Dutch children of 12 ‘addicted to cannabis’

Dutch schoolchildren as young as 12 are being treated for addiction to a powerful home-grown marijuana which is up to 20 times stronger than imported varieties, an addiction clinic in the Netherlands 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”, Dr Romeo Ashruf, an addiction specialist, said.

The cannabis that Dutch children take, nederwiet, is produced in Holland and is up to 20 times stronger than imported varieties, he told Network 2’s Bij ons Thuis television programme last night. It was not unusual for children as young as 12 to be addicted to cannabis and referred to drugs clinics by their GPs, said Dr 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 to soft drugs are also brought in. It is an alarming development.”

Read full article: The Independent, 21 March 2006