My son has been smoking cannabis

Our eldest daughter smoked cannabis with old school friends when they all came home from university for the holidays. We were really shocked when we found out (she started spending a lot of money, didn't take care of herself or her flat at Uni and she changed completely)

Years down the line ( she is now 39) ...our daughter and 2 of her close friends(all smoking cannabis at the same time) ...have all been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and all 3 have had severe mental health problems. They were very normal, clever hard working school pupils.

She is a delightful girl but needs a lot of support.

I think all would-be cannabis users would benefit from spending a bit of time visiting the local psychiatric hospital. It's heartbreaking to hear story after story from parents and relatives of otherwise happy, bright young people whose lives have been turned upside down through the use of what used to be thought of as 'soft' drugs use. Some people are extremely lucky and get away with no ill effects, others have short-term paranoia and altered mind states - and there are those who go on to develop long term mental illness and whose lives are shot to pieces permanently.

sussexpoet right about skunk. This stuff is very much stronger than the stuff that was around 20 or more years ago. Very concentrated. Makes cannabis smoking more worrying.

Too true grannyactivist.......and very xx

Cannabis or Marijuana were more readily available in the state in Australia where I live so it was much cheaper to buy. When they were younger my eldest two smoked it sometimes but not regularly. My youngest tried it once and was depressed for three months and never smoked it again. I also know other people who became paranoid from smoking it.

I have since been told that cannabis grown through hydroponics is likely to make you paranoid and cause problems because of the chemicals. The chemicals in the hydroponics can also cause headaches. I think this is what is causing drug induced schizophrenia and maybe the use of chemicals now is the reason that it didn't happen years ago.

When my daughter was living in Sydney she said hard drugs were much more widely used than cannabis as it was expensive and not as readily available in Sydney. She was suprised at the amount of drugs people she knew were using!!

The reason cannabis first became illegal was that hemp was in competition with the new synthetic monofilaments in 1930s America. Also, the African Americans used to enjoy it. So it was criminalised to protect the emerging industry, and upsetting the blacks was an added bonus in those deeply racist times.

The stuff available in the 1960s was less harmful than alcohol, but times have changed and I wouldn't want anyone in my family to use the strong stuff of today.

However, we mustn't forget that alcohol is nearly as bad - or worse in some cases.