Troubled Teens Resources

If you overhear one of your teens talking about some good “skunk”, they were not referring to the animal of that name. An obstacle that those who fight against teenage drug abuse must continually overcome is the notion that marijuana is a harmless recreational drug, without any lasting ill side effects. However, if you read about troubled teens and drugs a good deal, you’ll have noticed more and more mention of reports surfacing in Great Britain that suggest otherwise. Potent weed is referred to as “skunk” and it isn’t your father’s marijuana anymore.

“The devastating effects of skunk cannabis on the nation’s mental health are revealed here for the first time, showing where the drug has hit hardest around the country.

Some areas have suffered a tenfold increase in people mentally ill from using the drug.

Nationally, skunk smokers are ending up ill in hospital in record numbers, with admissions soaring 73 per cent. The number of adults recorded as suffering mental illness as a result of cannabis use has risen sharply from 430 in 1996 to 743 in 2006.

The government data shows how the damaging effects of the drug have swept across England…as the debate over the drug’s dangers continues, figures released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Abuse (NTA) show that more than 24,500 people are in drug treatment programmes for cannabis – the highest ever.

It is the most commonly misused drug by children, accounting for 75 per cent of those requiring treatment. That’s 11,582 under-18s – more than double those in treatment for cannabis abuse in 2005.

And more adults (13,087) are in drug treatment programmes for cannabis abuse than for crack or cocaine.”
(source)