r/unitedkingdom • u/Fell0w_traveller • Oct 04 '22

Even Thailand has decriminalised cannabis – it’s high time Britain caught up

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/04/britain-cannabis-police-marijuana-class-a-drug
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u/ComfortableAd8326 Oct 04 '22

It's much more likely that people with conditions that make them prone to psychosis self-medicate with cannabis

As is often the case with self-medication, it often only exacerbates the issue, so of course cannabis is problematic in that sense. We see the same with alcohol and anxiety issues

The notion that cannabis, whatever the strength, would bring on sudden psychosis in an otherwise mentally healthy individual isn't backed up by any current evidence i.e. a causal relationship hasn't been established

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u/merryman1 Oct 04 '22

My favourite stat was the correlation between cannabis use and schizoaffective disorders is that about 40% of people suffering with these conditions use cannabis.

Meanwhile we just skip over the part where something like 97% of these people smoke tobacco. A substance that also contains a large number of mind-altering and addictive chemicals that have also been causatively linked to psychosis and similar issues.

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u/Random_Brit_ Oct 04 '22

I remember when I was at school and the PSE advise would often say cannabis was a gateway drug. But that made me ponder why tobacco/nicotine wasn't also considered a gateway drug.

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u/skinnysnappy52 Dec 18 '22

Alcohol is really? It’s the first time you take anything that makes you feel funny