Medicinal cannabis being used illegally

Concerns have been raised by health professionals about the recreational use of medicinal cannabis in Guernsey.

The Combined Substance Use Strategy 2024 annual report draws on findings from a 2023 survey, that was completed by more than 2,300 islanders

It found 79% who used cannabis in the last 12 months reported that they did not have it prescribed to them and, for those who did not have it prescribed to them, 70% reported using medicinal-grade cannabis.

Andrea Nightingale, substance use lead at the Health Improvement Commission, said: "The medicinal cannabis is strong and the strength of it is a concern - especially when young people are using as their brains are still developing."

She added: "We know that the mental health services are extremely concerned about the correlation between mental health and medicinal cannabis and induced psychosis, which has risen over the last couple of years, although now it is fairly stable."

An official strategy combining tobacco, alcohol and drugs into a single document is being continuously developed.

Guernsey's director of public health, Dr Nicola Brink, said: "As evidence about the recreational use of medicinal cannabis emerges, we started looking at it and our chief pharmacist is looking at it in more detail.

"From our perspective, the strategy should never be a static document - it needs to be a living document. So we have modified the strategy during its lifetime as new evidence and trends emerge."

Local addiction support charity Independence said its data sets were too small to build an accurate picture but it was aware of anecdotal evidence that people were diverting medication.

Executive officer of the charity Tracey Rear said: "For any services or any change to happen, we need to have solid data."

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