Regularly Smoking 'Skunk'(SK) HARMS Your Brain:

Proof: Found to damage area that carries signals - and can lead to mental illness

Researchers at King's College London found that people who regularly took strong 'skunk' cannabis had signs of greater damage to the biggest 'tract' of white matter. This area – the corpus callosum – carries signals between the brain’s left and right sides.

Damage to it can lead to mental illnesses and psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, as well as slowing down the brain’s activity.The researchers say their findings demonstrate an ‘urgent need’ to educate the public, medical staff and policy makers about the risks of skunk – the most popular type of cannabis in the UK and in Nigeria.

Skunk has high levels a compound called Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – which is key to giving smokers a high. Levels are about 20 per cent higher in skunk now than ten years ago, as cannabis growers create ever stronger strains of the plant to give a bigger buzz.Dr Paola Dazzan, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, said: ‘We found that frequent use of high-potency cannabis significantly affects the structure of white matter fibres in the brain, whether you have psychosis or not.

#Living