It’s news that surely surprises no one: smoking high-strength cannabis maydamage your brain. By scanning the brains of people who regularly smoked skunk-like cannabis, researchers at King’s College London observed subtle differences in the white matter that connects the left and right hemispheres and carries signals from one side of the brain to the other. People who did not use cannabis, or who used low-potency cannabis, did not show these differences. While the scientists are unable to say what these changes might mean for the individual cannabis user, the study does suggest it leads to a “less efficient” transfer of information in the brain (talk about stating the obvious, that’s why people smoke it … etc, etc).
It is helpful to have studies that are looking at the effects of cannabis potency on brain structure, even when, anecdotally at least, we know that skunk can be harmful. It has been at least a decade since the market became flooded with stronger strains created by selective breeding. Many of us know someone who has smoked themselves stupid and are more than likely picturing said stoner mate now (if you’re wearing the same pair of trackies you’ve had on since Tuesday, and are desultorily picking at an old bowl of breakfast Bombay mix as you prepare to skin up, then that person is probably you).
Every cannabis user in Britain is aware of how difficult it is to obtain decent quality grass or hash these days and how different an evening can be depending upon what you are able to pick up – be it a nice, mellow high or the feeling of being whacked around the head with a pillowcase full of spanners. Equally, every cannabis user knows how quickly a switch can be flicked to go from crying with laughter to standing in the bathroom having a panic attack, or lying in the dark counting the beat, beat, beat of your heart, terrified it will stop. “When it came to my mental health, no drug has given me more concern than weed,” a friend who has tried pretty much everything once told me.
For many young people heavy skunk use begins during the teenage and university years, while their brains are still developing. I know people who were heavy cannabis smokers during this time in their lives who are fine, functional members of society; I know others who have been plagued by paranoia and anxiety attacks. A former boss of mine could not go into supermarkets alone. Another old friend, who I bumped into on the street, has become practically non-verbal. I have seen how difficult it can be to have a relationship with someone who is stoned all the time and can barely continue a line of conversation. I’m also aware how on any given day weed can provide a blessed respite in a stressful or painful time, but the next can latch on to any mental health problems you may be experiencing and make your fear, anxiety or sadness so much worse.
I’m not talking about spacey, Cheech and Chong, Camberwell carrot, baby boomer bud here – that’s only 2-4 % THC. Potent cannabis contains more like 10-14%, so it’s no wonder it messes some people up. I’m wary of discussing the negative effects of skunk, because so often headlines about “super skunk” are used as scare tactics to support the case against legalisation. It’s stupid, because skunk’s wide availability is largely down to the current legislation and the consequent difficulty in obtaining milder strains. I recently went to Amsterdam with my father, who has MS, and he was overjoyed to be able to smoke hash that he hadn’t seen in Britain since the 1970s.
More than 2 million people in Britain smoked cannabis last year, and last month private analysis by the Treasury found that legalising cannabis would raise taxes worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The savings to the criminal justice system would be enormous. Anyone who has come into contact with people who either use cannabis as pain relief or grow it for people who do knows the argument for legalisation is not just persuasive but a matter of social duty to those whose quality of life can be unbearable as a result of chronic illness. In addition, it’s embarrassing that we are actually behind the US on a progressive issue.
Which is why it’s important that we acknowledge the potential dangers of certain strains of cannabis too. As Charlie Graham-Dixon wrote in a Vice magazine article discussing his teenage stoner habits: “Getting high can be a lot of fun, but let’s not pretend that smoking a load of skunk doesn’t fuck you up.” So often the polarised nature of this debate means that any suggestion that cannabis can be bad for you is met with kneejerk dismissal. Admitting that it can be is an important step towards adding nuance to a discussion that affects the health and wellbeing of those involved. Alcohol and tobacco are worse, yes, but neither is marijuana a miracle drug.
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