Canada enjoys the high times

Nation’s widespread use of pot no cause for concern

SARA DITTA, THE CHARLATAN (CARLETON UNIVERSITY)

OTTAWA (CUP) — Experts and activists are not concerned about Canadians’ high rate of marijuana use as reported in the 2007 UN World Drug report — even though young people are the largest users of the drug.

According to the report, 16.8 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 64 used marijuana in 2004. Canada is ranked fifth in marijuana use at four times the world average of 3.8 per cent.

Comparatively, 12.6 per cent of people in the United States used the drug in 2004.

Richard Mathias, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s faculty of medicine, said he is pleased with the results from the report and is not worried about the high numbers of young people using the drug.

“I think that marijuana is a safer drug than some other options and I know that youth is a difficult, highly stressful time and it is to be expected that youth will explore and that’s good,” he said. “I teach these kids. They’re not criminals.”

A higher rate of marijuana use occurs between the ages of 16 and 24, but people aged 16-19 have the highest rate of usage.

Mathias said the numbers are likely lower in university students because they may have already explored it or have made a personal choice not to use it, though it remains just as available.

In 2005, 24.4 per cent of 12 to 16-year-olds in Ontario, a decrease from past years, used the drug, according to the report.

The report only provides statistics on those who have tried marijuana at least once within the year, and does not chart repeated use.

While Mathias said that most users are recreational, a few develop problems as a result of dependency. Students who use marijuana as an escape, he said, will likely see a negative affect on their studies.

“If [they] start using it on a regular basis to deal with the stress of studying instead of actually studying and writing papers it will adversely affect their university career,” he said.

A study conducted in 2002 by Carleton University professor Peter Fried also concluded that only heavy users are negatively affected by marijuana use. Fried’s 74-person study found that only heavy marijuana users between the ages of 10 and 20 had a decline in their IQ scores.

The rest actually saw an increase in their scores.

The study also found that those who smoked heavily and later quit returned to their former IQ level.

Marc Emery, president of the Marijuana Party of British Columbia, said he is proud Canada ranked so high for marijuana use.

“We are a nation awash in drugs, but pot is the least problematic of anything I’ve ever heard of,” he said.

Alan Young, a law professor at York University said that marijuana is not a gateway drug and is not dangerous.

“It’s a gate-closer,” he said. “Most people who use marijuana don’t use harder drugs, so what’s the connection?”

Young hopes that the UN report will cause Canada’s government to reconsider its current prohibitionist approach to the drug, but said that a change is unlikely to happen anytime soon.