The emerging cannabis treatment population

The purpose of this paper is to examine recent trends in presentation to treatment where cannabis is identified as the primary drug.

Data is drawn from the recently published Public Health England report and supplemented with Home Office and European data.

The data shows a marked increase in presentations for cannabis treatment over recent years. The authors offer some potential explanations for this trend.

The authors need to improve our understanding of the type of cannabis that is available and how specifically it is used. In parallel there is a pressing need for an evaluation of evidence in relation to treatment for problematic cannabis users.

This paper highlights this recent trend in treatment presentations, offers some potential explanations and makes associated recommendations.