Hurling legend's warning on risks of cannabis use

‘It’s not only a bit of a weed,’ says former Tipperary All Star

People who say that cannabis is harmless are ignorant to the many problems it can cause, former All Star Tipperary hurler John Leahy has stated. Leahy, the holder of three All Ireland senior medals, says the drug can cause brain damage and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

“The biggest myth we have now, I think, around cannabis is that it's only a bit of a weed. It's not only a bit of a weed,” said Mr Leahy, who now works as a Drug Education Officer with the HSE’s Substance Misuse Service in Clonmel. “Definitely as a society we don't know enough about it.”

He said the potency of the drug has increased dramatically over the past two decades and now it had the potential to cause major health problems. Twenty years ago the potency was much lower and taking it had far less implications.

“But today what's happening with the potency of it... it's so strong that young people's brains are not able to recover and what is happening then you are looking at the mental health issues. It's causing brain damage and people are left now with permanent health issues because of the cannabis use.”

Mr Leahy, who made his comments during an interview with Tipp FM to mark Drug Overdose Awareness Day last Wednesday, said the drug could cause paranoia and schizophrenia and several other health problems for young people who make it a habit.

“One of the biggest things I see with cannabis use, is that they become very demotivated. They lose interest in themselves, they lose interest in their hygiene, they lose interest in their families, their sports and hobbies,” said Mr Leahy.

HUGE DESTRUCTION

Working in his role with cannabis users in the south of the county, he regularly sees how the drug had stripped young people of their motivation. Before addiction they were “good kids and engaging with their families and were cooperative.

“And when cannabis comes in that takes that away and we don't, I think, educate our young people enough about that. It's not just a bit of weed anymore. It causes huge destruction in families.”

It was difficult for parents and siblings of drug addicts such as alcoholics and cannabis or cocaine users to try to get them to stop taking the drugs or quit drinking.

“I often talk to family members and they are trying to fix the young person and they are trying to get them to stop, but it's not that simple,” said Mr Leahy.

“It's very hard because there's a lot going on for the young person taking drugs, because the drug has changed their personality. It's changed who the are and cannabis is one of the big drugs that will do that to the brain. And we do know it's linked with schizophrenia, there's plenty of research out there for that.”

He said it was well established now that medicinal cannabis prescribed to people for certain medical conditions did have undoubted benefits. “We know it's regulated and we know where it's coming from. But if you are buying cannabis on the street you have absolutely no idea of the potency, where it comes from, what's in it.”

He revealed that the service in which he works sees drug use in Tipperary in children as young as ten years of age. “We have dealt with young people from the age they started, from 10 to 11 years of age. It can be cannabis, cigarettes or alcohol at that age.”

USE OF VAPERS

Mr Leahy said another issue of concern was the numbers of children using vapers, even in kids as young as those in First and Second Year of secondary school. He said vaping at such a young age really opened the door for potentially much bigger drug addiction issues down the road and in itself had the potential to cause lung damage. “Research has shown it is affecting your lungs. I don't buy into the thing, ‘oh it's less [harmful] than cigarettes’.” he said.

“They say it's only a bit of vaping and it could be worse. But that is where it starts - it starts at that level and it progresses. And the one thing we need to do is educate parents and young people and anyone starting to dabble in any kind of drug use and alcohol use at such an early age - that if they are starting at that age its going to progress. Very few don't move on to, say, smoking more. . . I am not saying that will happen, but you are putting yourself in a high risk category.”

He said those who began drinking at a very young age tended to increase their consumption later on when they began to work and had more money to spend.

HIGH ALCOHOL CONTENT

A concern he had now was with the high alcohol content prevalent in many drinks consumed by young people. In his work he was trying to get teenagers to look at the alcohol content they are consuming rather than the volumes they are drinking.

Studies had shown that teenagers from 14 to 16 were now consuming more drinks, such as spirits. "Now we know that it is creating more liver damage at a younger age in people."

He said what he is trying to do is encourage young people to opt for a glass of beer or zero-alcohol beverage rather than spirits. He had seen how alcohol consumption could lead to bigger issues.

“What I find on alcohol - and the stats are telling us this - is that nearly 80 per cent of people who start taking cocaine for the first time have alcohol on board. So I often say, young people out there that don't drink alcohol of a day, the chances of them using cocaine without being drunk are very low.”

Mr Leahy said drug use in counties like Tipperary has now become the norm. There was more of an acceptance and tolerance of drugs among young people than heretofore. “And that is a particular problem with cocaine - there's a normality about it,” he said, revealing that the far more pure form of the drug, crack cocaine, was now circulating in Tipperary.