, to educate people more on the dangers of cannabis and mental health.
Picture: Flickr Create Commons user thisisanexample
The truth about cannabis: does it really help you relax?
Posted, February 23rd, 2014, by Georgia Humphreys
Picture: DaveH
Remi's Story
Remi Austin, who is now 20, began smoking cannabis when she was 15 and throughout her teens was smoking it every day. She believes while at first she used to feel relaxed and calmed down from being a cannabis user she lost control and became addicted, and she suffered from anxieties as a result.
“I think it goes one way or another with a person, it either calms you down or makes your brain overwhelmed with thoughts. Personally when I was smoking it every day it made me completely anxious.”
Remi has stopped smoking cannabis every day now, instead smoking it about once a week. Discussing the effect using cannabis had on her brain, she looks sheepish, ashamed and nervous.
“In my case, it caused me more stress because I would over think things so much. It also affected my motivation big time”, she admits. “What I hated the most is you can be a small group smoking it and its fine, but once you’re in a big group it makes you really anxious.”
The effects Remi noticed it had on her brain are wide ranging. “I would always jumble up words, which made me have a little panic attack in my head. It changes you completely; it stopped me from doing things I would normally do. Forget going out and drinking, socialising, I’d rather stay in and watch TV and smoke.”
Remi went on anti-depressants for a while, when she was still using cannabis, because of her anxieties. She felt things just got too much. She decided to make the major change in her life of smoking it less. She gave up cigarettes, which she believes helped. Now, Remi says the smell of cannabis revolts her.
