Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Cannabis legislation | |
Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
Date/Time: | 11/09/15 15:58:00 |
Ultimately you have to balance anecdote with research because the latter can't reach a definitive conclusion by giving children cannabis for a number of years with a control group who don't take it to measure the relative outcomes. Research that has been undertaken is always likely to be distorted by interview subjects lying about their cannabis use - there is likely to a tendency for light users and non-users to overstate consumption and heavy users to deny using it at all (out of cannabis induced paranoia some would argue). What we can say with some certainty is a regular cannabis user is twice as likely to develop some form of psychosis than a non user. The debate boils down to whether you think this is explained by people with psychosis having a greater tendency to turn to cannabis or cannabis causing psychosis. The former explanation always seemed to me a bit unlikely and the latest research also seems to be increasingly discrediting this argument. The following is from the Royal College of Psychiatrists:- 'Over the past few years, research has strongly suggested that there is a clear link between early cannabis use and later mental health problems in those with a genetic vulnerability - and that there is a particular issue with the use of cannabis by adolescents.' http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/cannabis.aspx |