Maijuana being sold to mental patients

LONDON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Britain's director of mental health says drug dealers have been faking their way into psychiatric wards and selling marijuana to seriously ill patients.

Louis Appleby of the Department of Health says the dealers are masquerading as family and friends of patients to gain access to the wards, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Appleby told The Times hospitals have resorted to using sniffer dog patrols to scare off the dealers since they can't search everyone coming in and out.

He said he believes most of the dealers are not from big crime organizations and are likely to be trafficking in only small amounts of marijuana.

Marcus Roberts, policy director of the mental illness charity MIND, says it is hard to know the extent of the problem since to date no data has been collected.

"Drugs coming onto wards is a significant issue for health workers as they can impeded and set back remedies and treatment in their unit," Roberts said.