News (Media Awareness Project) - Canada: Canada's Youth On Top When It Comes To Pot Use, Study Finds |
| Title: | Canada: Canada's Youth On Top When It Comes To Pot Use, Study Finds |
| Published On: | 2004-10-06 |
| Source: | Toronto Star (CN ON) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-17 22:21:07 |
CANADA'S YOUTH ON TOP WHEN IT COMES TO POT USE, STUDY FINDS
More Canadian young people appear to be butting out when it comes to
cigarettes, but a growing number of pot smokers have put Canada at the
top of the international heap for marijuana use among young
adolescents, a new study suggests.
"Canadian students are at the high end of using marijuana frequently,"
said William Boyce of Queens' University, principal investigator of
the study on the health and well-being of the country's youth.
The 2002 study of 7,000 kids aged 11 to 15 from across Canada,
released yesterday, found that about 40 per cent reported using
marijuana in the previous year, about 3 per cent more than in
Switzerland, second on the list of 35 countries conducting similar
studies.
The Netherlands, where the sweet weed has long been decriminalized,
was in the middle of the pack, said Boyce, a professor of community
health at the Kingston university.
Questionnaires filled out by the Grade 6 to Grade10 students showed
that 43 per cent of boys and 37 per cent of girls aged 11, 13 and 15
had used marijuana, up a couple of percentage points over an earlier
study in 1998.
While the research didn't look at reasons for pot being favoured over
tobacco, Boyce speculated that its increased use is tied to
affordability, availability and acceptability.
"It's not so expensive, it's definitely available and with the
legislation introduced in the last Parliament -- and perhaps again in
this one -- that decriminalizes marijuana use, it certainly provides a
signal to kids that this is not a highly illegal activity."
However, the picture for smoking is quite different. While tobacco use
among boys has remained steady, there was a huge drop in the
proportion of 15-year-old girls who reported smoking daily -- to 11
per cent in 2002 from 21 per cent in 1998. As well, the percentages of
girls who smoke only occasionally or had tried smoking for the first
time were also down.
The study is the fourth in a series conducted by Queen's researchers
and released by Health Canada since 1992.
More Canadian young people appear to be butting out when it comes to
cigarettes, but a growing number of pot smokers have put Canada at the
top of the international heap for marijuana use among young
adolescents, a new study suggests.
"Canadian students are at the high end of using marijuana frequently,"
said William Boyce of Queens' University, principal investigator of
the study on the health and well-being of the country's youth.
The 2002 study of 7,000 kids aged 11 to 15 from across Canada,
released yesterday, found that about 40 per cent reported using
marijuana in the previous year, about 3 per cent more than in
Switzerland, second on the list of 35 countries conducting similar
studies.
The Netherlands, where the sweet weed has long been decriminalized,
was in the middle of the pack, said Boyce, a professor of community
health at the Kingston university.
Questionnaires filled out by the Grade 6 to Grade10 students showed
that 43 per cent of boys and 37 per cent of girls aged 11, 13 and 15
had used marijuana, up a couple of percentage points over an earlier
study in 1998.
While the research didn't look at reasons for pot being favoured over
tobacco, Boyce speculated that its increased use is tied to
affordability, availability and acceptability.
"It's not so expensive, it's definitely available and with the
legislation introduced in the last Parliament -- and perhaps again in
this one -- that decriminalizes marijuana use, it certainly provides a
signal to kids that this is not a highly illegal activity."
However, the picture for smoking is quite different. While tobacco use
among boys has remained steady, there was a huge drop in the
proportion of 15-year-old girls who reported smoking daily -- to 11
per cent in 2002 from 21 per cent in 1998. As well, the percentages of
girls who smoke only occasionally or had tried smoking for the first
time were also down.
The study is the fourth in a series conducted by Queen's researchers
and released by Health Canada since 1992.
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