My new best pal in the drugs war? Stormzy!
I DON’T suppose the rapper Stormzy is a keen reader of my articles, and I have no idea what sort of hideous noises he makes, but we are now shoulder to shoulder, brothers in arms and hand in hand.
For Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Omari, says he has stopped smoking marijuana, after realising the drug was harming his mental health. And because of who he is, his message is likely to reach a lot of people who urgently need to hear it.
He said: ‘I have suffered with mental health problems for the past few years… When I used to feel depressed, I would lock myself away and smoke weed and I would just get worse and worse and worse.’ Professor Sir Robin Murray, a psychiatrist who has warned for years of this danger, thinks the singer’s admission could have a significant impact on young marijuana smokers. He says: ‘ The evidence is very clear that heavy cannabis use can cause mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Young people may be reluctant to believe this when a psychiatrist like me says it but are much more likely to accept it when a star like Stormzy says it.’
It is interesting just how little coverage Stormzy’s confession has had. Could there be a media bias in favour of legalising this drug? Might the
Billionaire Big Dope Campaign scent final victory, as a bankrupt British government looks for new sources of tax and considers legalising dope to obtain such a source?
Let us hope more attention will be paid to another piece of news about this nasty weed, before any such rash, irreversible step is taken.
As my colleague Stephen Adams reports this week, a study of almost 300,000 teens and young adults has found smoking marijuana has been linked to a huge increase in violent behaviour. Regular users are almost three times as likely to have committed a violent offence as non-users.
Prof Murray says: ‘ This is not a surprise to those of us who follow the scientific literature, or see patients who heavily use cannabis. However, it may be a surprise to the many who think cannabis is a chill-out, antiviolence drug.’
It’s not a surprise to me, either. I have been reporting for years on the correlation between marijuana use and violent acts – including many terrorist outrages here and abroad. I have generally been met with disbelief and derision. Well, this is quite normal for me. First I am mocked for saying something. Ten years later everybody claims they have always agreed with me. Why not save yourselves the ten years and listen the first time around?