To ask how common is cannabis smoking?

[Netcurtainnelly]

Brothers son smokes it. Holds down a job and his financial commitments.
Hasn't progressed to any other drugs.
Been doing it for some years.
Its never spoken about. I just know he does.
I dont really have anyone to ask but i just thought I'd ask you mumsnetters.
It is common. He's mid thirties.

Wow. I never claimed to be anything to do with medical knowledge, so take your boxing gloves off, and take a breather.

I have been in hospital with people who were psychotic due to smoking weed. It was not helping them. It made them ill.

Do you get them medically? I have an assessment next week for medical and keen to try edibles to save my lungs .

i smoke it for pain relief /relaxation and it helps my overall wellbeing . I don’t smoke it with tobacco and keen to try gummies and oil

Exactly the same here - two people in my life who had full blown psychosis - one of whom made a nest out of shoes and lived under his bed for a week until we got him help, the other just became a nasty piece of work (but it's surely a mellow drug?!) and ended up committing a crime under the influence (theft). I think it's a total myth that it's not as bad as x/y/z and it's really not an issue. Like any drug, you don't know how it is going to affect a person - not everyone is going to be mellow (what a 1970s lie) and it can really fuck up your brain.

Yep. When my brother was diagnosed they told him not to drink much as it'd make him more likely to relapse or make his symptoms worse. I don't see why weed would be any different. They knew he didn't smoke weed regularly (he smoked it once abroad and then not long after started getting symptoms) but he's always had alcohol issues. I've never touched either because of this and I still believe him smoking weed abroad that one time had something to do with bringing on his psychosis.

@XenoBitch I have observed the same. Sad to say it doesn't seem to matter. So called progressives in developed countries have narcissistically decided that international drug control is all about harshing their personal freedoms. That "the man" is really bothered about some arsehole in Stoke on Trent getting high, as opposed to battling over a lucrative supply chain. And that getting high in Stoke on Trent is therefore sticking it to the man and is therefore an act that is laudable, beyond question, healthy and virtuous.

My sister smoked a lot of weed and it led to alcohol issues too - both of which escalated to serious usage that was so detrimental. Worse than I have outlined in my previous examples. I totally sympathise. She isn't one of the two people I mentioned in my earlier post, but it's certainly turned a screw in her brain. Her memory is useless - maybe some of which is a defence mechanism, who knows - but more importantly, she has been sectioned more than once because she has had psychotic episodes. It's rough, but it didn't come from nowhere and she's been told so often that she needs to stop smoking and drinking, but she doesn't want to. She, in her more lucid moments, thinks it is to do with some really strong skunk she had in a house party in 2012.

A fair few of them have committed suicide.

And the 1000's of millions who do smoke weed have not.

So what's your point?

You know that far more people die from drinking alcohol, right?

Probably. I believe the same is true with weed - i.e. it's more likely to trigger psychosis in those with a family history or who are susceptible.

I don't really care if people smoke it. I think it should be legalised and taxed like anything else. I just wish people would admit they love getting blazed rather than all this cringe self rationalisation we usually see. If I had a pound for every time I've heard a stoner say "it's better than getting blind drunk every night" I'd be living in the Caribbean lol.

I mean, yeah, it is better than being a raging alcoholic but that's a kinda low bar to aim for. Most people just have a couple of glasses of wine or a beer in the evening, which barely touches the sides. Even my boozier mates aren't generally getting shitfaced on a school night.

But pretty much every regular toker I know gets proper 😑 when they have it. None are having just two puffs and stopping for the night. Tbf that's partly because of the mechanism. A single drink will hardly touch most people but smoking a single joint/vaping a single nug will get you chonged af.

You get a medical exemption with a prescription. They have to prove impairment

Having just googled it seems that scientists now believe moderate drinking doesn't give all the benefits they previously thought. That was mostly when compared with heavy drinking. Flawed methodology it seems.

But weed also seems pretty bad according to most of the latest studies. Obv at it's worst when smoked but even edibles can seemingly reduce vascular function to that of a cigarette smoker.

Whether It’s Smoking or Edibles, Marijuana Is Bad for Your Heart

A new study led by UC San Francisco researchers finds that chronic cannabis use — whether it’s smoked or consumed in edible form — is associated with significant cardiovascular risks.

The report, published May 28 in JAMA Cardiology, found that people who regularly used marijuana in either form had reduced blood vessel function that was comparable to tobacco smokers. Vascular function in those who used cannabis by either means was reduced roughly by half compared to those who did not use it.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/05/430051/whether-its-smoking-or-edibles-marijuana-bad-your-heart

Cannabis Users Face Substantially Higher Risk of Heart Attack

Two new studies add to mounting evidence that people who use cannabis are more likely to suffer a heart attack than people who do not use the drug, even among younger and otherwise healthy adults. The findings are from a retrospective study of over 4.6 million people published in JACC Advances and a meta-analysis of 12 previously published studies being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).

Researchers found that cannabis users younger than age 50 were over six times as likely to suffer a heart attack compared to non-users. The meta-analysis, which is the largest pooled study to date examining heart attacks and cannabis use, showed a 50% increased risk among those who used the drug.

https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2025/03/17/15/35/Cannabis-Users-Face-Substantially-Higher-Risk

Smoking cannabis associated with increased risk of heart attack, stroke

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, uses data from nearly 435,000 American adults, and is among the largest ever to explore the relationship between cannabis and cardiovascular events.

The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, found that daily use of cannabis — predominately through smoking — was associated with a 25% increased likelihood of heart attack and a 42% increased likelihood of stroke when compared to non-use of the drug.

www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/smoking-cannabis-associated-increased-risk-heart-attack-stroke

Sorry, i had to laugh at this. You just described my constantly blazing neighbours at the end of the road. Add pajama bottoms all day and not walking the dog.

@EarlofShrewsburyis NHS diagnosed PTSD an eligible condition?

I don't but it seems to be rife amongst younger people. I live in a rural area but smell it all the time, particularly wafting out of souped up cars unfortunately.

A few people in my area seem to smoke it, some people reek of it so I think it's pretty common, thankfully nobody I am friends with smokes it but most have tried it at one point.

You could just Google various studies that state the percentage of people in different age groups and countries who've used various substances in the last year, or ever.

I think it's still the most widely used 'illegal' drug in the UK but not sure if it's got more or less common in the last few years. I just quickly looked and it said 7.2% used it in the last year.

Students too! Every single one of us bar this one guy smoked it in my halls of residence. He moved out pretty quick and the girl that moved in was a smoker.

Yes. It's an eligible condition.

But obviously if it's the right treatment depends on the individual.

There is a list of conditions on most clinics websites.

Check alternaleaf.