Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of links between cannabis use and mental health problems.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the links between cannabis use and mental health problems but is aware that there is evidence that people who use cannabis have an increased risk of psychosis, linked to an increase in the concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) appearing in cannabis available in many countries. In 2017, Public Health England published guidance, ‘Better care for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol/drug use conditions’ to inform the commissioning and provision of effective care for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol/drug use conditions. It also has relevance for all other services that have contact with people with co-occurring conditions, including people experiencing mental health crisis.