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Figures reveal that children as young as nine are admitted to the hospital.
More than 3,400 patients under the age of 19 were admitted last year due to mental and behavioral illnesses caused by this drug.
Doctors see a 'new generation' with serious problems, who buy more and more cannabis via social media sites.
James Hamilton, photographed at the age of 11 with his retired mother, Janie, became addicted to cannabis at the age of 14 and developed psychosis and depression.
James died in July 2015 after refusing treatment for his testicular cancer.
NHS figures show that admissions for drug-related disorders among under-19s have increased by 38% since 2013/14 and by 10% over the last year.
While boys make up the majority of cases, girls are catching up.
And the numbers underestimate the magnitude of the problem, because they only count patients who were so sick, they were admitted to a service unit or a specialized unit.
The revelations came as evidence rose of the damage caused by super-strong "skunk" cannabis forms that are widely available in Britain.
Last week, a large study published by the journal Lancet Psychiatry revealed that powerful forms of this drug increased five-fold the risk of psychotic disorders. Researchers at King's College London found that 30% of new cases of psychosis in London were related to skunk cannabis.
A study published in Lancet Psychiatry last week found that stronger forms of the drug were linked to a five-fold increase in psychotic disorders.
Experts – and teens themselves – say cannabis has become much more accessible in recent years via Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
Dealers openly advertise on websites. Many post photos of cannabis packaged and ready to be posted.
Many children think that cannabis is safer than alcohol and is easier to obtain because they do not need an ID card to buy it.
Cannabis is linked to serious mental illnesses, including psychosis, where patients have hallucinations and delusions, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety attacks.
Paul North, who worked for addiction treatment services in York and Leeds and is currently director of the independent think tank Volteface, said, "The ease with which young people can use drugs has increased dramatically.
"Social media is without a doubt one of the most common ways to buy drugs. Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook – they are very easy to use [use to] buy and sell drugs. There are a multitude of different accounts that you can start following and that allow you to always put drugs on sale.
"For the police, it's an absolute nightmare and they just do not have the resources.
"If you think about the story of how kids are drugged in the 60s, 70s and 80s, you have to hang out and find a drug dealer. You have to go to a house and get to know them. Now you can simply get them on Instagram and get them to post them or show you at home. "
Dr. Niall Campbell, consultant psychiatrist at Priory Hospital in London, who treats NHS patients, added, "We are witnessing the birth of a whole new generation of teenagers and teens from under 20, admitted as an emergency with paranoid psychoses related to cannabis use. .
"They think they are being watched, followed and listened to 24 hours a day by unknown pursuers who want to harm them or kill them, which can lead to violent, sometimes even suicidal behavior, while they are fleeing their imaginary pursuers.
"There is an ongoing urban myth that smoking cannabis is harmless and can be beneficial. Many people see cannabis as something that helps you relax – a drug that, unlike alcohol and cigarettes, could even be good for mental health. Statistics say the opposite. "
NHS Digital figures obtained by the Daily Mail show that there were 3,414 admissions for mental disorders and behavior caused by cannabis among those under 19 in 2017-2018. This included two involving children nine years old or younger.
Ian Hamilton, a senior lecturer in mental health services at York University, said: "No matter where you are, cannabis is much easier to access than alcohol.
"The Home Office has legalized cannabis for medical use and this message has been quite verbal for young people. The message is that cannabis is benign and harmless.
Dr. Derek Tracy, a psychiatrist at the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust in south-east London, has started seeing more young people with cannabis-related problems in the past three or four years.
He said: "While most people still get cannabis from their friends, we turned to social media platforms like Snapchat. I think that changes the market. "
Figures show that admissions of girls under the age of 19 increased by 43% in four years, from 2014 to 2018, compared to 34% more for boys. This is part of a long debate over whether the UK should legalize cannabis for recreational purposes, following Canada and some US states.
Supporters – including former Conservative leader William Hague, former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson – say the war on drugs has been "irretrievably lost." But opponents, including NHS England president Simon Stevens, argue that legalizing cannabis would increase the rate of serious mental illness.
Some critics claim that the drug has been stealthily decriminalized by the police, the number of lawsuits for possession having decreased, it has been reduced by one-fifth in two years.
A government spokesman said, "The government continues to invest in programs that have a positive impact on young people, giving them the confidence and resilience they need to resist drugs."
