By Ramone Tarnaski

Marijuana can cause mental health problems such as psychosis, stop young people's motivation, cause them to drop out of school, hinder their development and stop them in their tracks - problems that are already occurring in New Zealand. anti-cannabis campaigners say the age limit on weed use and purchase would not stop younger people from feeling the harms of legalization. International examples show that usage rates among Canadian youth have declined since legalization. Diana Ranger has seen the worst of cannabis use among young people and is concerned about the long-term consequences.

Her nephew was forced by a gang to take the drug when he was 10 and she said he suffered from psychosis as a result.

She didn't know people can break the skin and leave bite marks, but rangers said she went through it herself and said it was dangerous for her.

She banged her fist against a window and recovered and lost her mind again, but then she recovered and banged another window.

It took all night for one of his sons to recover, but the man is still feeling the effects. Ranger said this happened more than 40 years ago and that it was the first time he had had to deal with it.

Such stories are just some of those by Aaron Ironside, who is leading the Say Nope to Dope campaign for legalization. He doesn't believe the age limit for buying will deter children from trying it, as is the case under current alcohol laws. When the brain develops, you don't want to use a substance that could affect development, "Ironside said. It's liquid It is four times higher in adolescents than in adults and can cause a range of health problems.

Professor Joe Boden, from the University of Otago, was part of an expert panel formed by the New Zealand Drug Policy Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. Psychosis is another problem that occurs in young people, as well as mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, he said. Concerns about how this affects school attendance also have little to do with health, he said.

Boden said it was important to remember that part of this was due to school exclusion, with cannabis being one of the few things that can automatically exclude you from secondary school in New Zealand. It would be an example of a friend's daughter being thrown out of school for the first time in her life.

Inside said he was also concerned about the impact of second-hand smoking cannabis on young people's health. I was surprised to read a study suggesting that those who inhaled second-hand cannabis in this study had THC in their urine, "Ironside says. Ironsides says he is also concerned about a possible link between cannabis use and mental health problems such as depression.