I linked a whole body of research which you didn't read.
If we assume that a constant proportion of mentally ill people commit suicide then a reduced suicide rate directly contradicts the statement that the number of mental health cases has meteorically increased, it suggests the exact opposite.
Agreed. But without going through all the reports it could be that Schizophrenia, say, has increased while suicides decreased perhaps. I couldn't find that info on the WHO pages. I did find the data which showed the number of countries across the globe who are using anti-psychotic drugs to manage Cannabis withdrawal symptoms though.
I read the suicide one you linked directly to but there was a lot of reading on that page. I will pass the link to my wife though as she may find some of it helpful for her job, cheers.
What I can conclude at the moment is:
1. The study by York university has shown the number of cases of individuals admitted to hospital for cannabis psychosis treatment has increased since 1999.
2. My wife, who deals with mental health issues as part of her job, has seen more and more people coming to her with cannabis psychosis to the point where it is now the most common issue she deals with when young people are referred to her for support. Her most common referral is a young male.
3. The WHO research linked showed young males were significantly more likely to commit suicide in 2009 than young females.
We could go round and round in circles arguing the toss but the above points suggest to me that strong cannabis isn't helping the mental health situation amongst young males in the UK.
I hope my posts don't come across painting me as a total anti-cannabis campaigner for I am far from it; I have lived in Holland, grew up in the 90s club scene and am a liberal guy (read in to that what you will
). I think in the right environment i.e. medical and controlled prescriptions it can have its uses. But making it freely available is potentially like handing a loaded gun to someone who has a tendency to be susceptible to mental health problems.
Not sure if there is a right answer to the debate, people will always obtain it if they want it. But my
opinion partly based on personal experience and partly based on research from secondaries is that making it publicly available would contribute to an already growing mental health issue.
And that's going to be my last post on the subject as we could literally discuss it forever.
Mental health issues, as I am sure you are aware, go far broader than that.
