The Unintended Consequences of Cannabis Prohibition
Leading medical experts have revealed a troubling paradox in drug policy. While intended to reduce cannabis use, prohibition-based approaches have actually driven up the strength of street cannabis, potentially worsening mental health risks for vulnerable individuals.
Professors David Nutt and Ilana Crome, responding to recent concerns about cannabis-induced psychosis, argue that the current situation stems directly from previous policy failures. The very measures designed to protect public health have inadvertently created more dangerous products on the streets.
The Strength Problem and Mental Health Risks
The academics acknowledge genuine concerns about the impact of higher-potency cannabis on people susceptible to psychosis. However, they emphasise that most individuals experiencing cannabis-related psychosis obtain their supply from the unregulated street market.
Prohibition policies have directly contributed to the increased potency of available cannabis, creating what some experts call an 'arms race' in strength as suppliers compete in illegal markets. This has made the mental health problem more severe than it might otherwise have been under different regulatory approaches.
Medical Cannabis Shows Promising Results
Contrasting with the dangers of street cannabis, growing evidence from the Drug Science T21 project and international prescription databases indicates that properly regulated medical cannabis can effectively treat various psychiatric and neurological conditions without inducing psychosis.
The professors strongly caution against limiting medical cannabis access as a method to reduce psychosis rates. They describe this approach as fundamentally flawed, noting that such restrictions would likely harm patients currently benefiting from prescribed cannabis treatments.
The emerging data presents a complex picture: while unregulated high-strength cannabis poses genuine risks, properly administered medical cannabis shows significant therapeutic potential for numerous conditions.
