Sir, Louis Appleby is right to raise concerns about cannabis on mental health wards (“Cannabis dealers prey on hospitals”, Feb 6).

As many as 80 per cent of new patients admitted to inner city psychiatric units are using illegal drugs such as cannabis. This group is ripe for exploitation by fellow patients who may be dealers, or “friends” carrying the drug on to wards and encouraging them to become dealers themselves. Meanwhile, other patients are deprived of desperately needed care and treatment — putting some at risk of neglect and even suicide.

We, like the police and the many thousands of families affected, believe that the only way to give out clear signals and prevent new casualties is to upgrade the message that cannabis is not only illegal, but for those vulnerable to its toxic effects can lead to a life sentence of psychotic illness.

Marjorie Wallace
Chief Executive, SANE

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