Going up in smoke

DISTURBING new evidence has laid bare the horrific toll wreaked by cannabis on our children.

At a time of life when they should be at school or playing with friends, soaring numbers of youngsters – some, shockingly, aged under ten – are being hospitalised due to the pernicious drug.

Terrifying figures reveal that last year 3,400 juveniles received NHS treatment for cannabis-induced mental and behavioural disorders. Worryingly, experts believe this is the tip of the iceberg because just those admitted on to wards are counted.

Only last week a chilling study found using super- strong ‘ skunk’ variants multiplied the risk of psychosis, linked to paranoia, violent behaviour and suicide.

Yet cannabis is easily available from dealers on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook. Supposedly enlightened notables advocate legalising the Class B narcotic, claiming – with woolly-minded naivety – it is a harmless ‘natural’ substance.

What on earth have they been smoking? The fact so many young minds are being ravaged shames the decriminalisation lobby, not to mention the police and the courts, who seem to have run up the white flag.

By turning a blind eye not only to possession but even dealing, they have allowed this insidious drug to proliferate.

Ministers – terrified of being called ‘square’ – are also guilty, refusing to treat this as a public health emergency. The irreparable damage unleashed on vulnerable children should weigh heavily on their consciences. AFTER a weekend when thousands of community-minded people picked up litter in the Great British Spring Clean, a pat on the back for Tesco. The country’s largest supermarket chain will sell fruit and vegetables loose to cut plastic packaging. That means less ending up in landfill or blighting streets, beaches and rivers. As individuals give up valuable time to tidy Britain, it is refreshing big firms are doing their bit.