Ambulance service alerted to help over 400, say mental health group Service contacted following engagment with organisation SpunOut’s text messaging aid
Thu, May 6, 2021, 13:13 Updated: Thu, May 6, 2021, 15:54
The National Ambulance Service was contacted to help more than 400 people in “a place of real and active danger” following engagement with a text messaging service run by the youth mental health organisation SpunOut last year.
The charity said it had 33,000 support conversations through its 50808 service between June and December, with one-in-five people texting them to say they had suicidal thoughts.
SpunOut presented its data during an Oireachtas sub-committee hearing on Thursday, examining youth mental health challenges brought about by the pandemic.
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The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has warned that cannabis represents the gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland today .
Hospital admissions of young people with a cannabis-related diagnosis have quadrupled over a 12 year period.
As well as the 300% increase in hospital admissions between 2005 and 2017, the College is warning that one in three young people become addicted if they use cannabis weekly or more often.
It adds that cannabis affects a teenager s ability to learn social and problem-solving skills, while potentially stunting cognitive ability and general emotional intelligence.
The College is calling on the government to initiate a comprehensive public awareness campaign on the dangers of the drug, adding that psychiatric services are under huge pressure due to misconceptions that it s mostly harmless.
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Cannabis is the gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland today, according to a new report.
The College of Psychiatrists in Ireland is urging the government to initiate a comprehensive campaign on the dangers of the drug.
It adds that potency in the drug has spiked in recent years, with hospital admissions for young people due to diagnoses related to cannabis quadrupled between 2005 and 2017.
As well as the 300 percent increase in hospital admission between 2005 and 2017, the body is warning one in three young people become addicted if they use it weekly, or more often.
Warning Issued over Cannabis Use in Younger People By Mike Gilmore
The College of Psychiatrists is warning of the dangers of cannabis use among younger people.
Their latest research highlights a sharp spike in admissions to hospital for marijuana-related diagnoses, describing it as the “gravest threat to the mental health of young people in Ireland today”.
They say the perception that cannabis is a harmless drug, combined with escalating levels of potency, is having devastating effects .
According to the College of Psychiatrists report, one in three young people will form an addiction if they use cannabis weekly or more often.