GET OFF THE POT

Marijuana Use Among Area Teenagers Must Be
Challenged By Public Health Officials

No doubt, there are more pressing health concerns in Sudbury and
Canada than marijuana use. Still, the ease with which pot can be
obtained in local schoolyards and the apparent lack of information
available to pot smokers should be, as identified in a recent Sudbury
Star story, cause for concern.

A recent Health Canada survey showed that 47 per cent of Canadian
teenagers have used pot and many Canadian teenagers use it
consistently because it is easier to obtain and is thought to be less
dangerous than tobacco. The study found the easier access to marijuana
is ironically due to the legal age limit for smoking cigarettes and
the fact that you have to buy cigarettes through traditional outlets,
such as corner stores.

In talking with a handful of teenagers about their pot use, The Star
found attitudes in Sudbury are consistent with Health Canada's
results. The ease with which marijuana can be purchased -- in or
around virtually every high school in the city -- and the strong
anti-smoking messages in the city today can leave teens with the
impression that marijuana is a readily available, effectively legal
and largely safe product to use.

To be sure, society does a lot to reinforce these messages. Crackdowns
on the sale of tobacco to underagers now mean it's at least as easy,
if not often easier, for youth to buy pot than it is to buy
cigarettes. That's not much of a comparison since it's illegal for
youth to obtain both, but given the vagaries of peer pressure, it
shouldn't surprise anyone that teens would seize upon the most
available vice.

As well, perhaps as early as this year the federal government will
likely decriminalize marijuana possession, a measure that would bring
the law up to speed with Canada's courts which are already refusing to
prosecute simple possession. To an underage teen, then, it's no more
serious an offence to be caught smoking a joint than it is to be
caught with cigarettes or a case of beer.

Lastly, the addictive, cancer-causing characteristics of tobacco use
have been the subject of in-your-face advertising campaigns launched
by virtually every level of government. But there is little
information available about the effects of marijuana use. The Sudbury
and District Health Unit's website, for example, offers local teens
information on animal bites, handwashing, food safety, rabies and, of
course, tobacco use, among other things, but nothing at all about
marijuana use. Or any narcotic, for than matter.

This is a shame. Findings published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association last year showed long-term marijuana use can lead
to addiction. According to the study, marijuana use by teenagers who
have prior antisocial problems can quickly lead to addiction. The
study found some teens cannot control their urges to seek out and use
marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family
relationships, school performance and recreational activities.

It's easy to extrapolate that marijuana use is having an effect on
area teenagers, and on area families and schools. It may not be as
dramatic an effect as tobacco, alcohol or harder drugs have, but there
is still cause for concern.

"I'm aware of the hazards of smoking pot," one teen told The Star.
"But the benefits far outweigh the hazards." No one knows this to be
true, and, indeed, available evidence suggests it isn't true. That
makes this a public health issue, one worthy of further study and
better education of area youth.