CANNABIS A MINOR RISK TO MENTALLY UNSTABLE: DOCTOR

WELLINGTON - Cannabis use has little effect on mental illness, apart from a
small group of people suffering from schizophrenia or predisposed to the
disease, MPs were told yesterday.

Dr John Marks, who heads Capital Cost Health's drug and alcohol unit, told
the health select committee that cannabis use caused no significant harm.

The committee is holding an inquiry into the mental health effects of
cannabis and will report to Parliament and make recommendations to the
Government.

Dr Marks, a member of the Drug Policy Forum Trust, a doctors' group that
supports decriminalising the drug, said cannabis use could worsen the
condition of some schizophrenics - about one in 10,000 of the population.

Dr Nick Judson, the Ministry of Health's deputy director of mental health,
said cannabis caused fewer problems than tobacco and alcohol.

People who used cannabis occasionally had few health problems. Long-term and
heavier users could suffer subtle cognitive impairment.

Research had not shown that cannabis use damaged the brain structure, he
said. But in high doses it could cause acute psychosis.

Cannabis did not cause schizophrenia, but it might trigger the illness in
people at risk, said Dr Judson. No more than 3 per cent of the population
was at serious risk.

He said research showed cannabis could be therapeutic, particularly for pain
and stress relief.

The select committee announced its inquiry in April amid calls for the drug
to be decriminalised.

The inquiry will look at the effect of cannabis on people's development, the
role of the drug as a trigger for mental illness, the effects of cannabis on
Maori mental health, and the adequacy of services for those with
drug-related mental illnesses.

Ria Earp, the ministry's deputy director of Maori health, said more research
was needed on the effects of cannabis on Maori mental health. More
appropriate drug and alcohol services were needed for Maori.

The committee was told that about 10 per cent of cannabis users had a
dependency problem which was a similar level to other drugs but much less
than tobacco.

Dr Hadorn, who heads the doctors' trust, said the pharmacological effects of
cannabis were relatively benign. It had been used for centuries and was well
accepted for stress relief.

He said it was important to consider the research, rather than be distracted
by anecdotal evidence about the small number of people who had problems.

"The research evidence shows that cannabis is at most a small contributor to
the development and exacerbation of mental illness throughout the world."

People who dealt only with those who had problems with cannabis - such as
police and health workers - had a very narrow view, he said.

A trust member, Dr Peter Crampton, of the Wellington School of Medicine,
said the criminal status of cannabis made the mental health consequences worse.

Cannabis use had decreased or remained the same in countries or states where
its use had been decriminalised.

Dr Hadorn said anti-drug campaigns aimed at children increased drug use
because they stimulated curiosity. Children needed to be told at a young age
they should not smoke cannabis.

Dr Marks said studies of cannabis, dating back to last century, had all
exonerated the drug.

It was therapeutic for diseases such as glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cancer
and HIV. - NZPA

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett