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Original poster

To think cannabis isn't harmless?

221 replies

freedom26 · 05/01/2025 10:37

Cannabis seems to be normalised and many people don't even consider it a drug. My brother-in-law is a psychiatrist and he says that he fears legalization in the UK as it would increase

In his 20 years of work, he says that the patients who only used, alcohol, or prescription drugs had a far better outcome for their mental health than those who smoked cannabis regularly (apart from the addiction) who regularly visited after suffering a psychotic break.

Cannabis is obviously far safer in terms of physical health than other drugs and not everyone gets the bad effects, but people seem to downplay the potential harm it can cause if you're predisposed to psychosis/schizophrenia.

If I think back my childhood, I went to a high achieving private school were many people I knew dabble in all sorts of drugs and it seemed that even among the excessive users, those who used cannabis and didn't develop psychosis still fared worse in terms of academic achievement than those dependent on alcohol who usually reduced their drinking as they age.

OP posts:
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7
Giggorata · 05/01/2025 12:13

For me, cannabis was the “gateway” drug to smoking tobacco, when I was young…

It depends, I think, on the quantity of THC in the cannabis smoked.
Nowadays, marijuana has been selectively bred, or even genetically modified, to have high levels of THC, which produces a different high from the gentler ones of my youth.
Not so much stronger, just a different ratio of THC to CBD.

But never harmless, psychoactive drugs are never that.

StrawberryWater · 05/01/2025 12:14

Addled my mother's brain. Not harmless at all.

FiveTreeHill · 05/01/2025 12:17

Cannabis obviously isn't harmless. It can cause psychosis, worsening mental health, paranoia. Nothing that alters your mental state is harmless

I think what worries me about cannabis is the fact that people can be very insistent it's harmless, and the people Ive known that go on about how cannabis is completely harmless are the ones who've had problems from it. I know a few people who's lives have been ruined by it

I think if you can acknowledge there's a risk, and are aware of the risks and smoke the odd joint very little harm will come. But the risk comes when you say something is harmless when it's not.

Efacsen · 05/01/2025 12:18

HoppingPavlova · 05/01/2025 11:47

A lot of people with poor MH self medicate with cannabis so it is difficult to separate correlation and cause

This.

This was systematically researched in Sweden 40-50 years ago - with long-term follow up of cannabis naive teenagers revealing the link between cannabis and psychosis

Sadcafe · 05/01/2025 12:22

Seen a couple of people in my career who had only used cannabis and had major and ongoing psychotic episodes and many others whose conditions were made much use by cannabis use, OPs brother in law is spot on

CheekySnake · 05/01/2025 12:22

Absolutely not harmless. Had a close relative who was a heavy user. He had a psychotic breakdown at a relatively young age and was left unable to work. It wasn't just the effects of the drug itself, it was everything around it - he stole from family to pay for it, including from his own children (and this was an adult man with a degree and a professional job). Drug driving. Foul mood swings related to access/use. The house stank of it. Kids couldn't have friends over, not more than once, anyway, because what normal parent is going to let their kid play with a kid with a home that reeks of weed. People who insist it's all fine and dandy and no worse than alcohol and therefore should be legal and easy to access I find a bit naive. Same goes for saying it's available on prescription for medical use and therefore it should be fine to buy it. Tramadol, fentanyl and ketamine are also available on prescription, but I don't think most people would want them freely available to buy.

Easy access to alcohol has hardly been trouble free. So many illnesses/NHS burden/domestic violence/assaults/fatal car crashes/unplanned pregnancies/sexual violence have alcohol as a contributing factor. We've opened Pandora's box with alcohol. I don't think we should do the same with cannabis.

Efacsen · 05/01/2025 12:27

ringoutsolsticebells · 05/01/2025 12:02

Smoking cannabis is far more harmful to lung health than smoking tobacco

Thought to be due to not having state of the art filters unlike cigarettes

elozabet · 05/01/2025 12:34

I agree with your BIL and I think the emerging studies on the effects of cannabis on the teenage brain in particular suggest it's very harmful . I think youngsters think it's fairly harmless as it's been decriminalised and that is a concern. The links between cannabis and mental health are well established even taking into account those who self
Medicate.

The skunk being sold today on the street is a world away from the cannabis of the 60's and 70's.

debauchedsloth · 05/01/2025 12:36

@PlopSofa that article is absolute shit.

Its references are all at least ten years old, most more like 15 years old. So much has changed in relation to adhd since then.

He writes in a sensationalist way - cannabis is addictive ... 9 per cent of users with adhd get addicted is that even statistically indicative of causality?

He says people with ADHD have "brain development is delayed" which frankly is utter bollocks.

@InkHeart2024 you're doing a great job holding a calm, detailed and compelling argument here. If I knew where I could get mild, unadulterated cannabis I'd absolutely do so for my own adhd (diagnosed).

TempestTost · 05/01/2025 12:36

What a lot of bollocks some people have sputed about this.

Cannabis is no longer considered to be non-addictive.

I don't know why anyone claims legalization doesn't increase use, that's certainly not the Canadian experience. Increase in self reported use, increase in ER admissions due to cannabis, increase in people using while driving, increase in incidents of children and pets getting into it in the home and ending up in hospital.

Similar results in Colorado which also legalized cannabis.

What I mean by increase, in the Canadian context, is that use of mj doubled in ten years. So not a marginal amount.

Anecdotally - for whatever reason, when the state legalizes mj, many people seem to take this as meaning it really is not harmful, and behave accordingly. I suppose there is a logic to that, given the way the state has responded to other health risks and such, often they aren't very proportionate, so they conclude that mj would not have been legalized if it was a risk. It seems to have made people very blase - my teenage kids tell me for example that large numbers of kids in their school get mj provided by their parents.

beadystar · 05/01/2025 12:37

I used to think that it was a much better drug than alcohol- sure some people can overdo it, but most can just enjoy it and go on with their lives. And stoners don't get aggressive and nasty like some drunks. And it won't ruin your liver. I used to smoke very occasionally for (successful) pain relief.
However, I now think that's mostly wrong. I had a friend in my twenties who experienced a severe psychotic episode from cannabis use. I saw a friend's boyfriend's IQ and sexual function drop significantly. I now also have a friend in her forties who's been in and out of hospital with severe psychosis.
I think I would regulate it, like a 'proper' drug for pain relief and the positive relief it has for people who have seizures, but recreational use is far too variable.

FiveWhatByFiveWhat · 05/01/2025 12:40

HermioneWeasley · 05/01/2025 10:54

I think the perception of it as harmless comes from the 60s and 70s when people were basically smoking oregano. What’s around today is much stronger and there’s a very clear link with psychosis. It is not safe or harmless.

I know this is not the point of the thread but "basically smoking oregano" really made me laugh, I think that's what my dad was doing 🤣

TempestTost · 05/01/2025 12:44

CraftyNavySeal · 05/01/2025 11:11

That’s because it’s grown by gangs in squats and there is zero quality control or disincentive to grow the strongest possible. It’s like saying we should ban alcohol because people die drinking moonshine under prohibition. The illegality is causing the biggest problem.

If you could buy it in a shop the strength could be limited.

Show quote history

Cannabis for legal sale is still a lot stronger than it was in the 70s and 80s, and the most popular strains in legal settings continue to be the strongest.

Which is about what you'd expect. Drug users want the best high. And if they don't get it in the legal shop all that will happen is there is a huge market for illegal sources, and all of the supposed benefits of cutting that out with legalization are lost.

Mrsbloggz · 05/01/2025 12:45

It's amazing how the very substance that people want to legalise always turns out to be a legitimate medical cure for just about everything. You'd think Big Pharma would be on to it by now
@CranfordScones
Problem is you can easily grow your own, big pharma needs a monopoly to make big profits.

Ivesaidenough · 05/01/2025 12:46

I have a friend who didn't make any attempt to stop her son using it in his teens. He's now so mentally ill he will never work.
So I don't think it's harmless.

user23124 · 05/01/2025 12:51

@CranfordScones use Cannabis for arthritis and MS and it is remarkable, the only way I can get pain relief without hideous side effects. It is not for everyone and it is not harmless but please don't infer that people with chronic pain are drug seeking and trying to influence laws because we are drug addicts - that is an ableist view.

