RCPsych in the headlines: Cannabis isn’t safe for young brains
RCPsych were on the front page of the Sunday Times on 26 October 2025: ‘Cannabis isn’t safe for young brains, UK’s top psychiatrist warns parents’.
In an interview with Health Editor of The Sunday Times, Shaun Lintern, RCPsych President, Dr Lade Smith CBE, warned of the links between cannabis and psychosis.
In the article, she outlined the associated harms and called for better public health messaging.
She also emphasised the distinction between mental health and mental illness, and the importance of early intervention
She said:
“The problem is that if you smoke regularly, and regularly is one spliff of 10 per cent-plus THC cannabis per week, then your risk of developing a psychotic illness by the time you are 25 is 11 times higher”
Lade also called on the government to do more to educate parents and young people, adding:
“We’ve not got the public health message right. We know that cannabis is not a safe option.”
If you have a Times subscription, .