DRUG-RELATED PSYCHOSIS ON RISE

Doctor cites cheaper illegal substances

The number of drug users who suffer from mental illness as a result of their
drug use is on the rise, says the regional program director for psychiatry
at Capital Health.

Dr. Patrick White sees three or four patients with the condition, called
drug-induced psychosis, each month.

"And that's just me, personally," he said. "I can't speak for my colleagues,
and how many cases they see."

He said the increase in patient numbers is likely related to the easy
availability and low cost of drugs on the street.

"I obviously can't comment on the quality of the drugs they're getting, but
anecdotally, patients are becoming more agitated, more aggressive, sicker."

White's patients are also getting younger -- some as young as 18.

He said some of the most common drug-induced psychosis symptoms include
schizophrenia, paranoid delusions and hallucinations.

He said the most common drug involved in triggering psychosis is
methamphetamine, and meth users tend to have the most severe symptoms.
Cocaine is also associated with the condition.

A new Statistics Canada survey shows drug use is on the rise in Canada. More
than 12 per cent of Canadians over age 15 said they smoked marijuana in
2001, and about 321,000 Canadians said they tried crack or cocaine.

Some critics of Canadian drug laws said the report showed current policy is
flawed, and that drugs such as marijuana should be legalized. White
disagrees.

"Marijuana has been masqueraded as a drug that's relatively harmless," he
said, "and I just can't agree with that."

Marijuana, while not usually associated with the same kinds of episodes, can
trigger psychosis in people who are predisposed to developing such
conditions, White said.

"I have real serious concerns about the legalization of marijuana."

Scot Purdon, a neuropsychologist with Capital Health, works at the city's
early psychosis intervention clinic. He has also seen an increase in
patients suffering from drug-induced psychosis.

"We're not talking about a plague," he said, "but certainly the numbers are
going up."

Purdon said the increase may have something to do with street drugs becoming
more powerful, and drugs like marijuana being laced with more powerful
narcotics.

"The kids (who visit the clinic) are telling us this," Purdon said. "Some of
them have been smoking this stuff for years, and then they light up that one
joint... ."

Purdon has seen patients as young as 16 suffering from drug-induced
psychosis. He said in many cases, if the patient stops using drugs, the
psychosis symptoms go away.

"If you continue using, though, and damage your brain," he said, "there's no
going back."

There is no way to know who's predisposed to drug-induced psychosis until
the person actually develops it, White said. By then, it's too late.

Drug-induced psychosis inflicts a social toll on patients, he said. Many
patients use prostitution to maintain their drug habit; others suffer from
family and employment problems, as well as the legal implications of drug
use.

White is on the steering committee of Edmonton's regional mental health
plan, which is expected to be released by the end of the summer. He said the
plan will address mental health problems such as drug-induced psychosis.

"Obviously, the best preventative method is to live a healthy lifestyle,"
White said. "But, above all, restrain from these drugs -- you have no idea
how much damage they can do."