Welcome to ‘Talking About Cannabis’! This is the support and information-sharing website for everyone whose lives have been affected by cannabis abuse.

I am a freelance writer, living in London, UK, with my husband. We have three boys who are now 20, 18 and 14. Our eldest son, William, began smoking cannabis as a teenager, with school friends. He was around 14 then, and by 16 was suffering severe personality changes – and as a family we were reeling. We were confused for a long time, not knowing whether what was happening to him was as a result of normal adolescent changes or something more insidious. You can read more by clicking ‘My Story’ below. Read our son’s view of cannabis too.

August 2008
Talking About Cannabis is now a registered charity. We received our registration number on August 1st, and we're now looking forward to being able to provide continued support for anyone whose lives have been affected by cannabis abuse. Our first project is to provide a 24/7 Cannabis Support Line - for which we are looking for volunteers to train with us, do get in touch if you think you may be interested. We are also writing educational packages for schools with a strong prevention message, to ensure children learn the truth about cannabis from an early age and therefore are supported to say 'no' to cannabis and all illegal drugs.

July 15 2008
Press release:
PARENTS' ACTION GROUP ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SET UP 24/7 SUPPORT LINE FOR FAMILIES AFFECTED BY CHILDREN'S DRUG ABUSE.
Click to read the press release

July 2008
The Daily Mail ran an article on 3 July titled "Why 'skunk' smokers are 18 TIMES more likely to become psychotic than other cannabis users" written by Fiona Macrae Click HERE to read the article

May 2008 – we are delighted that the Home Secretary Jaqui Smith announced that cannabis will be returned to Class B status, which will help send out the message that down-classification was a mistake and that using cannabis in childhood and teens years is highly dangerous to health.

·         The Talking About Cannabis Parental Action Group intends to continue making sure that the truth is told about cannabis: to disseminate the scientific and medical facts about this drug and its potentially damaging effects on the young. Our work is now about delivering this information to the public and providing preventative cannabis education in schools. We are now Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Cannabis and Children, which meets four times a year in the House of Commons.  The Chair is Graham Brady MP, and there are three vice chairmen from the three main political parties – cannabis and children is an issue that is uniting politicians.

·         The TAC  Family Support Line, a 24 hour telephone line run by parents for parents, or any family member, who needs support in coping with the effects of cannabis use on their family. WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR THIS PROJECT, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED PLEASE CONTACT US. WE’RE ALSO LOOKING FOR FUND-RAISERS.

I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone who has supported us in our attempts to raise awareness over the past few months: parents, politicians, teachers, drugs charities and the press. Every day I get a mail from a parent who is struggling with a child using cannabis. Thanks to everyone who has written to us, and especially those of you who have shared your stories with us and allowed us to publish them on our web-site.
We now have charitable status, but are still run by volunteers, so as yet have no funding. If you would like to make a donation, however small, we'd be grateful to receive it! You can send your cheque made payable to
TALKING ABOUT CANNABIS to
32-36 Loman Street, London, SE1 0EH

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent us a donation.

June 2008
Are you worried your child may be using cannabis? Get the facts, Click here for 'Is my child using cannabis?'

May 2008
Will gives interview to The Observer newspaper 4 May 2008 - click here to read his updated view on cannabis

April 2008
New page - 'Events and Media' where you will find details of upcoming events organised by TAC and, coming soon, video clips of TAC in the news

March 2008
Talking About Cannabis has been accepted as a member of Europe Against Drugs (EURAD) and Debra Bell has been asked to join the Eurad Board.

Confused by the number of legalisation arguments about cannabis that abound? Don't be - click here for a list of arguments against legalisation written by our drugs education advisor.

We have started a new experiences page for 2008.
Click this link to view

Debra Bell gave evidence to the ACMD Review of Cannabis on Tuesday 5 Feb
Click to read the presentation and the PowerPoint

Read a personal view of the UK Cannabis Debate by David Raynes who attended the ACMD's Review of Cannabis on 5 Feb.
Click to read

--------The Diaries have now finished. You can still read them by clicking HERE --------

Sign up to our campaign group!
Please sign up now to show your support of the Action Group. This list will then be sent to government as part of our lobby campaign. Click here for more information

We have felt very alone over the past few years, but I know that there are millions of people worldwide who are struggling with family members who are using cannabis and that is what this site is all about. Some of the things we include on the site:

• Cannabis – the Facts, gives vital information on cannabis, based on scientific and medical evidence - it's not the stuff you smoked at college - it's generally 'skunk' that is sold now, which is significantly stronger, and blows the circuits of young brains in particular, leading to very serious consequences for mental health. And behind every addict is a family in the background.
• Support for parents of teenagers who are smoking weed. We believe most parents try to cope alone with the problem in their family. Many are in crisis, not knowing where to turn.  There is virtually no help for families of cannabis abusers, a good GP is the best you can hope for. Priority for resources is given to Class A drugs. A support network is urgently needed. Don’t struggle on alone, because you don’t have to! Join our mailing list, so we can keep you up to date, and download ‘Tips for Parents of weed-smoking teenagers’. You can get in touch with other parents through this site., or just simply share your experiences here.  Maybe you’d like to set up a support group in your area? Let’s get things moving to help each other!  
  Click HERE to go to the Support Group Co-ordinators page.
  Click HERE if you would like to contact us about helping to set up a support group in your area.
• Contact us if you can help us as a volunteer – working on the phone lines (from home) or as a fund-raiser. Our first fund-raising event is being organised by our Surrey Fund-Raising Committee and will be an Auction of Promises in September 2008. Please let us know if you could help with this either with a pledge or an offer of help.
• A chance for you to tell us your story - we'd love you to share your experiences with us. Your story could really help others, personal stories are very powerful healing tools. More often than not just writing about what’s going helps in itself – try it. You can also read the stories others have sent us.
• Details of what is being done about the problem of cannabis abuse, especially among vulnerable children and teenagers. As you will know, the drug was reclassified in the UK in 2004, becoming a Class C drug, putting it in the same category as anti-depressants and steroids. Many young people believe that cannabis is now legal, and harmless. It’s not! And it's in every secondary school in the country, so no one can be complacent . It's cheap (prices are falling) and easily accessible. Teenagers who smoke weed double their chances of developing schizophrenia, and many will develop psychosis with increased risk of suicide. The facts are these: Cannabis is extremely dangerous to children and teenagers in particular and can make them very ill indeed. What can we do collectively to change things? We urgently need more volunteers to help in our Campaign – so we’d love to hear from you.
• The Talking About Cannabis Action Group will continue to lobby the government to put in place the 'massive health education campaign' promised by Charles Clarke at the time of reclassification, which never materialised. For more details click on 'Campaign Group' above.

Debra Bell
June 2008
Contact us by email or phone 0207 922 7719 / 07840 080424
 

‘In all of history, no young people have ever taken marijuana regularly on a mass scale. Therefore our youngsters are in effect, making themselves guinea-pigs in a tragic experiment. Thus far our research clearly suggests that we will see horrendous results’.
Dr Robert Dupont, National Institute for Drug Abuse, USA.