Cerebral Atrophy In Young Cannabis Smokers – a letter:

Sir, -The paper by Dr. Campbell and his colleagues (Dec. 4, p. 1219) is of great importance, and there are other reasons expecting that gross irreversible brain damage may occur in young drug-addicts. It is both astonishing and I think reprehensible that we are still quite unable to spell-out either the temporary or the irrecoverable damage to the brain that results from drug addiction. Dr. Campbell refers to other causes of brain decay in young people. Here it may be relevant to add that gross brain damage may result not only from obvious cerebral anoxia, but also in exceptional types of “battle exhaustion”. It seems possible that the taking of drugs during a period of severe physiological fatigue might be particularly harmful, and it would certainly be interest to know if drug-addicts are liable to develop a variety of Parkinsonism, such as occasionally follows battle exhaustion. It may also be worth noting that I think that the outbreak of “encephalitis lethargica” in the 1920s, which had similar after-effects was never proved to be due to an infection. The need for vigorous research programme is painfully obvious.

Source: W. Ritchie Russell, Oxford.
Sir,-Your leader (Dec. 4, p.1240) is excessively cautious. Dr. Campbell and his colleagues (p.12 19) do not claim proof, but their evidence is amply sufficient to justify the continuation and strengthening of every possible measure to suppress cannabis. You may agree with this, but, regrettably, you do not say so.
Source: F.J. Nattrass, Litter Cocklands, Burford, Oxford