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The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has warned that cannabis represents the gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland today .
Hospital admissions of young people with a cannabis-related diagnosis have quadrupled over a 12 year period.
As well as the 300% increase in hospital admissions between 2005 and 2017, the College is warning that one in three young people become addicted if they use cannabis weekly or more often.
It adds that cannabis affects a teenager s ability to learn social and problem-solving skills, while potentially stunting cognitive ability and general emotional intelligence.
The College is calling on the government to initiate a comprehensive public awareness campaign on the dangers of the drug, adding that psychiatric services are under huge pressure due to misconceptions that it s mostly harmless.
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The best way to keep cannabis out of the hands of children is to legalise and regulate it, according to an advocate for law reform.
It comes after the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland warned that cannabis represents the
In a new report, the college warns that the number of young people hospitalised with a cannabis-related disorder has jumped 300% in the past 10 to 15 years.
The report also finds that young cannabis users are three to four times more likely to develop psychotic-type disorders.
Campaigners call for cannabis legalisation and regulation to reduce underage use
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On
Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Peter Reynolds President of CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform in the UK, said the best way to reduce cannabis use among children is to legalise it.
Doctors have warned significantly more potent forms of cannabis available in Ireland are resulting in record levels of hospital admissions from the drug - with admission rates trebling over the past decade.
The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland issued the warning as part of a new public health awareness campaign, saying the cannabis people might remember from 20, 30 years ago is not the animal that s out there now .
Speaking to RTÉ s Morning Ireland, Dr Gerry McCarney, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Chair of the College s Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, said there is growing concern over the situation - and its impact on young people in particular.
The CPsychI issued the warning as part of a new public health awareness campaign, saying the cannabis available today is not the same as people might remember from 20 or 30 years ago.
In a new report, the college said hospital admissions of young people with a cannabis-related diagnosis have quadrupled over a 12-year period.
It has called for the government to conduct an urgent review into cannabis use in Ireland and has also begun its own information campaign on the dangers of cannabis.
“Cannabis represents the gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland today, Dr William Flannery, President of the CPsychI and Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist, said.
Cannabis Gravest Threat To Mental Health Of Young People
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Cannabis is the gravest threat to the mental health of young people, according to the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland.
The college has warned that an estimated 45,000 people aged between 15 and 34 are now meeting the criteria for cannabis dependence.
Cannabis-related psychiatric admissions across all age groups have increased by 250% since 2007. The substance also accounted for the largest number of drug-related admissions to general hospitals among under-25s in 2019.
Bobby Smyth, lecturer in Public Health at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and Gino Kenny, People Before Profit TD for Dublin Mid-West, joined us to discuss this.