GETTING POTTY ON CANNABIS

As a parent and a parent educator I am astounded that neither Nandor
Tancoz nor the recently released Potted Facts made mention of the
potential mental health effects of marijuana.

When we hear Professor Robin Murray of the Institute of Psychiatry in
London site studies that suggest cannabis users are seven times more
likely to develop mental health problems, we as a nation need to sit
up and take notice.

When we read of a NZ study that found those who used cannabis at 15
were four and a half times more at risk of developing psychosis by the
age of 26, we need to do something.

And of a seven-year Australian study that showed that daily cannabis
use at 14 to 15 years of age was associated with a five-fold risk of
depression at the age of 20, then surely as families and a nation we
have to sit up and take notice.

The "drugs are harmless brigade" tend to have a knee jerk response to
anecdotal tales of psychiatric breakdowns and indeed any link between
marijuana and psychosis.

Yet surely as parents and a society we should always err on the side
of caution when considering the mental health of young people.

Indeed not doing this, when we know that 50 per cent of our teenagers
have tried or are using marijuana, constitutes a total disregard for
public safety and the mental health of the next generation.

Jennie Milne, Coordinator, How to Drug Proof your Kids, Focus on the
Family NZ