MARIJUANA TOPS TOBACCO AMONG TEENS

Youth Cannabis Use Hits 25-Year Peak

Canadian teens are more likely to smoke marijuana than tobacco,
according to a new national survey.

A poll of 1,250 12-to-19 year olds revealed that getting high is once
again "mainstream," says a Health Canada representative.

The results suggest the greatest cannabis use among young people in 25 years.

Health Canada gave a preliminary report of its findings last week to a
House of Commons committee holding hearings on a bill that would
decriminalize marijuana, but stiffen penalties against grow
operations.

"Research we have conducted on 12-to 19-year-olds shows us that
marijuana has gone mainstream and is well integrated into teen
lifestyle," reported Linda Dabros, a special adviser to Health
Canada's director general of drug strategy.

Fifty-four per cent of 15-to 19 year-olds said they had smoked
marijuana more than once. When 12-to 14-year-olds were added to the mix,
however, the overall numbers dropped to 34 per cent.

Cigarette smoking, on the other hand, continues to decline among young
people, with the latest national figures showing that 22 per cent of
teens light up regularly.

The nationwide findings are mirrored in a similar study by the
regional health and social services board in the Outaouais, where
marijuana has surpassed cigarettes as one of the two most popular
drugs among high school students.

Marthe Deschones, a researcher with the Regie regionale de la sante et
des services sociaux de l'Outaouais said yesterday a 2002 survey
showed 30 per cent of high school students used marijuana more than once
a month.

That compared to 24 per cent who smoked cigarettes. The board's study
was based on a survey of 2,180 students in 23 public and private high schools.

The 275-page study asked English- and French-speaking students in
public and private schools about their family life, work, smoking,
drinking, drug use, Internet habits and mental health. The report was the
third in a series conducted previously in 1991 and 1996.

It showed that alcohol remained the drug of choice among high school
students, with 55 per cent drinking at least occasionally. That figure is
virtually unchanged from numbers recorded in 1991 and 1996.

Ms. Deschones said cigarette consumption among teenagers declined
after 1996 because of increases in cigarette prices. She said
marijuana has become more popular than cigarettes in recent years
because it is widely available.

"You can see cannabis culture everywhere, even on TV," Ms. Deschones
said. "There are people older than the teenagers -- even parents with
children at school -- who sell it. "

Teen marijuana smokers appear to be imitating their baby-boom parents,
said Richard Garlick, a spokesman for the Canadian Centre for
Substance Abuse.

"Youth rates are going up and are at levels that we haven't seen since the
late '70s when rates reached their peak," said Mr. Garlick.

A survey of Ontario high-school students, conducted by the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, also showed an upswing through the 1990s
after a large drop in the 1980s. Of 4,894 students polled in 1999, 29.3
per cent said they had used marijuana while 28.3 had smoked.

The national telephone survey was conducted in August, with four to five
follow-up discussions online with participants.

Ms. Dabros said that teens appear to be confused about the state of
the federal pot law. It is a criminal offence to smoke marijuana, but
the federal Liberals have proposed legislation to decriminalize
possession of less than 15 grams so that people would be fined rather than
criminally charged.

The survey is one of the first that the federal government has done in
a decade to measure the extent of Canada's drug problem. The Health
Department intends to use the data for an anti-marijuana campaign that is
being developed to prevent teens from smoking their first joint.

The last national survey involving young people and drugs, done in
1994, showed that one-third of 15-to-24 year olds had tried marijuana.

Health Department spokeswoman Catherine Saunders said the government,
in the latest survey, questioned teens about how often they smoke
drugs, but that those figures are still to be analysed.

Bill Baker, president of the Ontario School Counsellors Association,
said he suspects that only a small minority of teens smoke marijuana
regularly and that it is not "just flaunted everywhere" in schools.

"I think it's very dependent on the school and the clientele at the
school," Mr. Baker said. At his small high school in southern Ontario,
for instance, police drug dogs do periodic checks but have failed to find
anything, he said.

Addiction centres worry about the dangerous mix of drugs and alcohol,
considering that the numbers of teens who drink also appears to be
increasing, according to the Ontario survey.

"It becomes a lifestyle," Ms. Deschones said. "They are not interested
in studying, they prefer to be with their friends and they are poorly
co-ordinated. There are some similarities to alcohol and some
teenagers become addicted to cannabis."