Last weekend, I turned the corner with my 5 y.o. and there was a strong smell of marijuana smoke.  At 3pm.  On a Saturday afternoon.  The teens were grouped, smoking on a footpath leading up to the playground.  My 5 y.o. kept walking towards them, oblivious. I took his hand and led him back away, down the longer way around the building.  It was the second Saturday afternoon this year that teens are smoking cannabis in broad daylight.

Why am I thinking about it today?   I had another of the increasingly frequent conversations about cannabis addiction in my adult outpatient clinic today.  And if it is coming up in clinic, it’s only because it’s causing problems for the patient.

There are 2 common responses to open drug use. One is to wring our hands and say what a state the community is in that this is now a thing.  Or the other extreme:  sure, it’s harmless and the only problem is that it needs to be legalized. The problem with  either of these approaches is they don’t really talk about the damage that cannabis is doing to mental health, or are doing a hard look at the evidence.

Five things a savvy parent or consumer should know:

• The use of marijuana can often be somewhat romanticised, referencing nostalgic looks back to the 60’s – 70’s – but forgets to include a historical fact that THC content in drugs at until the 90’s was around 2% (or less). Currently, we are seeing 10-16% THC in the drugs being seized. The concentration can be even higher in preparations such as edibles.

• While there are some potential benefits to medical marijuana, the evidence is limited, and then only to only a few conditions. The increasingly wild claims are unsurprisingly made by those marketing cannabis.

• Legalisation often dominates discussions but it shouldn’t – it’s a separate issue. Alcohol is highly misused and addictive legal drug that has huge costs to our society, including the healthcare budget.  Gambling also proves that just because something is legal doesn’t mean there aren’t serious problems with it. Remember there is always an industry that stands to benefit from legalisation.

• Mythbusting:  Cannabis is addictive (between 8 – 9 % of regular adult users will become addicted.)

• Cannabis use in adolescents causes serious mental health problems, including psychosis and increases risk of schizophrenia. 80% of new psychiatric referrals for drug addiction are in those under the age of 18.

Is your use problematic?  Score yourself below:

If you scored 8 or more, you should consider reducing your use.  If you score 12 or more, you may need professional help with your marijuana use.  You can start with your GP.  The HSE also has a guide to helping people cut down on use. You can also check out Marijuana Anonymous Ireland.