How we could make cannabis safer for users
Posted on 2 March 2017
Ian Hamilton writes for The Conversation on the topic of making cannabis safer for users.
"Most cannabis users find that the effects of occasional use of the drug are pleasurable, but some regular users experience harm. Daily cannabis use can lead to cannabis dependence, and heavy use, over months and years, can lead some users to experience memory impairment and psychotic symptoms – hearing and seeing things that are not there.
"Even though problem users are a minority, the number of people who use cannabis means that this minority actually represents a significant number of people. In the UK, about one in 11 people who try cannabis will develop a dependency. This equates to about 200,000 people. So if we could make cannabis safer, thousands of people would benefit."
What makes cannabis risky?
"Unlike users in the US, those in Europe and the UK often smoke cannabis and tobacco joints, so one of the risks, along with cannabis dependency, is that the user can also develop a tobacco addiction. Daily or near daily use of cannabis is thought to be related to impaired thinking and reasoning (cognition). And heavy use over months and years can interfere with attending school, completing education and performing well at work.
"A novel idea proposed by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry and University College London is to find a ratio of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) that minimises the adverse effects of cannabis on health and brain functioning – this would probably involve increasing the levels of CBD."
Read the full article at https://theconversation.com/how-we-could-make-cannabis-safer-for-users-73638.