The consumption of natural cannabis products such as marijuana and hashish is also not harmless, emphasizes Karsten Tögel-Lins. But in the opinion of the managing director of the Basis association, which is active in youth welfare and drug advice, the so-called legal highs, which are sold as “incense mixtures” or “bath salts”, are much more dangerous, as he said on Tuesday in Offenbach at the cannabis specialist conference. The city of Offenbach and the Wildhof addiction help center invited people to attend.
According to Tögel-Lins, the substances sold primarily on the Internet directly or via messenger groups such as Telegram contain synthetic cannabinoids that are many times higher in dosage and more effective than the active ingredients in natural products from the hemp plant, cannabis. The extreme effect on the cardiovascular system also leads to deaths. Tögel-Lins therefore defended the limited legalization of non-medically indicated cannabis use. Many more consumers are not expected, but the risk will be calculable for them. With the new variants of “legal highs” that are constantly emerging, in which it is unknown which substances are contained, the risk cannot be estimated at all.
Alcohol is the most dangerous drug despite cannabinoids
According to Tögel-Lins, cannabidiol liquids, which are currently appearing more often in schools in the Rhine-Main area, are similarly dangerous, as is the apparently harmless laughing gas that can actually cause brain damage and symptoms of paralysis. The association offers basic information on the Internet legal-high-inhaltsstoffe.de Advice for consumers, parents and professionals. There you will also find detailed information about the ingredients of newly discovered substances.
Like the Offenbach health department head Sabine Groß (The Greens), Tögel-Lins also advocates controlling and evaluating sales under the organizational umbrella of a model region. He believes that it is insufficient to leave this solely to cultivation associations in which consumers should come together for non-commercial use. Regardless of the danger potential of synthetic cannabinoids in particular, for Tögel-Lins alcohol is the most dangerous drug.
Thorsten Winter Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7 Jochen Remmert Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2 Katharina Iskandar Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 13
The development of an addiction can have many causes, trauma and psychological injuries often promote addictive behavior, explained addiction therapist Lukas Storck. Together with Kim Schön, he forms the Wildhof board. The Wildhof team deals with all kinds of drugs, from cannabis and crack to Cristal Meth and “legal highs”. But Storck also warns against alcohol. The practice of regularly consuming alcohol in the evening after anger or stress in order to “wind down” also poses the risk of addiction. As a test, Storck recommends: avoid it completely for two weeks. If this is very difficult, be careful. The Wildhof advice and help offer is available online www.shz-wildhof.de to find.