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- 29 March 2006
Cannabis Use
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The Hon. GREG DONNELLY [6.40 p.m.]: Experto crede: trust the expert! For years, indeed for some decades, we have been hearing from many so-called experts in a number of fields about the benign nature of cannabis. So-called experts have informed us that cannabis is not particularly addictive or does not present any major threat to health. Indeed some have argued that it is a perfectly safe recreational drug. Tragically many people today, particularly the young, have a fundamentally flawed and, I would argue, dangerously naive understanding of the serious health and wellbeing implications of cannabis.
No longer can the argument be sustained that the jury is out. The fact of the matter is that the jury is back and the news is not good. Indeed the tide of evidence against the benign nature of cannabis has in fact become a tidal wave. It is not an exaggeration to say that there is now a continuous stream of medical and scientific evidence being produced that puts beyond any doubt the deleterious effects of cannabis. It seems to me that if we are concerned, as we all are, about the health of young people now and into the future, we have no time to waste when it comes to setting the record straight. In truth cannabis never was a soft drug. However over the past 20 to 30 years of selective breeding of hybrid varieties of cannabis sativa, the THC concentrations in leaves and flowerheads is now between 5 to 50 times more potent than their 1960's predecessors.
I invite all honourable members to take the time to read the recent February 2006 NSW Health Department report titled "Cannabis and Associated Physical and Mental Health Risks: A Survey of Research Evidence". The report is only eight pages long but it contains very detailed footnotes and references; it is most comprehensive. It examines the most contemporary domestic and international research. In particular it looks at a number of longitudinal studies. The key elements of the research findings include:
cannabis has a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system. When smoked, cannabis harms the respiratory and immune systems. Reproductive organs can be harmed through frequent use and foetal development impaired;
cannabis warps perception, reactions are slowed, motor skills are impaired and concentration is more difficult;
premature ageing in the area of the brain responsible for short-term memory (hippocampus) can be caused by habitual use. Cannabis has also been linked to slowed brain development and brain damage through frequent use, particularly if consumed at a young age;
there is a strong link between cannabis use and psychosis, particularly schizophrenia;
chronic use of cannabis is linked to high rates of depression, anxiety and lack of motivation in long-term users;
cannabis use is often part of a wider pattern of substance use, including cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs;
research is increasingly suggesting that cannabis is an addictive drug, which can cause physical and psychological dependence; and
young people who use cannabis frequently are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health and developmental problems, and other adverse outcomes, including suicide, other substance misuse, criminal behaviour, poor performance at school and reduced life opportunities.
The report by the NSW Health is measured and was carefully written. I am sure that its wording was struck after a decision was made about the clearest and most accurate way to express the medical and scientific evidence that is currently available. When commenting on the report the Minister for Health, the Hon. John Hatzistergos, said:
With the incidence of mental illness among cannabis users on the rise, it is now more important than ever to take action.
Anyone who thinks cannabis is a soft drug should come to visit a psychiatric unit to see its devastating affects.
Using cannabis is self-inflicted destruction of the mind and body. This report should silence the apologists for the so-called soft drug market.
The Minister is dead right, and I congratulate him on speaking out so forthrightly on the matter. It is time to be clear. For the sake of young people now and into the future we all should speak out and state the facts. In terms of explaining to young people in accurate, straightforward terms the implications of using drugs, both legal and illegal, I cannot recommend highly enough the book written by Tom Scott and Trevor Grice, The Great Brain Robbery—What Everyone Should Know About Teenagers and Drugs. The book went to a second edition last year and is published by Allen and Unwin. Young people want to hear it the way it is. They do not want or need mixed signals or doublespeak. Leo Tolstoy famously said:
I know that most men can seldom accept even the most obvious truth if it would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.
Wise words indeed for many so-called experts to reflect on.
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