I
wish we would all stop this coy shit about drugs. I'm sick to death
of this pretence that in our youth we didn't smoke dope, were never
stoned out of our minds...unless we were SO addled that we genuinely
don't remember...
I
worked in mental health services for much of my adult life. I used to
be a Registered Mental Nurse and aso worked in the volutary sector
and with Social Work Mental Health services.
I
saw a growing cohort of young (mostly) men (mostly) with
"Drug-induced Psychosis". These guys are “difficult to
engage” in the jargon...they aften become floridly ill very quickly
in the context of smoking large amounts of Cannabis, there is often
police involvement and generally they are seen as difficult to deal
with.
So
what the fuck are they smoking? Kids nowadays don't seem to have the
odd joint now and again..(like WE did..?) .they seem to smoke large
quantities of very strong product. There doesn't seem to be much
protest against genetically-modified dope unfortunately.......
I've
never thought of cannabis as a terribly dangerous drug (for most
people), but my opinion has changed in the last few years..
I
don't think that recreational Cannabis use is any more dangerous
(again for most folks) than Alcohol, but I think that Alcohol is a
very dangerous drug.
If
our young people have little opportunity of learning to use alcohol
in a safe and acceptable manner, how much more difficult is it to
learn to use Cannabis in an acceptable, low-risk manner?
None
of this is helped by "just say no.." reactions from Mental
Health professionals.."Until this guy stops smoking Cannabis
there's nothing we can do..."
Often
what we do is detain them under the Mental Health Act . Funnily
enough, like most places with a large concentration of young men,
acute psychiatric wards are usually easy places to score....
I
couldn't say how many relatives and visitors I've barred from wards
or asked to leave because they brought in dope for their friends or
relatives...
Pious
advice not to smoke Cannabis will be dispensed and just as easily
ignored. These guys WILL smoke Cannabis for a variety of
reasons. Self-medication for stress, a cheaper -than-alcohol
high, in short, all the usual stuff that makes any other person choose to
smoke dope...
How
many times have I sat through "multi-disciplinary meetings" where all sorts of pious comments were made?
I
do recall one where this sort of guff was being spouted. One of
those present was a person I knew had supplemented their student grant by
selling a little dope on the side. They knew that I knew and had
the decency to blush.
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