There is currently a “decreased perception of the risk associated with the use of cannabis derivatives”, especially among younger people. This was stated by the Italian Forensic Toxicologists Group (GTFI) association, expressing “strong concern about the risks deriving from the use of narcotic substances, in particular cannabis derivatives, which today are frequently characterized by high potency (percentages of THC up to 30 -50% up to 80%), and for which there is a trivialization of the perception of risk”. This aspect, explains the association, was highlighted in the Italian declaration on narcotic substances made on the sidelines of the 66th Session of the UN Narcotics Commission, held last week in Vienna.
The information on the “dangers associated with the use of cannabis based on objective data, which warns against positions, sometimes dictated by commercial interests, which attempt to make it appear as a ‘soft drug’ – states the association in a note – is an ethical duty of those involved in science, information, public health“. The main negative effects induced by cannabis, the forensic toxicologists point out, “are on the central nervous system, and consist of changes in the brain structures, with long-term impairment of functional and cognitive abilities (attention, school learning, the decision-making process, verbal learning and memory, spatial orientation). Risks of psychotic manifestations are also reported, also following the first use of the substance, anxiety crises, episodes of self-harm”. The risks of cannabis consumption are all the greater the earlier and more frequent the start of consumption is, with “possible impairment of the regular development of the brain still in the growth phase”. There are also possible, they warn, “serious effects at the level of the cardiovascular system such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, ischemias, and the consumption of cannabis during pregnancy can cause alterations in fetal development”. An aspect of extreme concern is also the high risk of involvement in road accidents. THC, toxicologists point out, is in fact one of the most frequently detected psychotropic substances, together with cocaine, in the samples of drivers involved in accidents.
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