The number of people needing hospital treatment after taking cannabis has reached a 10-year high.
Shock new figures show about 14% of those admitted to medical facilities last year after takings drugs had used the recreational narcotic – the highest level since 2006-07.
The rate of those hospitalised after using marijuana was also higher than for people who had taken the Class A drug cocaine – with 913 hospital stays compared to 553.
In the NHS Highland area there was a sharp rise in admissions for “cannabinoids” in 2015-16, with 36 people being treated after taking the drug, up 13.4% from the year before.
In the NHS Grampian area there was a 4% rise compared with the previous year, with 48 drug-related hospital admissions being blamed on cannabis.
The Scottish Conservatives said the figures showed that cannabis should not be legalised – but the Scottish Liberal Democrats disagreed.
Highlands and Islands MSP and Tory justice spokesman Douglas Ross said: “These figures show very clearly that cannabis is not the harmless substance some would have us believe.
“It’s quite alarming that quite so many people are being hospitalised through using cannabis, a drug many people feel authorities are going soft on.
“And not only is it dangerous in its own right, as these statistics prove, but it’s a gateway drug to even more harmful substances.”
Mr Ross said the country faced a “massive fight” to stem the flow of illegal drugs on to Scotland’s streets.
He added: “Now is not the time to give in and wave the white flag.
“We need to crack down on those circulating drugs of all kinds on our streets, and reinforce the message about just how damaging taking these substances can be.”
But the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton disagreed.
He said: “It is concerning to see these figures rise, however the Conservatives’ solution is completely wrong and regressive.
“If anything these figures show that the Lib Dems have been right in calling for this dark market to be brought out of the shadows.
“If the Tories had their way then they would drive the market further underground, exposing people to more dangerous drugs and endangering more lives, leading to more hospitalisations.
“The answer is to educate and regulate not to punish as the Tories want to do.”
