MAJORITY OF TEEN PSYCHOSIS CASES USED CANNABIS

As many as 60 per cent of young people in east Kent suffering from
their first episode of psychosis smoke or have a history of smoking
cannabis.

The new figures, provided by the NHS, reveal that in mental health
patients aged 14 to 35, half had taken or were taking the drug.

For younger service users, aged 14 to 25, the rate is 63 per
cent.

Karen White, medical director of Kent and Medway NHS and Social
Care Partnership Trust, said: "That gives you an idea of the
relationship between its use and psychosis.

"The youngest group that have psychosis are or have been cannabis
users and they are not very old so it is in the recent past.

"I haven't got exact numbers [for west Kent] but it is safe to say
it is the same."

A national charity that helps people with the most severe mental
illness, Rethink, has launched a campaign urging the Government to
spend more money raising awareness about the psychological dangers of
cannabis among children.

It aims to highlight the dangers of the drug including the fact
that cannabis smokers under the age of 15 are four times more likely
to experience psychosis.

Dr White said the trust, which is responsible for mental health
services in the county, supported the campaign.

She said the damage cannabis can do to people's mental health and
its link to psychosis is backed up by good research.

Asked about so-called 'super skunk', she said: "When the
biochemists analyse the cannabis of today it seems about 18 times
stronger than in the 60s and 70s.

"Certainly the number of young people presenting with psychotic
illnesses who have been or are now smoking cannabis is enormous."

The charity believes the Government is wasting time reclassifying
cannabis instead of warning people about the dangers.

"We have got to educate and give young people the facts," Dr White
said. "It is key to get it across in a way they will listen so they
can weigh up the risks."

She said the early intervention teams across the county were doing
outreach work in local schools teaching young people about how common
it is to develop psychosis and what the warning signs are.

But Dr White said there was more that could be done and that
educating young people needed to be "broadened out" and include for
example the criminal justice services.

The teams face a hard job when according to Rethink one in four
people think cannabis is better for you than coffee.

This year the Government is due to announce the results of a review
into the reclassification of the drug.

The charity said: "Changing the classification won't stop people
using cannabis. Our survey found only three per cent of people who had
quit cannabis gave illegality as a reason for quitting.

"Jailing people will not solve the problem. The money spent on
re-classifying cannabis again should instead be spent on health
education, services for cannabis addiction and further research into
the links with mental illness."

Dr White, who previously worked as a consultant psychiatrist, said
reclassification gave out the wrong message.

She said that some research suggests that people who smoke cannabis
are five times more likely to develop anxiety and depression, which
suggests long-term damage.

One in 10 people of any age will have an experience such as
developing hallucinations and paranoid ideas - cannabis can have an
adverse effect at any age, she said.