Pubdate: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 Source: Richmond News (CN BC) Copyright: 2002, Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.richmond-news.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1244 Author: Chris Kennedy MARIJUANA MESSAGE A DANGEROUS ONE FOR TEENS The message that all levels of government need to send Canadian youth must be clear: Marijuana is proven to be harmful and is often related to a host of social problems for young people. Unfortunately, this is not the message coming from the federal government now that the decriminalization of marijuana is on the front burner of federal politics. At the same time government is spending millions of dollars to stop cigarette smoking and trying to get alcohol-related problems under control, they are investing time, energy and resources into relaxing laws around marijuana. At some point over the last decade, smoking dope, especially for young people, has become very much in vogue. Marijuana advocates have done an excellent job of getting their message across. Have the anti-marijuana factions been so successful? Since the mid-1980s, a time that was synonymous with the unsuccessful "War on Drugs" in the U.S., there has been a continual shift in public opinion towards decriminalizing, and even legalizing, marijuana. Often overlooked in this era of greater tolerance towards marijuana is the mountain of evidence surrounding its risks. Recent research published in the British Medical Journal found that frequent use, especially among young girls, was linked to depression and anxiety. Another study found that cannabis use among young people in general increased the risk of late-onset schizophrenia by 30 per cent. While it's true that many of marijuana's short-term effects are similar to that of alcohol, such as impaired judgement and coordination, and the long-term effects in many ways mirror tobacco, both legal substances, many advocates for marijuana use make smoking dope seem like harmless fun. The largest group of mainstream victims in this glorification of marijuana campaign are young people. In schools throughout this province marijuana use can be linked to crime, absenteeism, class failures and students dropping out of school. A study done in 2000 for Health Economics Magazine found teens that smoked marijuana were twice as likely to drop out of school as their non-dope-smoking classmates. I agree with part of the sentiment behind changing the laws that surround marijuana. Young people who use it do not need to be sent to jail, they need help to stop using it. There is a desperate need for more resources to address marijuana use, along with alcohol and tobacco use, among teenagers. The problem I have with changing the laws is the perception it creates: that the government may be seen to be condoning, or even supporting, its use. The federal government's vision about curbing drug use is very unclear. As the debate over the legal status of marijuana possession rages, the message society - from the government down to the individual citizen - is sending young people about marijuana must be clear. Marijuana use is a serious social concern, often causing great strife especially among young people. Let's get past the legal semantics and get on with the serious issue of addressing the drug problems with young people that are too often ignored. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom