SPEAKERS TO TALK ABOUT MARIJUANA USE

It might only be a joint, but territorial prevention consultant Sandy
Bowlby wants Yukoners to know there are harmful effects that come with it.

"It is a drug and it is addictive," Bowlby, a prevention consultant
with the territory's prevention services department, said in an
interview earlier this week.

New studies have indicated marijuana is physically addictive,
heightens cancer rates and risks to mental health and impacts
short-term memory, Bowlby said.

On Thursday evening, the branch will host a public meeting at the
Gold Rush Inn to look at the effects of pot use.

The session comes after a 2005 addictions survey showed Yukoners
smoke more pot than any other Canadians.

Over the past 15 years, cannabis use in the territory has risen from
16 per cent of Yukoners to 21 per cent.

After the Yukon, British Columbia has the highest reported marijuana
use, at 17 per cent.

The lowest amount of cannabis use in the country is in Prince Edward
Island, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, all at 11 per cent.

Meanwhile throughout the country, the study showed 14 per cent of
Canadians smoke pot.

There seems to be a perception that pot is a safe drug, Bowlby said.
Recent studies, however, have indicated it can be physically
addictive. In the past, marijuana has been regarded as a drug that is
not physically addictive.

Research done in more recent years, Bowlby said, has shown heavy pot
smokers who quit suffer from anxiety, sleeping problems and have
shown anger issues while their bodies are getting rid of the drug.

It's also been found recently that when a marijuana user also smokes
tobacco, his or her risk of cancer not only increases by a little
bit, but multiplies.

There are also ties linked to marijuana use and psychophrenia, not to
mention the short-term memory loss that can have an impact on
learning and everyday tasks such as driving, Bowlby said.

The information, she said, has come from a number of studies done
throughout North America.

In recent years, it's also been learned marijuana has more THC (a
chemical in pot) in it than it had in the past.

"That will change what it does in someone's body," Bowlby said.

While Bowlby stressed pot may not be a gateway drug for everyone, it
has been shown the younger a person starts smoking weed, the more
likely he or she is to become addicted to it or move on to other drugs.

On Thursday, prevention officers, youth counsellors and an RCMP
officer will be on hand at the session to discuss the use and effects
of marijuana as well as what possession of pot means.

Health service professionals have been offered a separate session.

The idea for the information session came up from a similar session
last year on crystal meth when Cherylee Highway, an addictions
counselling teacher at the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of
Technologies, visited the territory.

While Bowlby said she has no idea if this information session will
see a similar attendance level to the 100 people who were at last
year's event, she noted it seemed to be a successful way to get the
information to area residents. She decided to follow a similar format
for information on marijuana.

Thursday's event will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Gold Rush Inn. It
will be fairly interactive, with participants being invited to ask
questions about the information, Bowlby said.