Cannabis and kids: empowering them to be informed, aware and conscious

BY PAUL JUNOR

Thursday, October 17^th marked a very important anniversary, as it is one year since the legalization of cannabis by the Liberal government. There are many who see this as a watershed moment in the history of Canada especially by the social conservatives and religious fundamentalists. Their worst fears and anxieties have been realized as they see kids doing things that they were afraid of. In an article by Joanne Richard in the Sunday, September 15^th, edition of the Toronto Sun, a new Health Canada study shows that youth as young as 13-years-old are twice as likely to smoke weed as they are cigarettes. Furthermore, for underage youth 13 and 14 years old in high schools, 7% of them had tried pot at least once; while 8% said they use it occasionally. This survey shows that there has been an increase in cannabis use among high-school students. This undoubtedly is a cause for alarm among health teachers and public workers.

According to Dr. Alexandria Zuckermann (the main author of the study), public perception towards marijuana started to change in 2014 before widespread medical pot use. She has been keeping tabs on students in grades 9-12 since 2012. When looking at the public education campaign with respect to the health consequences of tobacco, there has been a reduction in its usage. There has been much speculation as to what will happen if there was a similar campaign with respect to pot use. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) 2017 survey data, 19% of youth are using cannabis. There was 28% using twenty years ago and smoking cigarettes dropped from almost 30% to 7%. This is a significant reduction, which is attributed to negative public relation campaign.

Many people are concerned about the potential addictive nature of pot use. According to The American College of Pediatrician, “Marijuana is addicting, has adverse effects upon the adolescent brain, is a risk for both cardiorespiratory disease and testicular cancer, and is associated with both psychiatric illness and negative social outcomes.” This is a warning to teenagers who think that the legalization of pot is a signal that they can freely explore, experiment and dabble with it. According to Hammond, a teacher at Waterloo’s School of Public Health and Health Systems, “Early frequent use of cannabis is one of the best predictors of longer term health effects and problematic use,” as was quoted in the Toronto Sun. In addition, “Although, many youth in Canada try cannabis daily or almost daily, use among young people is an important warning signs for parents and health professionals.”

It is indispensable that federal and provincial governments have a mandate to educate people about marijuana. According to the Cannabis Act which was introduced in parliament it “Requires mandatory health warnings in important topics including: addiction, mental health, and use during pregnancy. Greater public education is important because cannabis is a substance for which many overestimate the health benefits and many others underestimate the health effects.” It is clear that the government has to be vigilant and proactive to ensure that teenagers, who are often tempted to engage in risky, experimental and exciting actions, be informed clearly and adequately of the risks and consequences of pot use. This should have been done before its official legalization.

Many people are concerned with the possibility that cannabis in edible forms like: gummy bears, cookies and lollipops could be legal in mid-December. They are concerned that this may be a means to tempt underage youth to want to use marijuana. The presence of psychoactive substances packaged to look like candies, cookies or brownies has many parents and health educators concerned. According to Buisse, “You can’t fatally overdose on cannabis, but consuming high amounts of THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) can lead to sufficiently distressing symptoms, for example: hallucinations, paranoia, and panic attacks.” This shows that there are reasons to be concerned and to ensure that teenagers receive: adequate, complete, correct, and real information that will ensure that they are fully informed.