Alcohol, drugs and mental illness

Cannabis
Cannabis is used as a relaxant and mild intoxicant. Different parts of the plant vary in their potency. Cannabis is by far the most widely used of the street drugs and surveys have shown that at least five per cent of the population admits to having used it. There are about one million users in the UK.

The most common effects are talkativeness, relaxation, cheerfulness and enhanced appreciation of sound and colour. There is a reduction in the ability to do complicated tasks, short-term memory can be affected and there is some difficulty in concentration. Heavy use in some people may produce a similar psychosis to that found in amphetamine users. There is evidence that cannabis can cause temporary psychosis in those who have already experienced schizophrenia. Cannabis is best avoided by any schizophrenia sufferer since it may aggravate the condition.

How pure are street drugs?
Drugs bought on the street will either have been medical drugs stolen from the manufacturer at some point in the distribution chain, or will have been imported or manufactured illicitly. Many of these drugs will be impure and may have been adulterated. For this reason, the strength of the drug preparation is unknown (or there may in fact be no active agent present at all) and the adulterants may be very dangerous, especially if injected.

What to do if you become addicted
Although some people who have become dependent on drugs can break from them by their own initiative, most find it difficult. Help is available through your family doctor or through specialist agencies. Such assistance is designed to combine withdrawal from the drug with psychotherapeutic insights into the reasons why you need to escape through the use of drugs.