"This time last year was the lowest point of my life. I was about to lose everything.”

According to the British Lung Foundation, about a third of adults in the UK have tried cannabis.

The same research estimates that 1.1 million young people aged 16-24 across England and Wales used cannabis in 2011.

Whilst many young people use cannabis without problems, there is a minority that are affected detrimentally.

Reza Hussain, a previous marijuana user spoke to us about his addiction. “It’s not difficult to get hold of the stuff. Everyone does it. Dealers are not difficult to find.

“I started smoking weed recreationally since I was a teenager.

“But after I got married it increased. I was living at home with my parents.

“Every time my wife would complain about missing her family in Pakistan, or any time she would get into an argument with my mum, or nag about me going out with my friends, it would stress me out.

“Every time my wife got upset, I used to smoke weed more.

“I’m not blaming her. It was my own f****d up coping mechanism.

“I went from smoking on a Saturday night to a few evenings during the week.

“The problem got worse when I started smoking at home. My parents never realised, but obviously my wife did.

“I even tried to get her to do it with me. She said no.

“But with all that extra smoking, along with all the highs come the lows. And the side-effects."

He said he started to become increasingly paranoid about wanted to know about his wife's movements.

“Every time my wife went out, I suspected her of having an affair.

“I would interrogate her about everything she did and who she spoke to.

“I started reading all her emails and text messages to reassure myself that she wasn’t sleeping around.

“At one point I thought she was sleeping with the local butcher and the plumber that came to fix the bathroom.

“I even stopped her from going to Pakistan to visit her parents because first of all I thought she wouldn’t come back.

“But more importantly, I thought she might be seated next to a man in the plane.

“I know it sounds harmless, but at the time, that thought consumed me.

“I asked her to switch seats if that happened. When she said no, I didn’t let her go.

“That was when my wife told my parents. My dad threatened to throw me out of the family business and cut me off. “I felt so betrayed by my wife. It felt like they were ganging up on me.

“My parents are really religious. My dad thought the solution lay in taking me for umrah."

Eventually he went to see a therapist after a friend advised too.

“The therapist told me that one addiction normally comes with other addictions.

“I could see that in the way I became obsessed with everything my wife was doing.

“I am ashamed to admit that I hit her when she went to see the dentist who turned out to be male.

“She needed to get a tooth pulled out. I was waiting for her in the car.

“After I questioned her about it and she admitted that it was a male dentist that treated her, I slapped her.

“That was when she told me that she was pregnant. And then she gave me an ultimatum.

“Either I stop smoking the stuff, or she will leave me and never let me see my child.”

Marijuana is said to be one of the most difficult drugs to give up due to the profound nature of its addictive quality and its association with mental health issues.

Reza continued, “Every time I feel agitated now, I go for a run. Exercise is a good release. Needless to say, I have become quite obsessive about my running. But running is a less evil obsession than weed.

“Any time I feel the urge, I just look at my baby boy. He is the biggest motivation for me to stay clean.”