07/08/2007 00:00:00
UK: Cannabis: a new smokescreen
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The idea that the cannabis is the root of problems facing young people
ignores the pressures put on them by society, argues Dean Ryan
One of Gordon Brown’s first acts as prime minister was to let the public
know that not only was he tough on super-casinos and civil liberties,
but that he’s tough on drugs too.
Last month he announced the second review in two years on the
classification of cannabis – making clear he is in favour of
reclassifying it as a more dangerous drug.
It’s no coincidence the announcement came as the tabloid press seized on
a report in the Lancet medical journal to argue that young people are at
higher risk of mental illness if they smoke cannabis.
The hype and the soundbites were ridiculous. One headline said that “one
joint could ruin your life chances”. Only it didn’t seem to ruin the
life chances of Jacqui Smith or the several other cabinet members who
say they smoked cannabis at university.
I work with a lot of young people who are dealing with a lot of
difficult issues.
Drugs can be a real problem for many young people. So can mental
illness. But to link them in this way doesn’t make sense.
Cannabis can be a factor in psychotic incidents, but it is just one factor.
One of the young men I worked with smoked cannabis and had a psychosis.
But could you really say the cannabis caused the psychosis? Actually he
faced far greater problems that caused him real anxiety.
To understand the increasing level of mental health problems among young
people you have to look at the pressures they face.
In my experience, and many studies back this up, long term depression is
a bigger problem among young people than psychotic episodes. This is
caused by the pressures on people’s daily lives.
One of the biggest problems many young people with mental health
problems face is social isolation and a sense that they have no real
prospects.
A recent report from the Institute of Psychiatry highlighted the growing
mental health problems caused by exams and the stress of leaving school.
But there are also other big issues in young people’s lives caused by
bullying, bereavement, and physical or emotional abuse. There are young
people whose parents can’t cope. Maybe they have no money or need
support themselves. That impacts on young people.
Worrying increases in self harm and in eating disorders tell you
something about how young people feel about their relationship to the world.
I work with 13 to 19 year olds. The biggest problem they face is housing.
I meet 17 and 18 year olds who are having to share a room with a sibling
half their age. And lots of young people have to sleep in a front room.
Because of overcrowding there is no privacy.
These are young people trying to work out who they are and make sense of
the world – but they don’t have any space to themselves.
Overcrowding puts more stress on everyone in the household, so there are
more arguments, fights and tension.
A lot of young people take drugs because their lives are stressful or
because they are bored. Experimenting with drugs can alleviate the
boredom of having nothing to do.
The government is not tackling any of the very real problems that cause
mental illness in young people.
And they are not trying to help people with drug problems either.
Just two weeks after Brown was declaring the danger of cannabis, the
government announced a £50 million cut in funding for frontline drugs
services over the next three years.
This comes on the back of years of cuts in projects that help and advise
young people about drugs.
It is more and more the case that the only funding available is for
services that work with young people who already have drug problems,
rather than preventative or longer term work.
If people have a drug problem, then, like any other addiction, they need
help. Instead they are thrown into the criminal justice system.
Young people are increasingly seen as a criminal problem – the number of
under 18s in custody has increased by 20 percent in the last ten years.
And over 50 percent of young people in custody are suffering from some
form of mental illness.
Instead of coming out with knee-jerk responses to drugs, crime and young
people, the government should spend the money they throw at punitive
measures such as prison on long term support for people and decent
services and housing.
After all, it is government policies that are making young people ill.
Dean Ryan is a youth worker in north London
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