There's a lot of it about

A LOT of drugs and alcohol stuff around here in the UK at the moment, here’s a summary.

Headline in my local free sheet – ‘Pubs quiet’. Could have said the same for pretty much the whole of the country as 24 hour opening came and went without the predicted riot.
Pete Doherty – no charges apparently (see my earlier post).
Kate Moss – did go to rehab (see my earlier post).
We need more syringe exchange capacity quick – many more people are injecting crack. It has short half life (length of time it stays active in the body) so if you want to stay up you need to inject more – so need more fresh kit. A government Healthcare Commission October 05 press release says that the number of IDU’s – injecting drug users – infected with HIV has risen from 1 in 100 to 1 in 65. This is very scary.
Cannabis drives you mad – yes or no? Amidst calls for its re-classification – again and upgrading to Class B, we await the deliberations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. I think:

a) Some cannabis around is genetically modified and much, much stronger than ordinary herbal puff. Any refined drug is more powerful than its herbal equivalent e.g. skunk v herb, heroin v opium, coca leaf v cocaine, so the risks are greater.
b) People with an underlying mental health problem or a pre-existing mental illness risk acute onset of the illness if they use cannabis or any other mind-altering substance.
c) Cannabis is not a drug for the sensitive. Any drug which makes your friend’s teeth hilarious will also exacerbate bad feelings too. So taking it when you’re upset or unhappy will probably result in more unhappiness.
d) Conversely there is anecdotal evidence that some people with mental health problems get some relief from cannabis – but I haven’t seen any literature to support this so my advice is still to keep away from it if you have a mental health problem.
e) Between 2m and 5m people are thought to be active cannabis users in Britain today. The mental health services are not over-run with these people coming down with psychotic episodes. Which does suggest that a causal link i.e. smoking dope makes you mad is not likely except under the above circumstances – see a, b, and c above.
f) There are as yet no reports of people taking the drug for conditions such as MS or other medical reasons are suffering a greater incidence of psychosis. Just goes to show that the set and setting of drug use remains important.You never see members of our esteemed media coughing up to regular, recreational drug use – but they can’t wait to blow the gaff on every one else.