Should we be worried about cannabis in Wales?

New figures show more than 1,550 people were referred for treatment for cannabis use in Wales in the last year.

Alcohol problems still amount to more than half of all substance misuse cases in Wales, according to Public Health Wales.

Heroin accounts for nearly a fifth of cases.

But is cannabis - just under 10% of cases - something we should still be worried about in Wales?

HOW MANY ARE USING CANNABIS?

Cannabis use peaks in the late teens and early 20s, and then declines with age, according to the Home Office's Crime Survey.

The most recent crime survey suggests cannabis use has dropped in Wales, with 6.1% claiming to have taken the drug in the last year.

At a high point in 2003/04, this was 10%.

Across England and Wales, 2.2 million are estimated to have taken cannabis in the last year.

This compares with an estimated 21,000 of 16 to 59 year olds taking heroin and 768,000 who took cocaine.

Men are twice as likely as women to smoke cannabis.

YOUNG PEOPLE AND CANNABIS

On average, 7% of young people in Wales have taken cannabis

The latest Welsh government survey of health behaviour of pupils aged 11 to 16 in Wales found:

• The lowest levels of cannabis use since 2002

• The likelihood of being offered drugs rises with age, to around a third of year 11 pupils

• One in six of year 11 (15-16 year olds) pupils have tried cannabis

Across England and Wales, the number of 16 to 24 year olds using cannabis in the last year is estimated to being around 950,000. The Home Office's Crime Survey also suggests a long term "significant fall" - from 25.8% in 1996 to 16.3% in the most recent survey.

CANNABIS AND TREATMENT

Figures for referrals to drug treatment centres for cannabis show an increase over the last five years - to 1,556 people in Wales in the last year.

The average age is 20 and around half were under 19.

The numbers of the under 15s has started to fall but health officials have noticed a slight increase in those aged up to 24.

Included is the use of cannabinoids - synthetic variations of the drug - and stronger skunk cannabis.

Public Health Wales said young people may not be aware of this distinction and the issues around synthetics.

Josie Smith, head of its substance misuse programme, said: "If you've purchased it from head shop, you don't categorically know what you're taking. 130 different varieties have been identified and it can have a much more potent effect on the brain while neither its health and chronic effects are known."

Sarah Walsh, of Drugaid Cymru in south east Wales, said the number one reason for drug referrals of young people was still cannabis - both for physical and mental health issues.

"Physically, some of the young people we work with will complain of a negative impact on their chest and breathing," said Ms Walsh.

"Their concentration and motivation can also be affected which could be due to their cannabis use.

"Mental health problems can also be presented by some of the young people we work with, such as feeling paranoid or anxious.

"In some more extreme cases, we have dealt with drug-induced psychosis where cannabis has been one the drugs used by the young person. However, this has been when used with a number of other substances."

CANNABIS AND CRIME

A gang operating in south Wales and Bristol grew 7,500 cannabis plants worth an estimated £3.5m

The National Police Chiefs' Council is expected to publish a report in the next few days looking at the scale of criminal activity relating to cannabis.

Altogether in England and Wales, nearly half a million cannabis plants were seized in the last year, a drop of 11%.

In 90% of seizures, fewer than 50 plants were involved.

Figures have suggested a fall in the number of raids.

• 43 cannabis farms or factories - more than 25 plants categorised as commercial - were recorded in Dyfed-Powys, nearly half of these in Carmarthenshire in 2014/15

• 20 were found in the North Wales Police force area - this is down on the average of 50 in each of the previous three years.

• Gwent Police said they dealt with 249 offences of cultivation, which includes smaller numbers of plants.

South Wales Police could not provide figures but said they are committed to enforcement regarding all illegal drugs.

Det Supt Simon Davies, head of force intelligence and organised crime at South Wales Police, said: "The cultivation of cannabis and the direct links to organised criminality are very evident and officers are regularly uncovering premises across our communities which contain many hundreds of cannabis plants.

"Arrests are frequently made and those accountable are placed before the court.

He said they wanted to encourage communities to provide intelligence "to allow us to take disruptive action".

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Winston Roddick has pledged not to "go soft" on enforcing even smaller cannabis offences.

"My approach to drugs in general and cannabis in particular remains as it was: If the use of them is illegal according to law the police should enforce the law," he said.

"If a police force were to decide which laws to enforce and which not to enforce, it would be usurping the function of Parliament.

"The people we serve have every right to expect us to provide a professional and comprehensive service and in relation to cannabis so long as it remains an illegal drug North Wales Police will continue to enforce against its use."

THE LEGALISATION DEBATE

The question of whether cannabis should be legalised has been intensely debated in recent months.

Although the Home Office said it has no plans to change the law on cannabis, MPs debated the issue after a petition calling for legalisation drew more than 220,000 signatures.

An all-party group wants the UK to try out a controlled system where licensed premises sell labelled and tested cannabis.

Long-time campaigner for legalisation Newport West MP Paul Flynn said politicians have been cowardly over the issue.

Meanwhile, drugs smuggler turned author Howard Marks in a recent BBC interview maintains cannabis is better legalised than left to the criminal world.

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR LEGALISATION?

The most recent YouGov poll of 1,600 people in March found 49% were against legalising cannabis; 32% were in favour and 18% did not know.

A 2013 poll for the Transform drugs policy group - which wants a controlled legalisation - found 53% backed a regulated legalisation or decriminalisation for possession and only 14% wanted tougher enforcement.