Super-Strong 'Skunk' Pot Linked to Psychosis

Seizures of a super-strong strain of marijuana nicknamed "skunk" have risen sharply in the UK and experts say it could be causing an epidemic of cannabis-induced psychosis, the Daily Telegraph reports. Skunk is up to four times more potent than regular herbal cannabis, and now accounts for 80% of street seizures. British politicians are now debating reclassifying marijuana as a more dangerous drug.

Mental health experts say the powerful high skunk provides can tip mentally vulnerable people over the edge into full-fledged psychosis. One estimated that a quarter of all new schizophrenia cases would be linked to the drug in the next two years. Government advisers say that gangs growing skunk are cornering the marijuana market in the UK. "Traditional herbal cannabis has almost been squeezed out of the market," noted one. (More marijuana stories.)