MARIJUANA USE DOUBLES AMONG YOUTH

Statistics Canada Study Also Finds Cannabis-Related Charges on Rise

Canada is in no danger of turning into a nation of potheads, but the number
of Canadians, especially younger ones, who admit to indulging in marijuana
and hashish almost doubled over a 13-year period, according to a new
Statistics Canada report.

The federal agency says about three million Canadians aged 15 and older, or
12.2 per cent, admitted in 2002 to using the two cannabis substances in the
previous 12 months. This was up from 6.5 per cent who reported use of
cannabis in 1989, and 7.4 per cent in 1994.

Marijuana use peaked among 18 and 19 year olds. Almost four in 10 -- 38 per
cent -- reported using marijuana and hashish in the previous year.

Among those ages 15 through 17, the rate was 29 per cent, or almost three
in 10.

Usage drops off the older Canadians get. It drops to six per cent among
those 45 to 54 years of age, and virtually disappears after age 65.

Men in almost all age groups were more likely to use marijuana and hash
than women.

The head of a group advocating regulated legalization of marijuana said the
trend exposes the ludicrousness of existing laws that make possession of
marijuana a criminal offence.

"The legal status of the drug has very little to do with whether people use
it," said Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy. "All
we're doing is continuing to criminalize millions and millions of Canadians."

Mr. Oscapella says it's time for the federal Liberals to at least enact
proposed legislation to decriminalize possession of less than 15 grams of
marijuana.

The legislation, which has prompted fierce opposition, is in limbo.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters yesterday the legislation would
be reintroduced after Parliament resumes in October.

However, its passage is not guaranteed in the minority Liberal government
without substantial support from Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs. The
Conservatives dug in against the legislation last time, preventing the bill
from coming to a vote before Parliament was prorogued for the June election.

The StatsCan study, based on data from the Canadian Community Health
Survey, also showed Canadians were significantly less likely to use
cocaine/crack, ecstasy, LSD, speed/amphetamines and heroin. Only 2.4 per
cent of Canadians aged 15 or older had used at least one of those drugs in
the year before the survey, up from 1.6 per cent in 1994. Crack/cocaine was
the drug of choice for most, about 321,000 Canadians or 1.3 per cent.

Among the three million who admitted to using cannabis in the year before
the survey, close to half used the drug less than once a month. One in 10
reported weekly use, and another 10 per cent reported daily use.

The rates of usage were higher than the national average of 12.2 in four
provinces: British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta. British
Columbia had the highest rate at 16 per cent.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba had the lowest
rate, all coming in at nine per cent.

The study also reported the rate of cannabis-related drug offences
increased from 119 to 223 per 100,000 population between 1991 and 2002.
Most -- 72 per cent -- involved possession.