Report finds Guernsey medicinal cannabis is used recreationally
Concerns have been raised by health professionals about the recreational use of medicinal cannabis in Guernsey. The Combined Substance Use Strategy 2024 annual report found 79% of those who used cannabis in the last 12 months reported that they did not have it prescribed to them. For those who did not have it prescribed to them, 70% reported using medicinal grade cannabis.Substance abuse lead at the Health Improvement Commission, Andrea Nightingale 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.
"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." The strategy combines tobacco, alcohol and drugs into a single document that 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."
'More data needed'
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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She notices that as soon as she takes off her lanyard and stethoscope at the end of the working day, she becomes 'hyper-visible and utterly ignored'. That's the daily status of too many disabled people. She does not like her wheelchair to be pushed or pulled 'in the name of helping'. It undermines her autonomy. She also hates it when people hold the door open for her: 'It can be much easier for me to do it myself, rather than having to duck under an outstretched arm.' We should say to a disabled person, 'You let me know if you need help.' Questions and remarks that annoyed her while she was in hospital were: 'Is there anything that can be done?'; 'Are you getting better?'; and 'It's not permanent, I hope?' So, don't say those. But also, whatever you do, don't say to a disabled person that you don't see them as disabled. ' 'You're not looking at me properly,' I want to say. 'You are missing a huge part of me by trying to ignore this." ' And on no account must you say you pity her. 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