Pubdate: Mon, 22 Jun 2015
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Gordon Clark
Page: 10
Referenced: Adolescent Marijuana Use and Its Impact on the Developing 
Brain: http://mapinc.org/url/XM3Jywln

WHEN IT COMES TO KIDS AND POT, WE GOT TOO MANY DOPES

An important study examining what we know and don't know about the 
health effects and harms of marijuana on teenagers came out last week 
and mysteriously - given the current pot debate in B.C., particularly 
here in the Big Smoke of Vancouver - it received virtually no attention.

Then again, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, since the report by 
the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse likely won't be embraced by 
the profit-motivated pot pushers who are trying to control the 
debate, including around what is hilariously referred to as medical marijuana.

Those folks have become so emboldened in recent months with their 
delusional and self-serving health claims about pot that I'm 
surprised they aren't yet promoting putting cannabis oil in baby 
bottles to treat colic. Hell, we may as well start our tiny future 
citizens early so they'll feel part of the stoner culture that our 
civic leaders are merrily enabling.

There is no doubt that pot does relieve a few medical problems, 
including the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy, but generally it 
is less effective than other drugs that doctors will prescribe.

And anyone who has actually been sold on the notion that the 80-plus 
illegal "medical" pot shops now foolishly being considered for 
licensing by Vancouver city hall are primarily about treating 
illnesses, well, why don't you just go ahead and have another brownie?

As people in the addiction-treatment community will tell you, 99 per 
cent of the folks buying "medical" marijuana are just exploiting a 
hole in Canada's drug laws to get high. It does seem pretty odd that 
Vancouverites, who are regularly revealed in studies to be the 
healthiest and fittest people in Canada, mysteriously have so many 
citizens requiring regular doses of dope, including so many 
apparently healthy young people in their 20s and 30s. No other big 
city in the country has dozens of pot shops freely selling 
unregulated products mostly produced by gangsters.

Yup, it's a stumper. Seems odd that our cops and civic leaders are so 
blase, but then this is Vancouver.

Getting back to marijuana's effects on kids, the main concern for me 
isn't the pot shops' proximity to schools, among the issues city hall 
is focusing on with their ultra vires attempts to regulate them. My 
main objection to city hall adopting a permissive attitude to an 
illegal and damaging drug is that it lends it an air of legitimacy to 
and normalizes pot use, especially among teenagers.

If adults want to get high, be my guest; I've long supported 
decriminalization of pot use. But not wanting to jail marijuana 
enthusiasts or waste police and court time going after them doesn't 
equate to believing that regular pot use is a good thing or something 
to promote, especially for teenagers with developing brains.

In her forward to the CCSA report, Joy Johnson, vice-president, 
research at Simon Fraser University, highlights some of its findings:

- - Cannabis is not a harmless drug; It can be addictive, especially if 
use starts in adolescence;

- - Early and frequent cannabis use is linked with reduced IQ, lower 
school performance and increased risk of dropping out;

- - Cannabis use affects cognitive and motor functions, and is a safety 
hazard for drivers;

- - Early and frequent use can alter the structure of the developing 
brain, including areas responsible for memory, decision making and 
executive functioning;

- - There is a link between cannabis and mental illness; and

- - Some adverse effects might be irreversible, with the potential to 
seriously limit a young person's educational, occupational and social 
development.

Yeah, that all sure sounds benign. Everyone, parents in particular, 
should read the CCSA report, which is on its website, www.ccsa.ca.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom