Pubdate: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 Source: Sudbury Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 The Sudbury Star Contact: http://www.thesudburystar.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/608 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) GET OFF THE POT Marijuana Use Among Area Teenagers Must Be Challenged By Public Health Officials No doubt, there are more pressing health concerns in Sudbury and Canada than marijuana use. Still, the ease with which pot can be obtained in local schoolyards and the apparent lack of information available to pot smokers should be, as identified in a recent Sudbury Star story, cause for concern. A recent Health Canada survey showed that 47 per cent of Canadian teenagers have used pot and many Canadian teenagers use it consistently because it is easier to obtain and is thought to be less dangerous than tobacco. The study found the easier access to marijuana is ironically due to the legal age limit for smoking cigarettes and the fact that you have to buy cigarettes through traditional outlets, such as corner stores. In talking with a handful of teenagers about their pot use, The Star found attitudes in Sudbury are consistent with Health Canada's results. The ease with which marijuana can be purchased -- in or around virtually every high school in the city -- and the strong anti-smoking messages in the city today can leave teens with the impression that marijuana is a readily available, effectively legal and largely safe product to use. To be sure, society does a lot to reinforce these messages. Crackdowns on the sale of tobacco to underagers now mean it's at least as easy, if not often easier, for youth to buy pot than it is to buy cigarettes. That's not much of a comparison since it's illegal for youth to obtain both, but given the vagaries of peer pressure, it shouldn't surprise anyone that teens would seize upon the most available vice. As well, perhaps as early as this year the federal government will likely decriminalize marijuana possession, a measure that would bring the law up to speed with Canada's courts which are already refusing to prosecute simple possession. To an underage teen, then, it's no more serious an offence to be caught smoking a joint than it is to be caught with cigarettes or a case of beer. Lastly, the addictive, cancer-causing characteristics of tobacco use have been the subject of in-your-face advertising campaigns launched by virtually every level of government. But there is little information available about the effects of marijuana use. The Sudbury and District Health Unit's website, for example, offers local teens information on animal bites, handwashing, food safety, rabies and, of course, tobacco use, among other things, but nothing at all about marijuana use. Or any narcotic, for than matter. This is a shame. Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year showed long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction. According to the study, marijuana use by teenagers who have prior antisocial problems can quickly lead to addiction. The study found some teens cannot control their urges to seek out and use marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family relationships, school performance and recreational activities. It's easy to extrapolate that marijuana use is having an effect on area teenagers, and on area families and schools. It may not be as dramatic an effect as tobacco, alcohol or harder drugs have, but there is still cause for concern. "I'm aware of the hazards of smoking pot," one teen told The Star. "But the benefits far outweigh the hazards." No one knows this to be true, and, indeed, available evidence suggests it isn't true. That makes this a public health issue, one worthy of further study and better education of area youth. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek