OUR 15-YEAR-OLDS TOPS - IN POT

Canada's 15-year-olds are the world's top teen pot smokers, according
to an expansive new drug and alcohol study funded by Health Canada.

The work by Carleton University researchers found about half of Grade
10 students have used marijuana at least once, up from one-third in
1990.

That places Canadian 15-year-olds first in agerelated cannabis use
among 43 countries and regions participating in the World Health
Organization's collaborative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children
study.

The researchers conclude: "The proliferation of cannabis use in this
population suggests a need to monitor this trend closely and its
potential consequences for cognitive and psychomotor functioning and
related risk behaviours."

Meanwhile, the study found alcohol use and drunkenness dropped
slightly among youths 12 to 17 years old.

The research, results of which are to be published in the April
edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, is the first time
nationally representative samples gathered over several years have
been used to estimate drug and alcohol use among Canadian adolescents.
Previous research relied largely on one-time, provincial and regional
surveys.

The new work is based on five HBSC surveys of Canadian teens every
four years from 1990 to 2006. About 30,000 students participated.