Almost all cannabis on UK streets is ‘super-strength’ skunk
New study finds ‘high-risk’ strain accounted for 94% of police seizures of drug in 2016
Almost all of the cannabis being illegally sold in the UK is super-strength sinsemilla, otherwise known as skunk, a new study has found.
Researchers from King’s College London analysed 995 samples seized by police in Kent, Derbyshire, Merseyside, Sussex and London, the BBC reports. They found that skunk accounted for 94% of cannabis seizures in 2016, compared with 85% in 2008, and 51% in 2005.
Experts are warning of “potential mental health risks” associated with the high-potency marijuana, says Sky News. According to the most recent figures available, there were 7,545 hospital admissions in 2016-17 for “drug-related mental health and behavioural disorders” - a 12% increase from 2006-07, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lead study author Dr Marta Di Forti, Medical Research Council clinician scientist at King’s College London, said: “In previous research we have shown that regular users of high-potency cannabis carry the highest risk for psychotic disorders, compared to those who have never used cannabis.
“The increase of high-potency cannabis on the streets poses a significant hazard to users’ mental health, and reduces their ability to choose more benign types.”
Cannabis is now the most commonly used drug in England and Wales, with 6.6% of people aged 16 to 59 - 2.2 million people - having used it in the past year, according to Home Office statistics.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: a rare but troubling health risk for cannabis users
The Explainer The illness is sending some chronic marijuana users to emergency care for painful persistent vomiting
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Cannabis tops alcohol in daily US consumption
Speed Read For the first time in U.S. history, daily cannabis users have outpaced daily drinkers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What reclassifying cannabis could change
The Explainer The Biden administration's move to change marijuana from a Schedule I narcotic to Schedule III could reshape the pot landscape even if it doesn't mean full federal legalization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The lows of an unregulated high: Teens are using marijuana alternative delta-8
In the Spotlight More than 1 in 10 high school seniors have reported using the substance, which contains concentrated THC
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Marijuana use associated with heart attack and stroke
Speed Read Two new studies point to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Neanderthal gene ‘caused up to a million Covid deaths’
Speed Read Genetic tweak found in one in six Britons means cells in the lungs are slower to launch defences
By The Week Staff Published
-
Legalising assisted dying: a complex, fraught and ‘necessary’ debate
Speed Read The Assisted Dying Bill – which would allow doctors to assist in the deaths of terminally ill patients – has relevance for ‘millions’
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Vaccinating children: it’s decision time for the health secretary as kids return to school
Speed Read Sajid Javid readying NHS England to roll out jab for children over 12, amid fears infections will rocket
By The Week Staff Last updated