CANNABIS PSYCHIATRIC ADMISSIONS SOAR BY 85pc

A dramatic increase in hospital admissions for mental health problems
caused by cannabis was revealed yesterday.

In just a decade, the number of admissions linked to the drug has
soared by 85 per cent to almost 1,000, with a 63 per cent rise
recorded over the past five years alone.

The scale of the increase will reinforce concern that strong
varieties of cannabis, such as skunk, are causing long-term damage to users.

There have been a number of recent high-profile cases where habitual
cannabis users have committed brutal murders. At the same time, a
litany of scientific studies have provided compelling evidence that
the drug is an important cause of mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

The figures were obtained by the Conservatives through Parliamentary
questions. When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, there were 510
admissions where the diagnosis mentioned cannabis use. By 2005-06,
this figure had shot up to 946.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said ministers needed to
respond to the growing body of evidence which showed the harm caused
by cannabis, and the folly of downgrading it to a class-C drug.

"Awareness of the link between mental illness and cannabis has
increased over recent years, as has the strength of the drug. That's
why we have opposed the downgrading of cannabis and pledged to have
it reclassified."

Earlier this year, Thomas Palmer, 18, a heavy cannabis user, was
jailed for life after killing two teenage boys in an "explosion of
rage" two years ago in Berkshire.

In another case, Ezekiel Maxwell, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed
Carmelita Tulloch, 51, to death with a kitchen knife after a night
smoking skunk. The 17-year-old was detained under the Mental Health
Act after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of
diminished responsibility.

Researchers have already warned that one in four new cases of
schizophrenia could be triggered by cannabis by the end of the decade.

Last month, the Institute of Psychiatry found that THC, the chemical
in cannabis which gives people a "buzz", reduces activity in the
inferior frontal cortex, the part of the brain that keeps people sane.

At least five international studies have shown that cannabis can
double the risk of mental health problems, including schizophrenia.