“Cannabis traps men in a cycle of mental health issues”: The untold relationship between drugs and mental health.

Preying on the young and mentally vulnerable, cannabis traps many in a cycle of mental decline, frequently leading to a lifetime of mental health struggle and repeated visits to mental clinics. As the world’s most prevalent drug and the face of hallucinogens, cannabis continues to wreak havoc on today’s generations. Warnings about Cannabis are commonplace in today’s world, though this tends to cut out the extensive torture of its reality.

Auditory hallucinations, anxiety and depression are only a couple of symptoms that can latch onto the drug taker (Hines, et al., 2024), particularly amongst younger cases when the brain is still developing. This fact alone shows the maliciousness of Cannabis, preying on the more mentally fragile. Further concerning is the prevalence of depression and anxiety in those who use cannabis, with difficulty dealing with stressful situations- this was shown in women who smoked the drug during pregnancy, later developing these symptoms in the postpartum period and when children were aged 5-9, times of heightened psychological distress (Mensah, et al., 2024). This means that it does not even require direct usage to impact a child’s life, giving us a glimpse of its devastating unknown reach into people’s lives. The significance of this drug’s effects on mental health comes with Psychosis, finding difficulty differentiating reality from the imaginary- perhaps the saddest aspect of Cannabis’ effects. In the UK, it was found from a study by researchers from King’s College London in 2019, that Psychosis cases would decrease from 45.7 to 31.9 per 100,000 just from the prevention of cannabis usage alone. This is also echoed with the other developed condition from cannabis, Schizophrenia, a chronic hallucinatory condition: Danish researchers astonishingly found that 30% of Schizophrenia cases are due to cannabis use and that 1 in 5 cases in young males could be attributed to the drug. These figures alone should prompt urgent action regarding the drug, irreversibly impacting many young lives to such despairing lengths.

Though however, the true face of this drug’s effect was exposed when the BBC interviewed an ex-cannabis user, who was riddled with both Psychosis and Schizophrenia during his addiction- Ad Gridley. Gridley recounted his harrowing experience, ‘After a couple of suicide attempts- that I didn’t really admit to- my mum saw me at home in my flat hugging my knees, rocking’. This image portrayed of himself encapsulates the true, raw and often-dismissed tragedy cannabis can bring onto someone’s mental health, a tragic situation of which he was in desperate need of help, a situation where he could not bring himself to request the help he needed out of a possible fear and social stigma that comes with mental illness. The sheer devastation bestowed upon Gridley and his mother as a result of cannabis’ malicious effect on his health followed in his following life- where it “plagued” him for ‘ten years after’ the event, leaving him ‘in and out of hospital ten times’. Fortunately, he says that after withdrawal from the drug, his symptoms of Psychosis disappeared. Gridley’s story highlights the reality of drug addiction, and its profound effects on mental healthleading to suicide attempts as a direct effect. His story is not just isolated and is one of the many who have fought this battle with addiction- a battle that only few can say they won.

Schizophrenia treatment is just that, a treatment. There is no cure to Schizophrenia, it riddles someone’s life extensively and does not stop- a terrifying reality because of their conscious decision to use cannabis for a quick ‘high’. Antipsychotics are used to alleviate hallucinations, but there is currently nothing to be done for other symptoms such as anti-social behaviors; along with this haunting and medication-dependent life, only half can live independently without residual symptoms (Stępnicki, et al., 2018). The very real aftermath of cannabis use devastates people from just this condition alone, a condition they were not aware of developing, even less aware of being at its grasp for the rest of their lives.

Australian outlet, SANE, did a blog Q&A with a sufferer of Schizophrenia- Greg Ralls- whom of which has battled with it for over 20 years. What often is not talked about is the effects of the treatment itself for Schizophrenia, being limited in curing and extensive in side effects. Ralls’ story highlights this reality, with his treatment resulting in ‘metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes’; now, not only does he battle with Schizophrenia, but also metabolic syndrome and diabetes, none of which he had before his diagnosis. The unpredictability of Schizophrenia treatment means there is no guarantee of anything, showing that devastation does not stop even after the condition has developed. Fortunately, through unthinkable perseverance and endurance, he has kept his diabetes under control and has led a successful life nonetheless, with the help of strong support from his family and community. His story is a testament to the light at the end of the harrowing tunnel, despite still suffering with the condition. However, is this really a journey we want our youth to needlessly endure?

This could be the potential future for the youth of the world today, with legalisation of cannabis happening in the USA and Canada, we are going down a very dangerous road; and, with the majority of users being younger, this could be the first domino of many- exploding the number of Psychosis and Schizophrenia cases that could be bestowed upon this generation, ripping away the lives they could have had. This is not far from a possibility, and I believe requires us to wake up.

A serious call of action is needed to reduce the usage of cannabis globally, for the sake of our children- the ones most at risk of developing mental conditions like Schizophrenia, the ones that will lead today’s world into the future. There is not enough education done on this drug, and most disregard it as a harmless ‘fun’ for a temporary high without knowing about the vicious outcomes that can arise from it. This laid-back attitude is nothing but enticed by its legalisation in North America and common mention across social media in forms such as songs, and we may not realise the sheer extent of this silent epidemic until it is too late.