AN MP has claimed that cannabis use is adding to demand for mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price, MP for Thurrock and minister for mental health, has stated that we should not be squeamish about mentioning the contribution drug use is making to fuelling demand for mental health services.

The comments were made in Parliament during a debate on Depersonalisation Disorder.

Depersonalisation is where the mind is detaching from the body; those affected feel as if they are outside themselves gives the experience of feeling unreal, detached, and unable to feel emotion.

The House heard about Jane, who developed the disorder at the age of 18 following the consumption of Cannabis resin mixed in a yoghurt.

In response Jackie Doyle-Price said, “DPD can often be brought on by drug use. I do not think we should be squeamish about mentioning that. We have a debate going on about drugs at the moment that is all about, ‘We have lost the war against drugs; it is all done through the lens of crime and disorder.’

“The reality is that the extent of cannabis use in this country is contributing to our mental health crisis—of that I have no doubt—and I do not think we should be squeamish about saying it”