Link between cannabis and mental illness ‘should be publicised’

Mental health charity Rethink yesterday called on the government to act on its pledge to raise awareness of the link between cannabis and mental illness, six months after the Home Office promised a “massive campaign”.

Director of public affairs Paul Corry said he was concerned at the government’s lack of progress on a “critical issue”.

He said: “We know that early-age users, long-term users and people with a family history of mental illness are at a high risk of developing psychosis from smoking cannabis – the problem is that they don’t know it because the government has failed to act on its promise.”

Charles Clarke, the then home secretary, promised a public information campaign on the dangers of cannabis in January when he announced the drug would remain class C.

Rethink has launched its own survey to find out how much the public knows about the mental health risks of cannabis.