WE NEED A NEW DRUG STRATEGY

In the wake of a new study showing increased drug use, the hunt
continues for the elusive -- more likely impossible -- prevention
strategy that will keep Canadians straight and sober. Given human
nature, we might be better off inventing a mood-altering substance
with no harmful or long-lasting side effects. That way, those who
wanted to get stoned could do so without social censure.

And it would be cheaper than the vast amounts of money governments
have spent over the decades on the war on drugs.

That's what I dreamed about the other night: harried Canadians hauling
their butts home from work, popping a magic pill and getting stoned
with Ottawa's blessing.

No worries about addiction, carcinogens or other dangerous
consequences. It's the perfect antidote for our hyper, angst-ridden
society. Health Canada should get right on it.

Oh, wait. That makes too much sense. Ottawa would never go for
it.

So we are left to ponder the reality of our frazzled, post-modern
culture -- a growing proportion of Canadians love to get high.

According to the Canadian Addiction Survey, released Wednesday, 14% of
those polled reported they'd used pot in the last year -- up from 7.4%
a decade ago.

The good news is that 21% of the past-year users said they didn't toke
up in the previous three months and 25% of the past-year users had
smoked pot just once or twice.

The bad news is that 18% of past-year users use marijuana daily. As
well, about one-third of past-year users reported failing to control
their use and a strong desire to smoke pot and about 16% said friends
or relatives expressed concern about their pot use.

The results suggest that intervention strategies should target those
whose drug use is most acute, says Michel Perron, of the Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse, which was involved in the survey.

The difficulty is there is no "tidy, simple" anti-drug message, he
notes. Demonizing marijuana failed so experts must come up with a plan
that will "resonate" with young people, he says.

"Prevention is complicated," Perron adds.

The survey also found that 79% of the people surveyed were drinkers,
up from 72% in 1994. About 7% of those polled are frequent heavy
drinkers (at least five drinks more than once a week), up from 5.4% a
decade ago.

The biggest boozers are males aged 18 to 24, according to the study.
One-quarter of men and 9% of women are high-risk drinkers.

Not surprisingly, booze causes all sorts of problems, the respondents
said. One in 10 people polled said someone's drinking was responsible
for family and marriage problems. About 15% said they'd had serious
arguments because of someone's boozing and 11% were pushed or shoved
as a result.

Heavy drinking is particularly prevalent in Alberta and the Atlantic
provinces. And lifetime use of pot is significantly higher than the
national average in Alberta and B.C.

Although about one in six Canadians has used an illicit drug other
than pot at some point, rates of such drug use in the past year are
generally 1% or less.

The report only focused on drug use and its related harms. The risk
factors and why people use drugs will be addressed in a future study.

For instance, this study found, startlingly, that lifetime pot use
increases with education and income. As yet, we don't know why.

Perron says he did a double take when he read that finding.

"We've got to dig deeper into this."