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Children's mental health services 'turning away cannabis-related cases'

Young people with mental health issues linked to cannabis use are being turned away from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), a report has suggested.

The report by drugs policy think-tank Volteface found that shrinking resources in community mental health provision is creating intense competition for support, with conditions such as eating disorders and self-harming being prioritised over cannabis-related conditions.

This comes amid a dramatic increase in the number of young people being treated for cannabis-related mental health problems in hospital.

The report found that between 2012/13 and 2016/17 there was a 54 per cent rise in the number of young people in England and Wales who were admitted to hospital with a cannabis-related mental health problem.

Over the last five years the number of young people admitted to hospital with a more serious diagnosis of cannabis-related psychosis has increased by 112 per cent, compared with a 12 per cent rise for adults.

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