The president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry (SEP), Celso Arangohas warned once more in the Congress of Deputies regarding the direct relationship that exists between the cannabis use and the risk of suffering from a psychosis problem among patients. For this reason, he has called for the number of sick potentialss that they can receive treatment of this type if it is approved.
“Medical cannabis can be a very loose interpretation. The greater the number of people, the greater the impact on mental health”, he stated in the Health subcommittee that analyzes this strategy.
Arango has left the responsibility for the authorization of this type of drug in the hands of the regulatory agencies of medicines, although he has asked that international studies on the link between cannabis use and the impact on mental health disorders be taken into account. “It is not for me to evaluate those risks-benefits for different pathologies”, he explained.
The president of the SEP has asked that these variables be taken into account, in the same way as other drugs that are already distributed recurrently on the market. “Antidepressants are marketedbut we are very hesitant to give it to a person with bipolar disorder,” he explained.
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Celso Arango, president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry, answering Juan Luis Steegmann, deputy of Vox |
The risk is doubled among consumers
The representative of the psychiatrists has taken to the Lower House the conclusions of some international Studies that indicate that the risk of suffering a psychotic disorder among cannabis users is between two and four times greater than among the conventional population. This reality affects younger people even more seriously.
Arango has also related the incidence of these mental health problems in the big cities where these substances are consumed the most. According to his data, if this drug did not exist, psychosis in Europe might be reduced by up to 12 percent. The figure rises to 32 percent in London and up to 50 percent in the case of Amsterdam. “We are not going to eradicate psychosis, but it is one of the risk factors,” she added.
The president of the SEP has recalled that consumption also involves other problems of a less serious nature, from depression to school dropout. “Cannabis use decreases IQ by an average of 5 or 6 points, fundamentally in verbal intelligence”, he underlined.
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