Pubdate: Fri, 17 Oct 2014
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: L7
Copyright: 2014 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Adriana Barton

MYTHS TRUMP FACTS AMONG YOUNG POT USERS

Studies have found that adolescents have a big knowledge gap when it
comes to the possible dangers of marijuana use

Even though teens who smoke pot are at higher risk for cognitive
problems, motor vehicle accidents and substance abuse, young Canadians
see marijuana as a harmless herb.

Pot, teens say, helps them to relax, focus, drive better, be less
violent and think more creatively, according to a survey by the
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

And while young people noted downsides such as "becoming lazy," the
negative effects paled in comparison with the benefits they described.
Some believed marijuana could "purify" the immune system, others said
it could cure cancer.

This knowledge gap is worrisome considering that Canadian adolescents
have the highest rate of cannabis use in the developed world, said Dr.
Sheryl Spithoff, family physician and addictions medicine specialist
at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.

In fact, young Canadians don't think of marijuana as an actual drug.
They see it as a "natural" and non-addictive alternative to
cigarettes, the 2013 survey found, and perceived weed as much safer
than alcohol.

But research has shown that marijuana is at least as harmful as
alcohol to the developing brain. And the notion that pot is
non-addictive is pure myth, scientists say. More than 5 per cent of
all Canadians aged 15 to 24 meet the criteria for cannabis abuse or
dependence, according to data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health
Survey.

Moreover, "cannabis use and driving is highly prevalent in youth - way
more prevalent now than drinking alcohol and driving," said Dr.
Bernard Le Foll, a drug-addiction researcher and clinician at the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

Meanwhile, the medical benefits of cannabis are being touted by
marijuana producers left and right. In the past year alone, dozens of
illegal marijuana dispensaries have cropped up in cities such as
Vancouver, selling highgrade bud and cannabis-laced cookies and
candies seven days a week.

In this context, it's no wonder that Canadian youth "appear confused"
about marijuana, the CCSA survey pointed out.

Experts, including Spithoff, say teens need the facts regardless of
whether Canada decides to legalize recreational marijuana use.

And, Spithoff said, studies have shown a strong link between what kids
perceive as the harms of a substance and their actual use of that drug.

She added that in the past, public-health campaigns designed to reduce
substance use in youth have had "a lot of mixed results." Fear tactics
- - like the classic fried-egg commercial, "This is your brain on drugs"
- - tend to backfire, said Dr. Amy Porath-Waller, interim director of
research and policy at the CCSA.

In focus groups, "youth didn't take those messages seriously," she
said. "They want fact-based messages - messages that reflect the best
evidence of the day."

Prevention efforts should reflect the everyday realities of Canadian
youth and communicate the latest science on both the benefits and
harms of marijuana use, the CCSA report said.

In Colorado, where recreational use has been legal since 2012, the
change in marijuana's legal status has not resulted in a significant
increase or decrease in teen users, according to a 2013 survey from
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

But as Colorado has learned, providing youth with balanced information
about the potential negative consequences of marijuana is easier said
than done.

The state's recent "Don't be a lab rat" campaign has drawn ridicule
for presenting a study's conclusion that pot lowers IQ as hard fact,
but then tempering the statement with the words: "Some dispute that
study. But what if, years from now, you learn those scientists were
right?"

Youth may be more receptive to receiving fact-based information from
trusted figures such as a family doctor, Spithoff said, noting that
studies have shown that adolescents are interested in hearing what
family physicians have to say about drug use. A routine checkup could
be an opportunity for doctors "to both communicate messages about
substance use and inquire about it," she said.

With an aim to better informing health professionals and the public,
the CCSA has put together a scientific advisory committee to clarify
"what we know and don't know" about the effects of marijuana on youth,
Porath-Waller said. The findings will be synthesized within the next
year "so we can better equip the prevention work force in Canada," she
said.

She emphasized that kids need to hear the same message about cannabis
use reinforced wherever they go - in schools, community centres, Boy
Scouts and Girl Guides clubs, sports groups, and at home. Parents can
play a role in delivering a consistent message, "which is what the
evidence suggests is most effective," Porath-Waller said.

But she added, "it's not just young people who are confused." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard