'Skunk seven times as harmful' as solid hash
POWERFUL "skunk" cannabis is seven times more likely to trigger psychotic illnesses, such as schizophrenia, than traditional solid hash. The new research findings, published yesterday, lend support to claims that the drug is in a class of its own.
Skunk is a form of cannabis that contains high levels of the psychoactive ingredient delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Previous research has shown that pure THC can induce psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations and paranoid delusions. Some experts believe skunk is so potent it should be treated on a par with Class A drugs cocaine and Ecstasy.
Skunk dominates the cannabis market and its price has dropped to less than 5 a gram. This makes it as affordable as milder forms of the drug, which was one of the chief reasons the government decided to upgrade cannabis from Class C to Class B status.
Dr Marta di Forti, of the Institute of Psychiatry in London, who led the research published yesterday in the British Journal of Psychiatry, said: "Our most striking finding is that patients with a first episode of psychosis preferentially used high-potency cannabis preparations of the skunk variety."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Scottish independence: I don’t want ‘separatism’ says Sir Tom Farmer
- Scottish independence: Labour voters ‘will deliver independence’
- Craig Levein insists Scotland will recover from US thrashing
- Rangers administration: End game nears for fallen icon
- Tom English: ‘A mammoth investigation, so vast that it is without parallel in the history of the Scottish game’
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
