Cannabis helpline launched for parents

The 24/7 telephone support line will be staffed by fully trained volunteers, all of whom are parents of children and teenagers who have smoked cannabis and been adversely affected.

The website talkingaboutcannabis.com was set up by Debra Bell, founder and mother of a son who became psychotic after smoking "skunk" at the age of 14. Debra Bell said: "Our first priority is to provide the support that is missing for parents who are faced with the daily misery of coping with a child or teen who is using drugs at school age."

She added: "The government is now recognising that something needs to be done about youth crime, especially knife and gun crime, but little is being said about the fact that many of these crimes are drug-fuelled, and the drug of choice for many young people is ‘skunk' - cannabis which fries young brains and can cause violent behaviour due to its psychotic effect."