17/10/2008 by admin.

Just read this surprising article from last weekends Sunday Times about teenagers and drugs in rural areas. It seems that drug use amongst teenagers has even reached the quaint village of Tobermory in North West Scotland.

Tobermory is the capital of Mull, a beautiful and idyllic island on the west coast of Scotland. I spent many a happy summer there as a child, camping with my family.

 Click here to read the full story

Posted in Teenagers, drugs | No Comments »

17/10/2008 by admin.

Just read this interesting article online by Kate Devlin Medical Correspondent for The Telegraph. The article was published 10/10/08.

Here is an extract from the article:

The number of patients admitted to mental health wards because of drug or alcohol abuse has risen by almost one third in three years, latest figures show.

More than 47,000 patients were admitted in 2006, 10,000 more than in 2003, due to the effects of drink or drugs.

The rise come despite a drop in the overall number of patients in psychiatric units, from a high of 214,000 in 1998 to just over 180,000 in 2006.

Opposition parties said that the increases were “worrying” and accused the Government of failing to get to grips with a growing drugs problem.

Official figures released earlier this year show that one in three British adults admits to having tried illegal drugs.

More than three million adults were estimated to have taken at least one banned substance last year, according to the figures from the NHS Information Centre.

Doctors have warned that high strength types of cannabis are increasing mental health problems.

Earlier this year a study showed that people who use skunk cannabis, which can be up to 10 times stronger than other types of the drug, were 18 times more likely to develop psychosis than those who smoke milder forms.

 Click here to read the full article

Posted in Drugs & Mental Illness, Cannabis, Alcohol, drugs | No Comments »