Children addicted to 'super cannabis'

AMSTERDAM - Dutch children as young as 12 are being treated for addiction to a powerful home-grown cannabis up to 20 times stronger than imported varieties, an addiction clinic has revealed.

But while the age of regular and dependent cannabis users has dropped sharply in recent years, the dangers and health hazards of soft drugs have been "completely underestimated" by parents caught "in a flower-power time warp", addiction specialist Dr Romeo Ashruf said.

It was not unusual for children as young as 12 using "nederwiet" to be referred to drugs clinics by their GPs for addiction, said Ashruf.

"In years gone by, the age group for referrals was between 16 and 21 but now it has gone down to between 14 and 19," he said. "Children of 12 and 13 who are addicted are also brought in. An alarming development."

Ashruf, director of the Parnassia Clinic in The Hague, said that Dutch parents are largely unaware of the dangers because of the changes the drug has undergone since the 1960s.

"A lot of parents think back to the 1960s when flower power was at its height and they were passing around a joint from one to the other.

"It was the done thing then, and they just think their kids are doing the same and it's all a bit of harmless fun and part of growing up.

"What they fail to realise is that there is a world of difference between then and now. Kids don't share; they light up their own joint, and the drug is far stronger than in days gone by.

"Parents massively underestimate the effects of using Dutch-grown nederwiet on their children and its potential to create dependency and health risks."

Research into the strength of nederwiet has shown it to have between 14 and 20 times more THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) - the active ingredient which makes users high - than imported varieties. Once a cottage industry, it is today a huge criminally organised business.

Ashruf was convinced that regular drug use by young people in the Netherlands could lead to addiction and a range of serious health effects.

"The children who are heavy users have arrested development. Somebody of 18 is mentally developed to the age of about 15. They perform badly at school, cannot sustain friendships and have problems in their relationships.

"Most of the time nobody realises that it is caused by their use of soft drugs."

- INDEPENDENT