Tuesday 27 February 2018

UK cannabis market dominated by high-potency ‘skunk’

EMBARGO: 2230 GMT Tuesday 27 February 2018

UK cannabis market dominated by high-potency ‘skunk’

The first comprehensive survey of cannabis strength published in the UK for almost 10 years finds that high-potency varieties made up 94% of police seizures in 2016. The study, co-authored by King’s College London researchers, highlights the potential threat posed to mental health by a market dominated by strong cannabis.

Researchers analysed almost a thousand police seizures of cannabis from London, Kent, Derbyshire, Merseyside and Sussex. The same areas were last sampled in 2005 and 2008.  In 2016, 94% of police seizures were high-potency sinsemilla, also known as ‘skunk’, compared to 85% in 2008 and 51% in 2005.

‘In previous research we have shown that regular users of high-potency cannabis carry the highest risk for psychotic disorders, compared to those who have never used cannabis,’ says senior author Dr Marta Di Forti, MRC Clinician Scientist at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

‘The increase of high-potency cannabis on the streets poses a significant hazard to users’ mental health, and reduces their ability to choose more benign types,’ says Dr Di Forti.

The study, published today in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis, found the dominance of sinsemilla was mainly due to a sharp reduction in availability of weaker cannabis resin; from 43% in 2005 and 14% in 2008, to just 6% in 2016 but as low as 1% in the London area.

The average concentration of THC -  the main psychoactive component of cannabis – in resin also increased from 4% to 6%. The average concentration of THC in sinsemilla has remained at 14% between 2005 and 2016.

Historically, cannabis resin has been rich in cannabidiol (CBD), which is almost entirely absent from sinsemilla. Due to its antipsychotic activity, CBD may potentially moderate some of the effects of THC. However, changes in the source of cannabis plants used for resin has led to a drop in CBD content. In 2005 and 2008, the ratio of THC to CBD was 1:1, whereas in 2016 the ratio was 3:1.

recent King’s College London study found the first evidence for a relationship between increases in cannabis potency and first-time admissions to drug treatment, using data from the Netherlands. The research team are now investigating whether changes to the cannabis market in the UK are having a measurable impact on mental health.

Dr Di Forti, whose research into the mental health impacts of cannabis is funded by the Medical Research Council, says ‘More attention, effort and funding should be given to public education on the different types of street cannabis and their potential hazards. Public education is the most powerful tool to succeed in primary prevention, as the work done on tobacco use has proven.’

NOTES TO EDITORS

Paper reference

‘Potency of Δ9–tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids in cannabis in England in 2016: Implications for public health and pharmacology’, Potter et alDrug Testing and Analysis, DOI: 10.1002/dta.2368

Contact

For a copy of the paper, to interview Dr Marta Di Forti or for further media information please contact: Robin Bisson, Senior Press Officer, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, robin.bisson@kcl.ac.uk / +44 20 7848 5377 / +44 7718 697176.

About King’s College London kcl.ac.uk

King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2017/18 QS World University Rankings) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 26,500 students (of whom nearly 10,400 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and nearly 6,900 staff. The university is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than £600 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: kingshealthpartners.org.

About the Medical Research Council

The Medical Research Council is at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers’ money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Thirty-two MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed. Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms. www.mrc.ac.uk


Robin Bisson
Senior Press Officer
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London 

@KingsIoPPN

Wednesday 21 February 2018

PP2 Press Release


MEDIA ADVISORY
Paul Flynn MP’s cross party support builds ahead of second reading of Elizabeth Brice Bill for the legalisation of cannabis for medical use
Supporters include Caroline Lucas MP, Crispin Blunt MP, Frank Field MP & Layla Moran MP
Friday 23 February 2018
3pm GMT
Parliament Square, London

On Friday 23 February 2018, the United Patients Alliance (UPA) will hold a protest in front of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, as Paul Flynn MP and UPA patron introduce the second reading of the Elizabeth Brice Bill for the legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The Bill has growing cross party support from MP’s including Caroline Lucas (Green and UPA Patron), Layla Moran (Lib Dem and UPA Patron), Tonia Antoniazzi (Lab and UPA Patron), Frank Field (Lab), Mary Glindon (Lab), Jeff Smith (Lab), Kelvin Hopkins (Lab), Crispin Blunt (Con), Michael Fabricant (Con), Martyn Day (SNP), Ronnie Cowan (SNP), Alastair Carmichael (Lib Dem)

Last year, on 10 October 2017, as Paul Flynn introduced the first reading of the Bill, the UPA held a ‘cannabis tea party’ outside the HoP to stimulate critical debate on the need to allow access to the drug for patients suffering chronic pain conditions. At 3pm this Friday after the second reading of the Bill, Paul Flynn will join the UPA outside the HoP to reveal  the outcome. If the Bill is passed it will proceed to committee stage and into law within just a few weeks or months

