A hot topic if ever there was one, this is often the greatest concern raised by opponents of Cannabis legalisation. There have been numerous studies regarding the potential mental health effects of Cannabis use and although the majority conclude in positive outcomes, these have been vastly brushed over to focus the discussion on this emotive and contentious point. What all of the studies come down to, even the direst ones, is that Cannabis does not cause mental illness in users.

Only 1 in 4000  people who consume Cannabis may experience an adverse reaction, yet South Africa’s current social development standing makes little room to distinguish or separate the 3999 users from the 1 victim who truly deserves not to be caught up in a legal system that indiscriminately criminalises the vast majority of users. Fields of Green for ALL supports the need to stop stigmatising responsible users and victims of Cannabis alike, and intends to see this treated as a health issue by redirecting resources away from a counter-productive policy of prohibition and instead toward a policy of constructive harm reduction without stigmatisation.