NEW MARIJUANA GUIDELINES TARGET SAFER USE

Similar to Alcohol Usage Recommendations Introduced In
'90s

New guidelines were published this week that promote safer use of
marijuana.

The low-risk use guidelines, which are similar to alcohol guidelines
introduced in the 1990s, are set to be published in the
September/October issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health and
offer safer usage practices for those who choose to use the drug. The
study's lead author says that while it will take some time for the
guidelines to ingrain themselves into public thinking, they are
necessary because of the prevalence of marijuana use in Canada.

"(Acceptance of the guidelines) will take some time, but the same
situation existed when the low-risk drinking guidelines came about,"
said Benedikt Fischer, a scientist with the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health. "In the beginning, they were quite controversial, and
it took them a while to get established ... and today they are
fundamentally accepted public-health policy and practice tool in alcohol."

The release of the guidelines comes the same week the federal
government introduced its Safe Streets and Communities Act, an omnibus
bill that combines crime measures from nine other bills.

While some features of the bill crack down on crime and lock away
dangerous offenders, the way it deals with marijuana producers -- even
those with as few as six plants -- has come under some criticism. The
government intends to lock up everyone caught growing six or more pot
plants for at least six months. The maximum penalty will be 14 years.

Despite the risks taken by growers and those who possess marijuana,
Fischer is confident legal change to reduce the penalties -- if not
eliminate them -- will happen eventually. But not any time soon. "This
government won't (change) and I won't try to battle with them," he
said. "This is part of their ideological core and so be it.

"I think it's just a matter of time until the law will follow the
public's will and opinion on this issue." The low-risk guidelines for
alcohol offer advice as to the safest levels of consumption for
various groups, depending on age and medical status. They also advise
against some practices, such as drinking and driving. For cannabis,
the plant which marijuana comes from, many of the guidelines are cut
from the same cloth.

In the guidelines, which have been endorsed by the Canadian Public
Health Association, it is advised that:

- - Some groups -- including pregnant women, middleaged and
elderly individuals with cardiovascular issues and those with a family
history of psychosis -- should abstain from use completely.

- - Use of marijuana be delayed until late adolescence (16 years
of age) or adulthood to quell the ill effects of pot use on the
developing brain.

- - Frequent use, which is described as daily or near-daily use,
be avoided.

- - Full avoidance should be exercised by those with difficulties
controlling their level of use.

- - To best reduce respiratory and cancer risks, marijuana should
not be mixed with tobacco and the use of a vaporizer would be more
ideal than the use of more common smoking mechanisms, such as joints
and pipes.

- - Marijuana users should wait at least three to four hours
after use -- or longer if effects are still felt -- before driving.

"This behaviour has been part of our social fabric for more than half
a century (with) high prevalence levels and will likely remain so,"
Fischer said, stating that the purpose of the study was not to promote
marijuana use.

"There are simple ways here to reduce risks and harms and I think
there's a natural hesitation to push this ... because of the legal
status of the drug ... but until a few decades ago, being gay was
illegal, trying to commit suicide was illegal, abortion was illegal ...
but we eventually realized these things should be thought about as
personal choice or health issues and we changed our approach
gradually, in the interest of public health. That's what we're trying
to do here."

Representatives from the federal Justice Department were not available
for comment Thursday.