‘As a psychiatrist, I see the clear negative effects of cannabis on mental health every single week in my clinical work’.
The recent report from the Oireachtas Justice Committee on the proposed decriminalisation of certain drug use is timely and important (“Minor drug use ‘should not be criminalised’”, November 5th).
The committee recommended that possession of small amounts of illegal drugs, such as cannabis, for personal use should not be dealt with through the criminal justice system, and small-scale users should be treated with compassion.
The development of a more nuanced approach to low-level drug use is welcome. There are, however, two key questions about cannabis in particular, and it is critical that the two are not conflated. First, can cannabis affect mental health?
Second, should cannabis be decriminalised, legalised or have its legal status changed in any other way? The two questions are linked but they are also separate in certain important ways. Confusing the two questions simply confuses the debate.
From the point of view of mental health, cannabis increases risk of anxiety, depression and severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression). Some people with early symptoms of mental illness use cannabis in an attempt to self-medicate, but, even taking this into account, cannabis still increases risk. These effects are dose-related: the more cannabis a person uses, the greater the risk.
Source: Brendan Kelly, The Irish Times, 27/11/15
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