POT USE AMONG YOUNG GROWING

A massive pot-smoking generational gap between Canada's young people
and their parents is widening, a new Sun-Leger poll shows.

More than one-third of young adults (36 per cent), those aged 18-24,
have smoked marijuana in the past year compared to only eight per cent
of their parents -- those in the 35-54 age range -- according to the
new survey taken April 1-6.

The percentage of Canadian youth who smoke marijuana -- 58 per cent
have tried it by age 24, according to the poll -- has been continually
rising since 1993 and is now among the highest in the world.

"Absolutely, parents should be concerned. What if trying the drug
moves on to regular use?" said Diane Buhler, an executive with the
Parent Action Group on Drugs.

"The experimenting begins when the kids are in high school. The kids
do tell us marijuana is easily available and consistently used in
their peer groups. It's all around them."

While more than one-third of people 18-24 have recently smoked, only
24 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds have puffed pot in the past year.
After age 34, the rate drops off dramatically with only one per cent
of seniors older than 65 lighting up last year.

"I think what you're seeing is a lot of people experimenting with the
drug at a young age and then they are done with it," Buhler said. "Be
careful not to overreact to experimentation, but parents have to be
very aware of use increases."

A similar poll two years ago showed the same results for the older age
groups, but only 30 per cent of young adults aged 18-24 had smoked in
the year previous.

"The response we're getting consistently is, 'It can't be so bad. It's
used for medicine. How can you say it's as bad for you as alcohol?' "
Buhler said.

Public awareness and education campaigns dealing with marijuana are
almost non-existent.

"We don't have a Canada drug strategy and the provincial drug strategy
is not active," she said.

The irony, Buhler said, is if the drug laws were relaxed, the federal
and provincial governments would have to deal with the issue and spend
more on educating youth.

"That's what we're hoping," Buhler said. "Right now the debate around
legalization has taken over completely from the health issues. It
would be better if we could find a solution and end that debate."

Canada's Marijuana Party Leader Marc-Boris St-Maurice said
legalization would actually bring more controls to the smoking habits
of youths.

"As with alcohol and cigarettes, teens will still use drugs, including
marijuana," St. Maurice said. "But having the state decide the
parameters within which a person can properly obtain marijuana is a
much more effective safeguard than the current situation where a
dealer is not concerned with the age of the buyer, nor their safety."