Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2003 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Lorrayne Anthony, Canadian Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) YOUNG POT USERS MORE RECKLESS Study Probes Teens' Behaviour, Feelings TORONTO -- Some teens engage in risky behaviour as they grow older and sometimes this "is associated with marijuana smoking," Statistics Canada said in a report yesterday. The agency also found that the majority of teens surveyed said they're healthy and optimistic about their futures. Among 16- and 17-year-olds surveyed in 2000-2001, "the incidence of marijuana use was 1.8 to 2.6 times higher among youth who reported participating in risky behaviours such as staying out all night without permission, taking money from parents and damaging others' property," the agency reported. But Fred Mathews of Central Toronto Youth Services said he's concerned that this will be interpreted as a cause and effect, rather than a correlation. "You can't pin it on smoking pot," he said. "There's a lot more going on." "Some teens are predisposed to risk-taking behaviours that have nothing to do with smoking marijuana and that (drugs) are just coincidental to what they are doing." Marc Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana party and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, agrees and adds that all teens are "bored and hormonal and will do things ... they crave and seek out sex, drugs, fast cars ... any excitement." The survey said that "among 16- and 17-year-olds who reported staying out all night without permission, 72 per cent reported that they had tried smoking marijuana, while the remaining 28 per cent reported that they had not." For 16- and 17-year-olds who reported that they had taken money from their parents, 64 per cent said they smoked marijuana, "and for those who reported that they had damaged others' property, 69 per cent reported that they had smoked marijuana." Forty-four per cent of all teens questioned said they had smoked marijuana in the 12 months prior to the survey. "Marijuana is so pervasive among people under 20 that it is in every single sub strata -- from honour students to dropouts to criminals to community leaders. And they are all smoking marijuana to some degree," said Emery from his home in Vancouver. Mathews said he would like to know more about the statistics. "We don't want to lose sight of the fact that this sample didn't look at the correlation between marijuana use and positive behaviours as a comparison such as the honour roll, athletics or arts." He also noted that marijuana has been proven to diminish inhibitions, which can result in everything from gaining the courage to get up and dance at a social occasion to putting oneself at risk for such things as sexually transmitted diseases and victimization. Mathews added that these risks are the same for teens as well as adults, the more prevalent users of marijuana. The statistics are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth developed jointly by Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada. The survey follows the development of children in order to get more than a snapshot of their lives. It measures the incidence of various factors that influence this development, both positively and negatively. - --- MAP posted-by: Tom