Let me tell you about the birds and the weed...

Ageneration of Canadians who grew up with the “Just Say No” anti-drug messaging of the 1980s will find themselves in uncharted waters next summer.

As of July 1, 2018 marijuana will be legal, which will radically change a lot of things — including, significantly, how we talk to our kids about it.

Realistically, it’s a conversation we should already be having. According to a 2013 UNICEF Office of Research report, Canadian youth are among the top users of marijuana in the developed world.

But in this new world order, how we talk to our kids about marijuana could look like how we talk to them about sex — another activity many teenagers already engage in recreationally, whether parents like to admit it or not. “The Talk” about the birds and the bees ought to include blunts.

Like having sex, smoking weed can be done recklessly, irresponsibly and dangerously. And, like having sex, smoking weed can be done in a manner that is safer, more responsible and, yes, pleasurable.

When we take the pleasure piece out of either conversation, we do young people a great disservice. Talking about pleasure when we talk about sex opens the door for conversations about consent, as well as the fact that sex should feel good — and what to do if it doesn’t.

Meanwhile, the “pleasure” part of the marijuana conversation allows us to talk honestly about what the appeal is and how it makes people feel — and why that will be different for everyone.

Addressing the risks of certain behaviours and mitigating the harmful consequences of those behaviours is a public-health principle called harm reduction. The term might be evocative of clean-needle exchanges, but harm reduction also includes safer-sex education. Young people not only learn how to prevent sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies through the proper use of effective contraception, they also learn about consent, establishing boundaries and trust and how to deal with peer pressure.

Young people will also benefit from straighttalking education about drugs. Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines, which have been endorsed by six of the country’s public-health organizations, are one resource available to aid in the discussion. More will doubtlessly be developed over the coming months.

What isn’t useful is withholding information, or cloaking it in shame and fear. It remains a stubbornly held belief, for example, that sex education in schools leads to a higher incidence of teen pregnancy. In fact, the opposite is true: in the U.S., the states with the highest rates of teenage pregnancy are the ones that teach abstinence-only education. Teenagers are still going to have sex — they’re just going to have risky sex if they aren’t equipped with adequate information. Abstinence, whether we’re talking about sex or drugs, is indeed a piece of the educational puzzle, but it’s just one piece.

Intentionally mystifying a subject young people are naturally curious about will not keep anyone safe.

Legalization provides a golden opportunity — and, one might fairly argue, an obligation — to open the lines of communication.

Whether we’re talking about sex, or drugs, or drinking, it is vitally important that young people are armed with evidence-based education so they are empowered to make informed choices — and that they have adults in their lives whom they feel comfortable going to with questions and concerns.

That’s our best chance to keep them safe and healthy as we head into those uncharted waters.