A plea to watch your teenagers and cannabis use.

[Thandeka]

My darling brother is now 25 for the past 7 years he has suffered from cannabis pyschosis. He has not touched cannabis in last 7 years. He smoked it occasionally as a younger teenager and then heavily for about 6months and that was all it took to change him beyond recognition. He didn't respond to any anti- pyschotic med except clozapine which basically got my brother mostly back and normal. Unfortunately this med is also evil and my brother has had a minor heart attack (a side effect of meds) so they have had to take him off it. This has caused a major relapse and he is currently hospitalised. It is a rock and hard place situation- keep him on the only med that allows him to function as a human but risk him dropping dead of a heart attack.

My brother didn't realise the dangers of cannabis misuse and from speaking to many drugs workers they actually find cannabis the scariest drug- because of it's terribly harmful effects and the fact it is so prevalent. And these guys work with crack addicts so for cannabis to be scarier that's a big deal!

Please talk to your teen about cannabis, it isn't the harmless happy high drug any more. Variants now are so much stronger and have power to permanently alter your brain. Studies have found those most at risk is young men under 25.

I can honestly say that drug has ruined our families life and it terrifies me how many other lives it is ruining by this perception it isn't a dangerous drug. It really is.

I will never get my little brother back completely and at the minute we don't know what is going to happen with him but I had to post in the hope that it may help someone try and prevent it happening to someone they love.

I honestly don't know that they will Riven- but I work with teenagers and i do tell my brothers story and they do seem to take it on board- whether it makes them change their behaviour I will never know. Sigh.

It's important that the adults listen too.
My friend's son now has schitzophrenia and lives in sheltered accommodation because of cannabis use. His parents almost encouraged the cannabis. Because they'd smoked so much of it in their younger days and were fine - but they'd completely underestimated the difference in what the kids are smoking now compared to the simpler grass/resin they understood.

Paisleyleaf- whereabouts in the country are you (PM me if you like)- I think my brother will need sheltered accomodation soonish- he cant stay at home forever. I'm not sure where they are in the midlands will offer it though.

thanks for this. DH works in first onset psychosis so sees daily the affects on young people who may be in the mental health system for their whole lives and stuck on hideous anti-psychotic drugs which damage their health.

Cannabis now is highly engineered to have higher concentrations of THC - adults think that its the same is it was 20/30 years ago - but it is a different drug and highly psycho-active.

I am so sorry to hear about your brother thandeka - have you been offered Family Intervention or Family Therapy? This has been proved to be a major support to those suffering psychosis and their families - offering better outcomes than many of the other treatment options. I don't know about services in the midlands I'm afraid.

Thandeka, I've pm'd you.

agree totally, sorry to read your post. My son is 20 and smoked cannabis since age 13. I will never have the son I once had cannabis has changed his mental health so much and caused many problems. These problems affect the whole family. Cannabis is NOT HARMLESS and anybody who says it is is a fool!!

I wish people realised how Cannabis ruins lives.