Available for interview and photo opportunity | Friday 23 February 2018, 3pm

Who:                    Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West and UPA patron
Jon Liebling, UPA Political Director. Consumes cannabis to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety
Alex Fraser, UPA Co-Founder. Crohn’s patient who consumes cannabis to relieve his symptoms
Clark French, UPA Co-Founder. Multiple Sclerosis patient who consumes cannabis to relieve his symptoms
Faye Jones, UPA Director. Rheumatoid Arthritis patient who consumes cannabis to relieve her symptoms
Abby Moore, UPA Director. Endometriosis Patient who consumes cannabis to relieve her symptoms
+ patient members of UPA and members of the public

When:                  Friday 23 February 2018, 3pm

Where:                Parliament Square
                              Westminster
London SW1P 3JX

Why:                    Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule 1 drug meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and no recognizable medical application by the Home Office. It is currently illegal in the UK. This illegal status means those who need the drug to manage chronic pain and other symptoms are denied access to it. Thousands of patients in the UK are being forced to break the law by consuming illegal cannabis or growing their own from seeds. The United Patients Alliance (UPA), a patient advocacy group, believes patients in the UK should not be criminalised for using cannabis, and was founded to challenge the injustice of prosecuting individuals who use cannabis to help alleviate their symptoms.

                              Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, has long been a voice in the call to amend the law to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes. Most recently in his speech to the Commons in July 2017 he called directly for civil disobedience, calling on people who use cannabis for medicinal purposes to challenge the law and consume cannabis at Parliament.
                             
United Patients Alliance (UPA)
www.upalliance.org
@UPAllianceuk

Press contacts

Rebecca Ladbury: rebecca@ladburypr.com | +44 (0)7941 224 75
Danya Agababian: danya@ladburypr.com | +44 (0)7779 635147


Notes to Editors

About United Patients Alliance (UPA)
The United Patients Alliance (UPA) was founded to call attention to the injustice of prosecuting individuals for treating their chronic conditions with cannabis. Some of the most vulnerable members of  society face up to fourteen years in prison for consuming a medicine that is legal across North America and Europe. Despite the wide body of clinical evidence supporting its use, the UK Government continues to deny patients a medication with a proven record of safety and efficacy. They need to recognise the well-established medical benefits of cannabis. We believe that no one should be criminalised for trying to be well.  Being sick can be an isolating experience, especially if your medicine is illegal and only available on the black market. The United Patients Alliance is here to support patients through tough times and advocate on their behalf for safe and legal access to cannabis.

About Clark French
By consuming cannabis to treat MS instead of pharmaceuticals Clark saves the NHS over £30,000 a year. Clark was diagnosed with MS in 2010 in the final year of his degree at Reading University. Clark has chronic pain, spasms, fatigue, migraines, tremors and finds it hard to stand up. Cannabis improves all of these symptoms. 

"Cannabis helps me to have a much better quality of life than I get on the medications my doctor can prescribe me. I think it is ridiculous that I can legally take opioids and chemotherapy based treatments which could kill me, but am criminalised for consuming cannabis despite the support of my Neurologist, GP, MS nurse and wider health care team. The UK government needs to act on the evidence which shows that cannabis has medicinal value and change the law immediately".

About Alex Fraser
Alex Fraser, 26, has had Crohn’s disease since he was 19 and uses cannabis to relieve his symptoms. Cannabis stimulates his appetite, reduces his pain dramatically and helps with sleep. It also helps Alex to keep his weight up, and without it he fears he may waste away and become scarily underweight, as many Crohn’s patients do.

“I have tried not consuming cannabis, and my symptoms always increase dramatically, my pain is worsened and I often can’t sleep or eat without severe discomfort. I also have taken prescription meds, and have tried not taking those, and the difference is minimal. I can safely say that cannabis is the most effective treatment for my Crohn’s disease that I’ve tried. I hope that, with the help of the UPA I can have safe, legal access to it as soon as possible”.

About Jon Liebling
Jon Liebling has suffered with varying degrees of stress migraines, back pain, anxiety and depression for most of his adult life, which he has effectively self-managed with cannabis. 

When left alone by the law, and in every other aspect I have been and am a productive, tax paying, law abiding citizen, father, son and brother who has never done anything to harm anyone, and don't accept why I, or the countless others who benefit, have to suffer more as a result of this uninvited restriction on liberty. From my perspective, the law itself is a crime. Prescription medicine has made me worse. The law has threatened me, hurt me and taken my medicine away. Cannabis has done nothing but help”.