The protections are full of lives destroyed by this diabolical drug
By Dr. Max Pemberton for the Daily Mail
Go into any mental health service as I did and you will face the tragic victims of our nonchalant attitude towards cannabis.
More and more evidence is showing that the drug has a horrible effect on young people, especially the disturbing story of the Mail today. According to one study, a third of psychosis cases in London are due to smoking. Another study by Oxford University showed that the risk of depression in adolescents increased by 40%.
They join the hundreds of other studies that show that far from being the harmless substance that activists make us believe, cannabis is a dangerous and damaging intoxicant that has a profound effect on the structure and the brain function.
Go into any mental health service as I did and you will face the tragic victims of our nonchalant attitude towards cannabis.
Cannabis is particularly dangerous for the developing brain of young people and yet this group is most likely to experiment with drugs. It has been proven beyond any doubt that cannabis use is badociated with depression, anxiety, psychosis and disappearance, or low motivation.
It is a bitter irony that, just as our society increasingly understands mental illness, a drug that is directly responsible for the destruction of people's mental health is allowed to take on such magnitude. The smug, aging, and smoky liberal guys in the '60s,' 70s and '80s are particularly frustrating and claim that, as they are always there, everything has to go. They do not realize that not only did many people not come out unscathed from the '60s and' 70s, but also that the very powerful Skunk cannabis present on the street is totally different from what it was 15 years ago, and even less 30 years ago.
Yet, oddly enough, the police are becoming more and more relaxed. We do not apply the cannabis law, which means that the criminal justice system does not support parents who are courageously trying to move their children away. I remember having visited the home of a young man whose parents were concerned about his mental health. As his family waited nervously in the living room on the ground floor, I climbed the stairs timidly and pushed open the bedroom door to find him huddling in the corner, the carpet dotted with hundreds of cigarette burn marks and pieces of paper torn from newspapers covering the floor.
Cannabis is particularly dangerous for the developing brain of young people and yet this group is most likely to experiment with the drug
He was convinced that the devil had possessed him and that the demons were telling him to kill himself. In the end, he was cut off and sent to a psychiatric hospital, another broken spirit who joined the many victims of this drug.
His parents both agreed that shortly after taking his GCSEs, he began to change. He started using skunk and rarely came out of his room. It was only a matter of time before he ended up in the hospital.
Neighborhoods are filled with similar examples of destroyed lives, sometimes for a short time, sometimes permanently. I have seen dozens of people who became psychotic using cannabis, and the number has increased recently, as the most powerful forms have become more widely available.
Lives ruined by cannabis are not visible to everyone because they are locked up in psychiatric hospitals.
WARNING FROM THE MOM TO THE ADOLESCENTS: STOP PLAYING THE RUSSIAN ROULETTE
CANNABIS TOLL 1
James Hamilton became addicted to cannabis at the age of 14 and developed psychosis and depression.
His parents think that he was initiated to drugs by his friends while he was staying at his aunt's house. They learned that he was 15 when his behavior became erratic.
James was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and died in July 2015, at the age of 36, after refusing treatment for testicular cancer. His mother, Janie Hamilton, 67, from North Dorset, said the kids "played Russian roulette" with their mental health.
The retired teacher added, "It's true that some people will use it and escape. But when young people experiment with drugs, they do not know until it's too late if it's going to affect them. And often, the effects are not reversible and they may be struggling with a mental illness all their life.
"You can look at your friend and think he's fine when he smokes it, but the damage is a slow burner and they may already be affected."
Hamilton, who campaigns in schools to highlight the dangers of cannabis, said her son was a "brilliant writer," "witty" and dreamed of being a journalist.
CANNABIS TOLL 2
KATIE started smoking cannabis at the age of 12. At the age of 13, she was spending £ 30 a day on drugs, paid through her child savings account.
She is now 17 years old and has not used the drug for two years. She had a serious reaction after smoking a joint that had been doped with another substance.
Katie from North Yorkshire said, "I was hanging out with a lot of old people. They knew people who had the habit and thanks to that, I was able to get the numbers of the dealers.
I noticed becoming really paranoid when I was about 13 years old.
"I was really angry, I was turning a little psychotic.
"Now, people create accounts on Snapchat and Instagram and advertise them there."
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