Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 Source: London Free Press (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 The London Free Press Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243 Author: Antonella Artuso, Free Press Queen's Park Bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) POT USE SPARKS PROGRAM TORONTO - More than one in four Ontario high school students used marijuana last year. So Parent Action on Drugs is launching a new provincial campaign to teach teens and their parents that marijuana is not a benign drug, that it can produce serious side-effects such as failing grades, sleep deprivation and anger-management problems. The What's With Weed program doesn't push for zero use, the old "just say no" approach to drugs, but asks students to consider whether their pot use has become a problem in their lives. Diane Buhler, executive director of Parent Action on Drugs, said the school-based, peer-led program and a website gives students the facts about marijuana and lets them make their own choices. The www.whatswithweed.ca website -- featuring a self-quiz about marijuana use and messages from fellow teens -- will be launched Monday at the start of Drug Awareness Week. Malvern collegiate institute Grade 12 student Natasha Lantz, who served as a youth adviser in developing the program, said every student entering high school will have to make a choice about marijuana. "It's definitely something that's always present." Students won't stop using marijuana just because someone tells them to, so it's important to give them information on how it can affect their lives, she said. "Most people are under the impression that it's a harm-free drug," Lantz said. Tom Walker, an addiction counsellor with Breakaway Youth and Family Services, said marijuana use can cause users to become chronically tired or angry. Teenage users can "sleepwalk through school," leading to poor grades and failing ambition, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek