Pubdate: Thu, 17 Apr 2003
Source: Georgina Advocate (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003 Georgina Advocate
Contact:  http://www.yorkregion.com/yr/newscentre/georgina/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2433

YORK PUBLIC HEALTH SHOULD AWAIT DETAILS OF NATIONAL POT STRATEGY

Just Say No to Pot.

The York Region public health department wants to be sure citizens are 
aware of the dangers of smoking marijuana, just as it does with alcohol and 
smoking cigarettes.

It's the first time local health advocates have targeted a specific drug in 
an awareness campaign -- it's no coincidence they got the urge to do so 
just as the federal Justice Department is preparing legislation to ease 
marijuana laws.

One can assume the public health department expects more people will 
consider taking up smoking pot once it's decriminalized.

It's a concern that hasn't played out in other jurisdictions.

For instance, 12 American states have largely decriminalized marijuana 
possession -- saving billions of dollars in court and prison costs -- 
without experiencing an increase in marijuana use.

The federal government is launching a campaign stressing pot is a health 
hazard as part of the new multi-million drug strategy that will also focus 
on enforcement of drug crimes and revamped treatment and rehabilitation 
programs.

It's not clear why York Region feels it must launch its own initiative, 
duplicating the federal government program, particularly at a time when 
funds are stretched to the limit.

Unfortunately, officials were reluctant to provide any details regarding 
funding.

The rationale for the program is fuzzy, given there is no specific evidence 
marijuana use is of a particular concern in the region.

And by insisting the program would go ahead regardless of the outcome of 
the federal legislation, public health officials are only adding another 
level of perplexity to the issue.

The campaign aims to target the population at large, providing facts about 
the benefits and consequences of marijuana use, according to Patricia 
Scott-Jeoffroy, a substance abuse prevention educator.

A report presented to the region estimates more than 26,000 York Region 
youth -- about 30 per cent of students in grades 7 to OAC -- have used 
marijuana.

"(Marijuana) is the number 1 identified drug of choice we see among youth," 
said Pam Santon of Addiction Services for York Region.

That's surprising, given the common assumption tobacco and alcohol are the 
most widely used and abused drugs.

Marijuana is the second most common drug for adults after alcohol, 
according to Ms Santon, however many people that may be.

Close to half of marijuana users are 30 or older, according to the Centre 
for Addiction and Mental Health's study.

Decriminalization of marijuana aside, the public health department appears 
to have a case for an awareness program focused on youth -- it's unlikely 
the campaign would have much impact on users 30 and older.

There seems to be little correlation between the severity of a nation's 
marijuana laws and the rate of use among its teenagers. In the United 
Kingdom, where drug penalties are harshly enforced, the rate of marijuana 
use among 15 and 16-year-olds is the highest in western Europe -- 
one-and-a-half times the rate in Spain and the Netherlands, where the drug 
has been decriminalized.

The UK rate is six times as high as the rate in Sweden, a nation that has 
single-mindedly pursued a public-health approach to drug control. Sweden 
now has the lowest rate of marijuana use in western Europe.

Although marijuana does not turn teenagers into serial killers or 
irreversibly destroy their brains with one use as the infamous Reefer 
Madness movie and other government propaganda once suggested, it should not 
be smoked by young people.

Marijuana is a powerful intoxicant and its use can diminish academic and 
athletic performance.

Adolescents experience enough social and emotional confusion without the 
added handicap of being stoned. If marijuana use does, indeed, exert subtly 
harmful effects on the reproductive and immune systems, young people could 
be at greatest risk.

The huge difference between the alleged and actual effects of marijuana has 
long provided young people with grounds for distrusting authority. Praised 
by rebels and artists as diverse as Cab Calloway, Jack Kerouac, Arlo 
Guthrie and Snoop Doggie Dog, marijuana has attained a lofty symbolic 
importance.

Any drug education program must respect the intelligence of young people by 
promoting drug-free lives without scare tactics, lies and hypocrisy.

The new legislation from Ottawa is expected to address criticism of the 
national drug strategy that lacked co-ordination and leadership and 
suffered from shoddy research and a lack of measurable results.

The region may better meet the needs of its citizens, particularly its 
youth, if it awaits the details of the new federal legislation and 
awareness campaign rather than contribute to that lack of co-ordination.
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