Pubdate: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 Source: Scotsman (UK) Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005 Contact: http://www.scotsman.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406 Author: Jim McBeth Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) WARNING OVER 'FORGOTTEN' DRUG Action to warn Scottish teenagers of the dangers of smoking cannabis is being urged by a leading expert amid fears it is being overlooked. ONE of Scotland's leading drugs experts has called for cannabis use among young people to be put at the very forefront of the debate on substance abuse Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the centre for drug misuse research in Glasgow, has spoken out on the dangers of assuming cannabis is one of the least harmful drugs and its subsequent prevalence among young people. Prof McKeganey said: "Our level of cannabis use is among the highest in Europe. The young do not see it as a notable drug and that is hugely worrying. We must put the cannabis debate back to the forefront." Meanwhile, a pressure group is to highlight the dangers of smoking among schoolchildren as a "gateway" to cannabis use. The anti-smoking group ASH plans to hold a conference in Edinburgh this spring and it will feature the latest advice from narcotics experts. A spokesman for ASH said: "The dangers of cigarettes as a gateway to cannabis are apparent. We intend to underline this fact." Earlier this month, the Executive called for urgent efforts to dispel the myth among schoolchildren that cannabis use is acceptable in society. The substance was downgraded to class "C" last year - lessening the penalties for possession. Heavy use of cannabis has been associated with mental illness and the effects of the drug on the still-developing brains of young people are believed to be more severe. Prof McKeganey said: "It is highly concerning that children perceive cannabis as a part of their daily social life. Reclassification allowed police to focus on heroin; that focus eclipsed cannabis, pushing it to a sideline when we needed to pay it as much attention as heroin. "Cannabis signals the onset of drug use and when children are exposed only to [advice from] kids like themselves, the risks seem meaningless. I believe they need exposure to recovered addicts who can speak with honesty and power." Research has shown an increase in children smoking cannabis - a situation described by experts as a "timebomb" with the risk of severe mental and physical illness in future. Drug services in Scotland have been forced to divert their resources into combating the more immediate menace of heroin and, according to experts, the current generation of cannabis users may be missed because the health risks are rated lower than those of class-A drugs. Margot Ferguson, the general manager of West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service, one of Scotland's busiest agencies, said the use of cannabis needed to be taken more seriously. She said: "Cannabis has been tailing into insignificance because of heroin. Services with limited resources are forced to tackle the hard end of drug users, those who die or develop immediate, very complex problems. "We must not allow ourselves to leave a major [cannabis] problem behind. Ordinary cigarettes are now a 'gateway' drug." Official figures suggest cannabis use has risen yearly for a decade and caused a 60 per cent increase in health problems. The number of convicted cannabis offenders has also risen from about 4,000 in the early 1990s to double that today. It is now estimated cannabis is used by 20 per cent of all teenagers. It is thought to be taken by about six per cent of all 13-year-olds. Two mental health organisations, SANE and Rethink, want the drug reclassified and have asked for an investigation into links with mental illness. Doctors first linked cannabis to psychotic symptoms 20 years ago and the British Medical Journal recently reported the drug doubled the risk of developing such symptoms. However, the liberal lobby is unconvinced. The writer Olaf Tyaransen, a pro-cannabis campaigner, described medical studies as "rubbish". He added: "They [mental patients] would probably have developed schizophrenia regardless." - --- MAP posted-by: Josh