60,000 Brits have mental health issues brought on by weed… cops can’t be soft about it, says addiction expert
Expert warns about dangers of police turning a blind eye to the drug, following Sun investigation revealing only one in four offenders is charged
THE Sun revealed yesterday how cannabis users are getting off scot free due to the police’s lax attitude to the Class B drug.
Experts warn that the casual approach will only fuel Britain’s drug intake and fail to protect the interests of youngsters.
Below, a leading addiction expert argues it is a dereliction of duty for the police not to uphold the law.
We also detail three frightening recent court cases where cannabis played a central role.
THE police have gone soft on cannabis. Only one in four of the users they pick up are charged with an offence.
Yet cannabis use is against the law. Parliament makes the law, not the police.
Nor do the police have the right to determine medical issues. Cannabis is dangerous. It damages mood, memory and motivation.
Mark my words, in America Washington state and Colorado will come to regret their legalisation of the use of cannabis. Skunk is many times more powerful than the original grass or weed.
But the stronger hit comes at a price, in young people particularly. The delicate developing nerve tissues cannot take the blast from mood-altering substances, legal or illegal. They suffer.
Keeping classified drugs illegal puts a brake on their use. Doctors are aware — or should be — of the psychiatric damage that cannabis causes.
With stronger skunk the damage is even greater.
Therefore there are more admissions to psychiatric wards. And that causes more distress and costs more money.
The law is inconsistent and always will be, one way or another. But that is no reason for the boys in blue to take the law into their own hands.
Granted, there are bigger crimes to follow up. But the experience in New York of minimal tolerance of all crimes showed that all criminality decreased and the city became safer. Our police on the beat need to know that.
If their paperwork is tiresome, make that clear to the Home Office. But be aware of the concerns of the Department of Health.
I would like to see all drugs decriminalised but those that are illegal should remain illegal. This has a protective effect on users.
Persistent drug users — along with people who persistently misuse alcohol and other substances — should be mandated by the courts to go to rehab.
Amy Winehouse may have said “No, No, No” to rehab but her family now do all they can to help people with addiction problems.
Cannabis is an addictive drug to people who have an addictive nature.
So are alcohol, nicotine, sugar and many other mood-altering substances.
The problem lies in particular users, not only in the substances. This is where we should focus our attention.
Identify those individuals and families in which there is a high incidence of addiction.
These people need help but through their psychological “denial” they don’t see it. They ask for help only when they are in pain.
Keeping classified drugs including cannabis illegal is a way of getting these people into the medical system.
Our police and courts can take the front line of medical services for these people.
That’s a very valuable use of police time because re-offending is a major legal and medical issue.
Knife attack at barbers
A BARBERSHOP customer who was a heavy daily user of cannabis stabbed a stranger in the neck after developing “paranoid suspicions” about the teen.
Reginald Tutu, 22, of Leeds, told his victim, who had been standing outside the shop using his phone: “I’m going to kill you” during the attack last November.
Leeds Crown Court heard Tutu had a history of mental disorders made worse by his use of cannabis and other drugs.
The victim said: “I still can’t sleep at night and this has caused a disability I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
In May Tutu admitted wounding with intent and possession and was jailed for life, with a minimum of four years before he can apply for parole.
'HE SEEMED TO BE POSSESSED'
FRENZIED Taylor Lopez-Kerr stabbed his mother 18 times while she watched X Factor because of mental illness linked to his cannabis use.
In a court statement Leona Lopez, 52, described the attack at their Leicester home: “It was like he was possessed.
She added: “In 2013 he used to dabble in cannabis. He became completely different.” Psychiatrists found Lopez-Kerr had schizophrenia triggered or exacerbated by the drug. Judge Michael Stokes told Leicester Crown Court in March: “The fact he’s been smoking cannabis seems to be an explanation for his behaviour.” Lopez-Kerr, 23, was ruled unfit for trial and remanded to a secure psychiatric hospital.
Addict killed traffic cop
IN March this year cannabis addict Clayton Williams was jailed for 20 years for the manslaughter of a policeman he ran over during a high-speed chase.
The court heard the 19-year-old had used the drug before stealing the truck which fatally injured PC Dave Phillips in Wallasey, Merseyside, last October.
Williams, below, who had been smoking cannabis since he was six, claimed the drug may have slowed his reactions and prevented him avoiding the officer.
He told police he “smoked a lot of weed” and had “bad memory loss”.
In a statement he said: “I fully accept I am responsible for his death (due) to the manner of my driving.”