Cool, soft and harmless?

Our incurious news providers are uninterested in the increasingly evident link between cannabis and violence.

Can we finally rid ourselves of this silly notion that cannabis is soft and harmless? Attempts at serious discussion on this topic are far too often met with derision. This indifference could have disastrous consequences.

Tragedy struck the US last week, specifically Dayton (Ohio) and El Paso (Texas) which fell victim to brutal rampage killings. Most reports on these events have focused on the rights-and-wrongs of gun control. Almost none has considered the increasing link between cannabis consumption, metal illness and violence.

We now know that at least one of these killers (Connor Betts, Dayton) has, for some years, been a regular user of cannabis. If the fact he performed in a band – ‘Menstural Munchies’ (my emphasis) – with the cannabis leaf as its logo wasn’t enough to tell us this, a number of those close to him through his life have further attested this fact. A school friend has said he often ‘hung out and chilled’ with others whilst – you guessed it – smoking cannabis. A girlfriend from some years ago has similarly revealed his drug-consuming habit, adding that Betts heard ‘dark, evil things’ in his head and suffered from hallucinations. There is no doubt in my mind that the same will – at some point – be revealed (however quietly) about the El Paso killer, too.

Such cases are repeated over and over, day in and day out. I recommend Ross Grainger’s ‘Attackersmokedcannabis.com’ blog for more on this. When, however, it was suggested an inquiry should be made into the danger of this drug, this was totally ignored or laughed at.

Alas, our incurious news providers are uninterested in the increasingly evident link between cannabis and violence. This is at great risk to us all.