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News items on 'Cannabis Dependence'
Science chief backs cannabis view
(BBC 03/11/2009)
The UK government's chief science adviser has told BBC News that he supports the former chief drugs adviser's scientific view on cannabis. Professor John Beddington, the UK's chief scientist, would not be drawn on whether the Home Secretary was wrong to sack Professor David Nutt. David Nutt was chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. He was fired after using a lecture to say cannabis was less harmful than alcohol and tobacco.
US medical cannabis policy eased
(BBC 20/10/2009)
Federal prosecutors in the US have been ordered to stop cannabis-related prosecutions in the 13 states where medical use of the drug is legal. Attorney-General Eric Holder said it was wrong for federal resources to be spent on prosecuting people who were in compliance with existing state laws. But he warned that the authorities would continue to go after traffickers hiding behind medical marijuana laws. The policy is considered a sharp shift from that of the Bush administration.
(BBC 27/09/2009)
In 1996, voters in California approved a referendum that made it legal for the first time in decades in the US for people to consume cannabis for medicinal purposes. More than a dozen states have followed suit since and several others - the most recent of which is Massachusetts - have approved laws decriminalising the possession of small amounts of the drug. Now, there are moves afoot in California to go further to fully legalise marijuana.
NI child drug use 'highest in EU'
(BBC 21/09/2009)
Nearly one in 10 children in Northern Ireland under the age of 12 have tried cannabis, according to a new survey conducted by Queen's University. The survey also found that young people in Northern Ireland are more likely to experiment with drugs than their peers in the rest of the UK and Europe. Figures suggest that 45% of teenagers aged 18 and under have tried cannabis. The Youth Development Survey questioned 4,000 pupils about drugs in 43 schools in Belfast, Ballymena and Downpatrick.
Teens 'aware of cannabis harm'
(BBC 06/08/2009)
Nearly one in two teenagers knows someone who has suffered from a mental health problem like paranoia after using cannabis, a survey suggests. Forty-two percent of 11-18 year olds know someone who has experienced memory loss, panic attacks or paranoia from cannabis, drugs information service Frank said. The survey of 27,000 teenagers found 74% were aware of the risks. It revealed 18% of teenagers felt under pressure to try the Class B drug. One in ten thought it made them look cool.
While a shepherd watched his flock by night...
(The Independent 20/03/2009)
Medicinal purposes are one thing, but marijuana received an unexpected recreational endorsement when Italy's highest court ruled that an Italian shepherd's smoking habit could be justified because he only had sheep for company.
My 'insane' mother kicked me out because of drugs... and then cashed in with a novel about it
(Daily Mail 03/03/2009)
The son of author Julie Myerson has branded her 'slightly insane' and 'naive' for calling him a drug addict. Jake Myerson, who admits to smoking cannabis, rejected the claims his mother makes about him in her new book, The Lost Child. In an interview ahead of the book's launch, Mrs Myerson, a Man Booker Prize nominee, claimed Jake's regular cannabis use had transformed her 'bright, sweet and good-humoured' son into a violent and abusive terror.
Cannabis advert warns of danger
(BBC 16/02/2009)
An advertising campaign warning of the links between cannabis use and mental health damage has been launched. The TV advert depicts the drug's side-effects - memory loss, paranoia and panic attacks - as unwanted guests at a party in the user's brain. The £2.2m Home Office campaign, backing up the drug's reclassification as class B, is aimed at 11 to 18-year-olds.
Marijuana testicular cancer link
(BBC 09/02/2009)
Frequent or long-term marijuana use may raise a man's risk of testicular cancer, American research suggests. The study of 369 men, published in the journal Cancer, found being a regular marijuana user doubled the risk compared to those who never smoked it. The results suggest that it may be linked to the most aggressive form of the cancer [further research required].
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