US: Cannabis legalisation sees “spiralling psychotic illnesses … and booming black market”

We are now seeing some highly alarming outcomes from legalising cannabis in US states, including “spiralling addiction, psychotic illnesses and hospitals facing a deluge of poisonings”. This absolutely affirms New Zealand made the only safe decision by voting NO to dope at the 2020 cannabis legalisation referendum. Legalising recreational cannabis would have been a disaster for New Zealand.

Remember the claims made by pro-drug activists in support of cannabis legalisation in New Zealand. According to the Government, the Green Party, NZ Drug Foundation and Helen Clark Foundation, we were supposed believe that legalising recreational cannabis would lead to significant health benefits, reduced black market, no increase in usage, reduction in mental health issues, reduced crime and so on. Thankfully, 51.2% of us weren’t fooled into believing this, just enough Kiwis to vote down the proposed cannabis legalisation bill.

And there is continued mounting evidence refuting those pro-cannabis claims. US states that legalised recreational cannabis 8 or so years ago are instead seeing spiralling addiction, psychotic illnesses and even deaths. Meanwhile the illegal cannabis market in California is booming, estimated to be worth £6 billion – twice that of the legal industry. Gangs continue to sell products at a higher potency and lower price, thus undercutting the registered shops.

Scientists overwhelmingly conclude that frequent use of the drug is not worth the risks.

In summary, here are some conclusions from the latest research and data:

• Record levels of cannabis use in states where cannabis has been legalised
• Experts describe these highly concentrated products as ‘the crack cocaine of cannabis’, and say demand for ever-stronger stuff is another by-product of legalisation
• Surge in addiction and mental illness – depressive breakdowns, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, all related to cannabis
• Hospital admissions for cannabis-related complications have shot up – from 1,400 in 2005 to 16,000 by 2019
• Recreational marijuana users were 25 per cent more likely to end up needing emergency hospital treatment
• Scientists overwhelmingly conclude that frequent use of the drug is not worth the risks
• Frequent and heavy cannabis use is becoming normalised in California
• Rates of addiction are nearly 40 per cent higher in states that have legalised cannabis, than states without legal cannabis
• Risk of being involved in a cannabis-related accident is significantly higher in states where the drug is legal
• The black market that has grown by nearly 100 per cent since cannabis laws were relaxed, as bootleggers sell products at a lower price, undercutting the registered shops
• The illegal cannabis market in California is booming, estimated to be worth £6 billion – twice that of the legal industry
• Rapid increase of unlicensed stores prescribing and selling medical cannabis
• Major review of 25 studies concluded there was insufficient evidence for the long-term pain-relieving effect of cannabis
• 2020 review by psychiatrists at the University of Melbourne concluded the evidence is ‘too weak’ to prove cannabis helps anxiety, depression or insomnia

So this refutes virtually every claim made by pro-drug activists in support of cannabis legalisation.

“We’ve been sold a lie, that cannabis use is harmless and even has a multitude of health benefits. It is exactly the same as what happened with tobacco. The industry told the public it was good for their health at first, before it was proven to be deadly.”

Sourced from Mail on Sunday. Read full article here.