Pubdate: Fri, 8 Jun 2007
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Telegraph Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Graeme Wilson, Political Correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)

CANNABIS PSYCHIATRIC ADMISSIONS SOAR BY 85pc

A dramatic increase in hospital admissions for mental health problems 
caused by cannabis was revealed yesterday.

In just a decade, the number of admissions linked to the drug has 
soared by 85 per cent to almost 1,000, with a 63 per cent rise 
recorded over the past five years alone.

The scale of the increase will reinforce concern that strong 
varieties of cannabis, such as skunk, are causing long-term damage to users.

There have been a number of recent high-profile cases where habitual 
cannabis users have committed brutal murders. At the same time, a 
litany of scientific studies have provided compelling evidence that 
the drug is an important cause of mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

The figures were obtained by the Conservatives through Parliamentary 
questions. When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, there were 510 
admissions where the diagnosis mentioned cannabis use. By 2005-06, 
this figure had shot up to 946.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said ministers needed to 
respond to the growing body of evidence which showed the harm caused 
by cannabis, and the folly of downgrading it to a class-C drug.

"Awareness of the link between mental illness and cannabis has 
increased over recent years, as has the strength of the drug. That's 
why we have opposed the downgrading of cannabis and pledged to have 
it reclassified."

Earlier this year, Thomas Palmer, 18, a heavy cannabis user, was 
jailed for life after killing two teenage boys in an "explosion of 
rage" two years ago in Berkshire.

In another case, Ezekiel Maxwell, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed 
Carmelita Tulloch, 51, to death with a kitchen knife after a night 
smoking skunk. The 17-year-old was detained under the Mental Health 
Act after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of 
diminished responsibility.

Researchers have already warned that one in four new cases of 
schizophrenia could be triggered by cannabis by the end of the decade.

Last month, the Institute of Psychiatry found that THC, the chemical 
in cannabis which gives people a "buzz", reduces activity in the 
inferior frontal cortex, the part of the brain that keeps people sane.

At least five international studies have shown that cannabis can 
double the risk of mental health problems, including schizophrenia. 
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