Pubdate: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 Source: Belfast Telegraph (UK) Copyright: 2009 Belfast Telegraph Newspapers Ltd. Contact: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/42 WHY THE DRUGS REALLY DON'T WORK We know that cannabis is the drug of choice among most young people. Those who use it argue that it is relatively safe, but the evidence shows that they are deluding themselves. Users can get hooked on the drug and it can cause long term mental health problems. The recent reclassification of the drug to Class B sends out a mixed message, that somehow it does not carry the same risks at other, so-called hard drugs. Those who treat habitual users tell a very different story. Drug counsellors have revealed a very disturbing picture of cannabis abuse in the province. Children as young as nine have been treated for problems associated with the drug. That is a shocking statistic. Any parent with a nine-year-old child will be astounded that he or she could be a frequent drug user. It would be shocking enough to know that they had smoked a cigarette at that age, but to accept that some nine year olds take cannabis sets a new moral low for our society. One of the advantages of cannabis from a user's perspective is that it is relatively cheap, apparently going for ?20 a bag. Children are binge smoking the drug just as others are binge drinking. The real danger of cannabis is to young people whose brains have not yet matured. And, inevitably they move onto harder varieties of the drug such as skunk, which is much more toxic. One drug counsellor describes the future mental health problems caused by cannabis as a ticking time-bomb. Official statistics show that out of 186 under-18s treated for drug problems, 142 cases involved cannabis. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Given that thousands of young people regularly use the drug, it would be wildly optimistic to imagine that the official statistics cover all who desperately need help. One group of counsellors in Ballymena are currently treating 50 young people for the effects of cannabis, while another organisation is seeking around 20 referrals a week. It has to be remembered that those are only the people who want to be helped or who have been en couraged to seek help. Many others are blissfully smoking away according to one GP cannabis is now being used just like tobacco unaware of the problems they are creating for themselves. But even at the tender age of 21 or 22 they are already displaying some of the mental ill-health symptoms associated with drug abuse. The health problems of cannabis misuse are exacerbated by the fact that no-one is quite sure what the young people are smoking. Habitual users say that all sorts of ingredients are mixed with the drug to retain it "high" performance, but these ingredients can be much more dangerous than the small amount of cannabis actually sold. Drug peddlers have no scruples and care nothing for the long-term health of those they get hooked on drugs of any variety. Young people must realise that every time they use cannabis or any other drug they are playing Russian roulette with their health and the effects are likely to be apparent sooner rather than later. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart