Stress and Medicinal Use

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Is drug use a normal response to the stresses of life - a medicinal use?

"Historically, virtually all societies have used drugs of some form. If drug use is seen within the context of cultural and social life, it can be perceived as statistically 'normal' ".
[p.3, The Substance of Young Needs - review 2001 (Health Advisory Service) ]

Work-related stress:

Department of Trade and Industry:
"Employers are oblivious to the £370m workplace stress costs industry each year. Only one quarter (28%) realise just how much stress is really hitting the bottom line, according to research carried out by the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Work-Life Balance Campaign. Stress-related sick leave costs industry £7.1million every week, but the new research shows that over half (52%) of the employers surveyed underestimated this cost".
www.dti.gov.uk/work-lifebalance/press27_03_02a.html

BBC News:
"Stressed workers are costing British industry £3bn a year, says a mental health charity report [The Mental Health Foundation]. Junior employees are suffering more "burn-out" than senior executives, says the report, but instead of tackling the problem many wear their stress as a "badge of honour"."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1283000/1283196.stm

BBC News:
"Stress at work costs employers around £5bn a year, according to the TUC which is launching a major campaign to tackle the problem. The guidance, Tackling stress at work, says more than half a million workers suffer stress every year and nearly six million working days are lost because of it."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/106906.stm

Social exclusion stress:

Government's report '10 year strategy for tackling drugs':
"Research suggests that there are all kinds of reasons for misuse; that key factors include unemployment, low self esteem, educational failure, boredom and physical, psychological or family problems. And many people misuse drugs because they don't have the opportunity to lead fulfilling lives."
www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm39/3945/ad-intro.htm

High Times:
"The biggest killer on the planet is stress and I still think the best medicine is and always has been cannabis."
Willie Nelson, January 1991

Medicinal use of cannabis