NEW RESEARCH TO BE PRESENTED ON POT USE

A research colloquium next month at Simon Fraser University's Harbour
Centre will debate the side effects of cannabis use on personal health
and social well-being.

The event, entitled "Cannabis, Mental Health and Addiction: What is
Evidence-Based Policy?" will feature researchers from across the country
and abroad, including UVic's own Dr. Tim Stockwell, director of the Centre
for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC).

Dr. Joy Johnson of the UBC School of Nursing heads the UBC satellite
research unit of CARBC, and will address the issues of tobacco and
marijuana.

"Increasingly we're seeing people mixing tobacco and marijuana
together in their joints and bongs," said Johnson. "We're really
concerned about that co-use and the potential for marijuana use to
lead to increased tobacco use, particularly among youth."

Johnson will be drawing from two studies in her presentation.

One that she has already completed is a survey of over 8,000 teenagers
in B.C. who answered questions related to tobacco and marijuana use.

One of the key aspects of this study is the "de-normalization" of
tobacco use and the "normalization" of marijuana use. According to
Johnson's study, smoking tobacco is no longer considered to be the
norm and the practices of tobacco companies in particular are seen as
outside the norm. The flip side of the coin, though, is that there has
been a normalization of marijuana use.

"I think there's a sense, particularly among teenagers, that everybody
smokes marijuana; that it's acceptable to do so, and that there are
few consequences," said Johnson. "I don't think we've been very clear
in our messages to teenagers."

The second study Johnson will speak about is a qualitative work that
is currently in progress, with data collection still being done in
Port Alberni. She plans to talk about some of the interviews that have
been done with teens and about the culture of frequent marijuana use.

"Kids who are smoking marijuana everyday, or four or five times a day
in some cases that we know, won't be able to focus and concentrate in
school and we know they don't do as well," she said.

People should be concerned for the subgroup of teens that smoke pot
regularly in terms of how well they do in school and how well they
socialize, says Johnson. It is something, she says, that society will
need to grapple with.

"I think, first of all, that it's never good to be blowing smoke into
your lungs," said Johnson. "That's an exposure that isn't good for
you." The evidence is a bit mixed as to whether or not smoking pot use
causes cancer or chronic obstructive lung disease, she adds, because
so often marijuana users smoke cigarettes.

She notes a surprising lack of research on marijuana use in B.C. that
needs to be set right.

"It's very confusing when we talk about the medical or therapeutic
medicines of marijuana," she said. "There are a lot of conflicting
messages that make it very difficult for people to get to the bottom
of whether their own use might be problematic or what they should be
saying to teens."

Johnson lists the conflicting viewpoints of such groups as the police
and societies that promote the use of medical marijuana as adding to
the confusion.

"The bottom line is that it's very complex," she said. "There are a
lot of stakeholders with a lot of different positions."