DungareesTrombonesDinos · 05/01/2025 12:51

It is absolutely disgusting and unfortunately my DS smokes it on occasion which makes me so mad I could scream. My best friend was in a relationship with a horribly abusive person who smoked weed all the time and was paranoid and angry and skint. Awful drug

KvotheTheBloodless · 05/01/2025 12:56

InkHeart2024 · 05/01/2025 10:52

It's a fairly mild substance (in the way alcohol is also fairly mild) which can be harmful for people with some mental illnesses or who use it as a crutch to manage difficult life circumstances. By itself it's not particularly harmful, as it's not physically addictive, cannot cause serious illness or death and has fairly benign effects (people aren't likely to go and hurt themselves/start fights etc after smoking cannabis unlike alcohol).
Legalising doesn't increase use, that's a myth that has been dispelled by successful legalisation bills across the world. Cannabis is also legal already in the UK for medical use on prescription so it's acknowledged that it does have some benefits.
Anecdotally, it's used a huge amount by people with ADHD symptoms and seems to be beneficial to a degree. I would like to see more research into cannabis and ADHD and exploration of whether it's a viable alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.
As pp says above, it's used a lot by people with mental ill health and also limited life circumstances so it's simplistic/conflating correlation and causation to say it causes mental health problems.
Fundamentally if it were legalised it would likely lead to no increased use, it could have some benefits for people who can't currently access it on the NHS and would remove the criminal element involved in growing and importing it. It's a net positive.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2755276

You're wrong about legalising it not increasing use - the study linked above suggests that legalising cannabis leads to more people using it.

shockeditellyou · 05/01/2025 12:57

Why on earth would we want to legalise such a shitty substance? We are looking at more restrictions on tobacco and vaping, so why on earth would we go the opposite way with weed?

MikeRafone · 05/01/2025 13:02

Createausername1970 · 05/01/2025 10:41

My understanding is that it can be harmless for some people but have devestating consequences for others.

The people who come here and say they and all their friends used it and had no problems fall into the first category.

Some of my extended family fall into the second.

Some people who smoke live to 90 other get cancer, chd etc and die early, but we don’t know how uncomfortable the people smoking in their 90s feel compared to if they hadn’t smoked

User135644 · 05/01/2025 13:02

TeenLifeMum · 05/01/2025 11:49

I am stunned countries like Canada legalised it and worry about the impact. People with mh conditions use it as a crutch despite evidence suggesting it’ll make mh worse in long term. I really cannot get my head around legalising it.

To regulate it and take the profits off organised crime. Same way we don't ave alcohol Prohibition to enrich Al Capone and Co.

But when did you last see anyone in the street arrested for smoking weed? It's effectively legalised but with organised crime and unregulated. Worst of both worlds.

PlopSofa · 05/01/2025 13:03

debauchedsloth · 05/01/2025 12:36

@PlopSofa that article is absolute shit.

Its references are all at least ten years old, most more like 15 years old. So much has changed in relation to adhd since then.

He writes in a sensationalist way - cannabis is addictive ... 9 per cent of users with adhd get addicted is that even statistically indicative of causality?

He says people with ADHD have "brain development is delayed" which frankly is utter bollocks.

@InkHeart2024 you're doing a great job holding a calm, detailed and compelling argument here. If I knew where I could get mild, unadulterated cannabis I'd absolutely do so for my own adhd (diagnosed).

My cleaner is a lovely person with ADHD. She has smoked cannabis for years. She’s utterly stuck in a rut. She cannot get out of the hole, she wants a different life. I can’t help think that cannabis makes her stay there. She says she’s not addicted…

Ive smoked myself and I don’t think it helps the mental frame of mind long term. But well it’s all subjective and individual.

it’s interesting that you swing back so defensively. I have no axe to grind either way. Please would you post more positive research in ADHD and cannabis use. I’d be interested to see it.

HRTQueen · 05/01/2025 13:07

Spend time in any mh facility and you will not come away thinking cannabis is harmless. The overwhelming issue in young people particularly male of mh deterioration leading to psychosis is linked to patients cannabis use is shockingly high and increasing

the levels of thc in cannabis that the majority of young people are using is extremely high

i am for legalising cannabis as I would prefer people had choices of good well produced cannabis with lower levels of thc than what is often on the market and also it can have positive benefits but this is not for everyone

i know many stoners who will claim cannabis is the answer to many things, they all talk the same shit all have big plans and all quite paranoid and low in mood unless stoned but then this can apply to heavy drinkers too

was legalised in California a few years ago but the drug issues there are out of control along with homelessness I am not sure if it has caused more harm but the government is earning billions from this and it’s certainly not going into supporting people with drug/mh issues

BobbyBiscuits · 05/01/2025 13:07

It's not for everyone. The problem is some people continue to use it even when it exacerbates their MH issues. Or they can't afford it without resorting to crime.
But lots of people do get relief from a wide range of illnesses from cannabis.
It's harmless to some, but certainly not all.