Open letter to Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of SANE


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February 2005

Note: Following an update of the SANE website the links in this item no longer work.

This is an open letter to the charity SANE written by Helen who is the parent of a young man who has schizophrenia. These are Helen's words, not UKCIA's.

To Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of SANE in response to the press release on 29th January, the anniversary of reclassification of cannabis from a class B drug to a class C in which they called for a reversal of the reclassification.

Read SANE's reply and UKCIA comment here

Dear Marjorie,

On Saturday 29th January, you ran a press release in which it was said "we would urge the Government to reverse its decision on classification urgently, backing that with a multi-million pound education and awareness campaign on the dangers of cannabis for young people whose brains are developing."

I am pleased that a mental health charity wants to publicise the mental health risks of cannabis but disappointed that you have chosen to do so in such an ill-informed and harmful way that will have the opposite effect to what you intend.

I am the parent of a young man with schizophrenia which developed after heavy use of skunk as a teenager. I did not know when he became ill that there were risks associated with cannabis use.

You say that SANE has campaigned for 18 years about the destructive link between cannabis and schizophrenia. There is no indication of this on your website, in which you present cannabis as a comparatively harmless drug

It is very very important to get across the potential health risks for some, in particular teenagers, that cannabis can have. I absolutely agree with you that there needs to be education, but reclassifying to back to class B is not the way to do this.

If health messages are given in the context of telling people that they shouldn't be doing it, it will not be believed. If you want to reduce the potential harm from cannabis use it is important that people have the information about its risks, and then it is up to them armed with this knowledge whether or not they follow the advice.

By linking a health message with a prohibition message all you are doing is alienating the people that you want to inform and the exercise becomes pointless.

Furthermore - the message about the mental health risks from cannabis are less likely to be believed and taken seriously if you talk about increasing punishments for use.

Many cannabis users are sceptical about the findings about the risks of cannabis.

* Because its seen as just another reason the government is using to keep it illegal. And don't forget that this government is still dragging its feet over allowing people who need it as a medicine to use it. This is not a situation that builds trust.

* Because many don't have the experience of the effects that it does have on some people's mental health. And cannabis is complex and there are different types : it can also have mental health benefits for some people. Ignoring others experience is not beneficial.

* Because its only presented as reasons not to use it - its not presented as showing how to use it safely, with sensible harm reduction measures such as age limits. Which can't be done because cannabis is illegal.

I support UKCIA in its campaign for legalisation with health education and information as well as effective quality controls.

Information so that if people choose to use cannabis they can do so in a way that takes in a account of the risks. And working together to find ways of protecting children, from the particular vulnerability of cannabis on their
developing brains but also to keep them safe from the dangers of the illegal market.

Outright banning does not inform.

I am totally opposed to any argument for legalisation that claims cannabis is harmless, but supportive of any that wants legalisation of it for safe, informed use.

Through many discussion with cannabis users and campaigners I have observed that the debate is changing - more and more are looking for harm reduction measures. It makes sense to work with them and not against them. For a health campaign group like yours to demand a return to class B works to alienate those you wish to inform.

However much money is put into leaflets and public information campaigns, within the context of prohibition its going to be treated with scepticism. Or even worse, ridicule. The damage done by the "Reefer Madness" stuff of the thirties is still with us now, and makes it very difficult to get clear messages across about safe use.

For instance the statement you made "for vulnerable people, especially teenagers, the innocent spliff in the playground, or chilling out, could trigger a journey of life-long disintegration." This is emotive language, it isn't factual. And not in any way going to help the vulnerable people, you wish to help. The fact is that heavy use of cannabis particularly strong strains increases the risk significantly of developing schizophrenia. And these risks are much higher for teenagers.

So Marjorie, if you really want to have an effective health information campaign, and I would support you in doing so, you need to show that you have greater awareness of the issues than you have shown by your statement.
Reclassify cannabis to class B would be a ridiculous damaging move, that would not benefit anybody

Yours sincerely,

Helen

Contact: tiny.vol@ntlworld.com

UKCIA is the website of the leaglise cannabis camapaign www.ukcia.org

Notes:

SANE press release

Comment by Marjorie Wallace, Chief Executive of the mental health charity SANE, on the link between cannabis and mental illness

“SANE has campaigned for 18 years about the destructive link between cannabis and schizophrenia. The fact that Britain has become the cannabis capital of Europe is an indictment of the way in which professionals and governments have ignored years of mounting evidence that, far from it being a relatively harmless recreational drug, for vulnerable people, especially teenagers, the innocent spliff in the playground, or chilling out, could trigger a journey of life-long disintegration.

We have growing evidence from our 1,000 callers a week that the current culture of taking cannabis makes treatment difficult and adversely affects the prognosis for those who become psychotic. While an inquiry would have been welcomed before the lowering of the classification of cannabis last year – making it more easily available and giving out messages that it is relatively harmless – we would urge the Government to reverse its decision on classification urgently, backing that with a multi-million pound education and awareness campaign on the dangers of cannabis for young people whose brains are developing.”

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As of 3rd February 2005, the SANE website carried this information on cannabis:

Cannabis

Cannabis (slang names pot, dope, blow, ganja, grass, weed, hash) is derived from Cannabis sativa (Indian Hemp), a bushy plant which grows in many parts of the world including Britain, and is used as a relaxant and mild intoxicant. Different parts of the plant vary in their potency. Hash or hashish is the resin exuded from the top of the plant; it is scraped off and made into blocks. This is the most common form of the drug in Britain. The resin is usually rolled into cigarettes (joints, spliffs or reefers), mixed with tobacco and smoked. A joint containing a gram or less of resin will make the smoker mildly intoxicated; the resin may also be eaten. Cannabis oil, made by solvent extraction from the resin, is an even more potent product also used for 'joints'. It is not much used in Britain. The dried leaves of the plant may also be used as a less potent preparation known as marijuana or Mary Jane.

Although the plant can be grown in Britain indoors and out, most cannabis in this country is imported illegally from North Africa and the Middle and Far East. Cannabis is by far the most widely used of the street drugs and surveys have shown that at least 5% of the population admit to having used it. There are about I million current users in the United Kingdom.

The most common effects are talkativeness, relaxation, cheerfulness and enhanced appreciation of sound and colour. There is a reduction in the ability to do complicated tasks, short-term memory can be affected and there is some difficulty in concentration. Heavy use in some people may produce a similar psychosis to that found in amphetamine users. There is continuing controversy about whether cannabis, which does alter perception, can cause full-blown psychotic illness. The prevalence of cannabis abuse among people with schizophrenia is the same as that in the general population so it probably has no causative role. There is however evidence that cannabis can cause temporary psychosis in those who have already experienced schizophrenia, although the condition is short-lived depending on the level of cannabis in the blood. Cannabis is best avoided by any schizophrenia sufferer since it may aggravate the condition.

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