Time to get ready
If all goes according to plan, Canada’s new marijuana law will take effect in July 2018. It’s what happens between now and then that is critical, especially when it comes to safeguarding young Canadians who are the most vulnerable to the potential harms of marijuana use.
Studies have shown adolescents are particularly at risk due to the fact their brains are continuing to develop and at a rapid pace. It’s wise to take into consideration that research has shown that chronic marijuana usage is linked to memory and attention difficulties, prominently among individuals who started use while in early adolescence.
The Canadian Centre of Substance Abuse is concerned that heavy use raises the risk of psychosis, depression and anxiety, as well as respiratory conditions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society cautions there are several risks for young people associated with the recreational use of marijuana.
Dr. Christine Grant, an adolescent medicine specialist at McMaster University in Hamilton, who co-authored the society’s position paper on marijuana use stated: “We know that our brains develop well into our 20s and also from science that cannabis has an effect both structurally and functionally on our brains and that when our brains are developing we’re most vulnerable.”
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive component of marijuana. Dr. Grant said by limiting its concentrations until age 25, it is hoped some risks could be mitigated. The society is concerned that regular or heavy potsmoking can in some cases cause psychotic events, such as depersonalization and losing touch with reality.
Legalization is on track to happen. Canada and Nova Scotia must be prepared to protect vulnerable youth by putting in place thorough and sustained initiatives to educate youth.
The effort should provide youth with an understanding that they should delay marijuana use. The reasons are many and the risks are too great.
A public education program to educate everyone about the perils of cannabis-impaired driving is needed as we move to legalization. Driving under the influence of marijuana should be as socially unacceptable as driving drunk.
The Canadian Automobile Association has lobbied for a government-funded public education program and says police will also need more funding to learn how to recognize and investigate drug-impaired drivers.
As the Canadian Automobile Association said in a release, “There need to be significant resources devoted to educating the public in the run-up to, and after, marijuana is legalized.”
We are about a year from this new world. The time to educate is now, so we are better prepared to deal with the real health risks of the new legal and social transformation of marijuana use.