Cannabis-induced psychosis has reached crisis levels, forcing the NHS to open the first clinic specifically treating addicts of the mind-altering drug, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The clinic has been launched by a leading psychiatrist who warns that psychosis among users of skunk – a very strong strain of cannabis flooding the streets – has become ‘a crisis that we can simply no longer ignore’, with tens of thousands of people affected.
In recent years there has been a series of shocking killings committed by cannabis users who had developed psychosis due to their use of the drug. They often become delusional and hear voices.
![Treatment comprises a mix of anti-psychotic medication, sessions with therapists, and motivational meetings to wean patients off cannabis. Calls for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use have grown in the last year, helped by the Government permitting its limited use for medical treatment [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/15/18/9873864-0-image-a-22_1550256867950.jpg)
Treatment comprises a mix of anti-psychotic medication, sessions with therapists, and motivational meetings to wean patients off cannabis. Calls for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use have grown in the last year, helped by the Government permitting its limited use for medical treatment [File photo]
The clinic launch comes amid mounting calls for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use, with Tory MP Crispin Blunt among the pro-campaigners.
Drug users who have experienced psychosis for the first time after using skunk will undergo a three-month programme, including specialist psychological help aimed at weaning them off the drug.
Among the current patients is a former trainee teacher who is now too addled to even read a book.
Dr Marta Di Forti, one of the principal doctors at the clinic, based at the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This is a crisis of high potency cannabis that we can simply no longer ignore.‘This clinic is now responding to that crisis.
![The clinic has been launched by a leading psychiatrist who warns that psychosis among users of skunk – a very strong strain of cannabis flooding the streets – has become ‘a crisis that we can simply no longer ignore’, with tens of thousands of people affected [File photo]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/02/15/18/9873288-6710181-image-a-14_1550256492271.jpg)
The clinic has been launched by a leading psychiatrist who warns that psychosis among users of skunk – a very strong strain of cannabis flooding the streets – has become ‘a crisis that we can simply no longer ignore’, with tens of thousands of people affected [File photo]
‘For years, desperate families have been unable to access the treatment their loved ones need and they have simply fallen through the cracks. This kind of clinic is more urgent than
