Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jul 2004
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2004 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Norma Greenaway, The Ottawa Citizen
Read: the report http://www.statcan.ca/english/ads/82-003-XPE/pdf/15-4-04.pdf
Cited: Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy http://www.cfdp.ca/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens)

MARIJUANA USE DOUBLES AMONG YOUTH

Statistics Canada Study Also Finds Cannabis-Related Charges on Rise

Canada is in no danger of turning into a nation of potheads, but the number 
of Canadians, especially younger ones, who admit to indulging in marijuana 
and hashish almost doubled over a 13-year period, according to a new 
Statistics Canada report.

The federal agency says about three million Canadians aged 15 and older, or 
12.2 per cent, admitted in 2002 to using the two cannabis substances in the 
previous 12 months. This was up from 6.5 per cent who reported use of 
cannabis in 1989, and 7.4 per cent in 1994.

Marijuana use peaked among 18 and 19 year olds. Almost four in 10 -- 38 per 
cent -- reported using marijuana and hashish in the previous year.

Among those ages 15 through 17, the rate was 29 per cent, or almost three 
in 10.

Usage drops off the older Canadians get. It drops to six per cent among 
those 45 to 54 years of age, and virtually disappears after age 65.

Men in almost all age groups were more likely to use marijuana and hash 
than women.

The head of a group advocating regulated legalization of marijuana said the 
trend exposes the ludicrousness of existing laws that make possession of 
marijuana a criminal offence.

"The legal status of the drug has very little to do with whether people use 
it," said Eugene Oscapella of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy. "All 
we're doing is continuing to criminalize millions and millions of Canadians."

Mr. Oscapella says it's time for the federal Liberals to at least enact 
proposed legislation to decriminalize possession of less than 15 grams of 
marijuana.

The legislation, which has prompted fierce opposition, is in limbo.

Prime Minister Paul Martin told reporters yesterday the legislation would 
be reintroduced after Parliament resumes in October.

However, its passage is not guaranteed in the minority Liberal government 
without substantial support from Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs. The 
Conservatives dug in against the legislation last time, preventing the bill 
from coming to a vote before Parliament was prorogued for the June election.

The StatsCan study, based on data from the Canadian Community Health 
Survey, also showed Canadians were significantly less likely to use 
cocaine/crack, ecstasy, LSD, speed/amphetamines and heroin. Only 2.4 per 
cent of Canadians aged 15 or older had used at least one of those drugs in 
the year before the survey, up from 1.6 per cent in 1994. Crack/cocaine was 
the drug of choice for most, about 321,000 Canadians or 1.3 per cent.

Among the three million who admitted to using cannabis in the year before 
the survey, close to half used the drug less than once a month. One in 10 
reported weekly use, and another 10 per cent reported daily use.

The rates of usage were higher than the national average of 12.2 in four 
provinces: British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta. British 
Columbia had the highest rate at 16 per cent.

Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba had the lowest 
rate, all coming in at nine per cent.

The study also reported the rate of cannabis-related drug offences 
increased from 119 to 223 per 100,000 population between 1991 and 2002. 
Most -- 72 per cent -- involved possession. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake