Cannabis contains an increasing amount of THC, which represents a significant risk of stroke, schizophrenia or even reduced fertility, especially in adolescents.

Tuesday morning on Europe 1, doctor Jimmy Mohamed recommends even more sustained prevention among young people. 

The cannabis sold in France today is not the same as it was a few years ago.

Her THC levels have jumped over the past few decades.

Its side effects are all the more important, especially in adolescents.

Stroke, schizophrenia, decreased fertility ... The risks are not to be taken lightly, reminds doctor Jimmy Mohamed on Tuesday morning on Europe 1. He recommends leading young people with educational prevention but not guilt. 

“Cannabis has been around for a very long time. If we do a bit of history, it even wreaked havoc on Napoleon's army in 1800 in Egypt, because the soldiers who discovered hashish had lost their motivation and no longer wanted General Bonaparte then passed a ban on cannabis, a sort of first anti-drug law.

Cannabis is made up of THC, responsible for its psychogenic effects, which attaches to receptors in the brain and activates a normally extinct circuit, that of reward.

We can a priori think that this is a good thing.

It's true that when you smoke a joint, you have an euphoric effect, you laugh.

The problem is, the more you smoke, the more you will get used to THC and the less sensitive the receptors in the brain are.

So you will need more gaskets to have exactly the same effect.

This is called tolerance.

The THC level in cannabis has risen sharply

What worries health authorities today is that the THC level in cannabis has skyrocketed in recent years.

We went from a THC around 6% in the 2000s to 30% in 2019, until the creation of synthetic molecules recently with a form of cannabis potency 100.

In the brain, there are neurons that communicate by electrical and chemical signals.

The problem with THC is that it slows down the connection between neurons.

The first effect that we perceive is a loss of motivation, in particular among adolescents, all of whose circuits are under construction.

Risk of stroke

But the effects of THC are far more serious than that first loss of motivation.

When you smoke cannabis, certain blood vessels dilate, this is called vasodilation.

It is noticed by the dilated pupils and conjunctival hyperemia, that is to say the red eyes.

The opposite phenomenon can also occur and it is even more worrying.

The more THC there is in cannabis, the greater the risk of vasoconstriction.

And it can cause a stroke.

Adolescents are also at risk of developing schizophrenia.

>> Find Jimmy Mohamed's column every morning at 8:37 am on Europe 1 as well as in replay and podcast here

The idea is not to make smokers feel guilty but rather to inform people and in particular the youngest in order to establish a dialogue to expose them to the side effects of cannabis.

One of them is often overlooked by adolescents: the effect of cannabis on fertility.

By being educational, it is possible to easily get this message across to the youngest. "