Why should we care about cannabis?

Approximately 4 per cent of the world’s adults – some 162 million people – use cannabis every year, making it the world’s most widely used illicit drug. In some countries, more than half of all young people have tried it. In spite of this high rate of usage, many basic facts about cannabis remain obscure. Of particular concern are the recent growth in the drug’s potency, and mounting questions about the role of cannabis in mental illnesses.

In recent years, research has demonstrated that cannabis is becoming more potent. Studies done in key markets such as the Netherlands, the United States and Canada, for example, have shown that the potency of sinsemilla cannabis, made from the unfertilized buds of the female plant, has doubled. The market for this high-potency, indoor-produced variety appears to be growing in many key consumption countries. As the drug grows stronger, users consequently experience more powerful – and dangerous – psychological effects. Emerging research indicates that cannabis consumption may have greater mental health implications than previously believed.

Although it is often seen as a less harmful drug, cannabis use poses several health risks. Even when used only once, cannabis may lead to panic attacks, paranoia, psychotic symptoms and other negative acute effects. The drug may also precipitate psychosis in vulnerable individuals and intensify symptoms in diagnosed schizophrenics. As it is mostly smoked and contain high levels of tar, cannabis additionally puts users at an increased risk of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.

The risk of becoming dependent on cannabis is also higher than most casual users suspect. Regular users risk developing psychological dependence to the point where they cannot quit even when the drug use starts to negatively impact in other areas of their lives, such as work and personal relations. Around 9 per cent of those who try cannabis are unable to stop using it, and demand for treatment for cannabis-related problems has increased in recent years in the US and Europe.
___
source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Driving After Binge Drinking More Common Than Believed

Nearly one in eight binge drinkers say they get behind the wheel and drive within two hours of drinking, U.S. government researchers report. The new research adds a timeline and other new information to what’s known about drinking and driving, said study author Dr. Timothy Naimi, a physician with the alcohol team at the U.S…..

Alaska alcohol: Bootleg bounty?

At the Barrow Distribution Centre business is brisk, and so it should be as the only place for 200 miles (320 km) where you can get alcohol. Locals trot eagerly up the icy front steps, before emerging to struggle back down laden with cases of beer, bottles of spirits and boxes of red wine. There….

Drug rehabilitation center

Number of drug addicts around the globe is increasing day by day. There is no specific age limit, gender difference or even financial discrimination when it comes to drug addiction. The habit of drug addiction is very fatal and also destroying the morale of the society. Therefore, it is very necessary to provide timely help….

Codeine the silent addiction

The term ‘heroin addiction’ conjures up images of the down and out, malnourished and skeletal, banging up drugs in a backdrop of squalor with a dirty syringe full of god knows what; a tatty piece of cord-turned-tourniquet, clenched between the teeth with its distal end inflating the last surviving veins. An arm ravaged by years….

Alcohol keeps ‘cagey’ grip on moms

Before her hidden addiction came to light, Joan Bonsignore always seemed to hold it together. As a mother and wife, she headed school events and ran her husband’s medical practice. But at the height of her alcohol and pill addiction, the Eastchester mother of four wrote goodbye letters to her children, and at one point,….