Pubdate: Mon, 16 Oct 2006
Source: Peak, The (Simon Fraser U, Edu CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Peak Publications Society
Contact:  http://www.peak.sfu.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/775
Author: Mathew Gauk, The Martlet (University of Victoria)

B.C. RESIDENTS SMOKE MORE POT

You'd Better Sit Down for This One: British Columbians Smoke a Lot Of Pot.

Fifty-two per cent of B.C. residents have used cannabis, compared to 
44 per cent of the rest of Canadians, according to a recent report 
published by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions 
Research of B.C. (CARBC). The report, Cannabis Use in British 
Columbia, was based on numbers from the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey.

The report looked at use, perceptions, and public opinion of cannabis 
in this province and the rest of Canada.

Jodi Sturge, a CARBC research associate and co-author of the report, 
found that the results confirmed what the scientific community 
already suspected. In fact, she would have predicted an even more 
dramatic difference between B.C. and the rest of Canada.

"We kind of have to think that people are using this drug, in British 
Columbia especially more than other places, and it's not going to go 
away," Sturge said. "If they're going to use it, maybe you have to 
think of policies that make it safer to use."

Sturge gives Australia as an example of a place where people who 
would otherwise be prosecuted for cannabis use are given penalties, 
such as tickets, as a method of intervention that she suggested might 
be more effective.

The report found British Columbians tend to use cannabis at home, and 
that more people report that they didn't pay for marijuana the last 
time they used it.

"This indicates the relaxed views people have towards the drug and 
that it's more widely available in social groups here," said Sturge. 
British Columbians were also more likely to say that cannabis had a 
lower level of risk.

"When you're looking at the last cannabis purchase, more people in 
B.C. purchase around seven grams and the rest of Canada was around 
two-and-a-half," Sturge said. "So people are buying in bulk or in 
greater quantities."

Many facets of cannabis use are almost the same in B.C. as in the 
rest of Canada, however. The average age of first use in the province 
is 18.6 years of age, compared to 18.9 years elsewhere, even while 
accessibility and prevalence of use is much higher in B.C. The number 
of people who drive under the influence of cannabis is also similar.

"So it's funny because the views are different, and the market is 
different and so on and so forth; however, the use is not much 
different," said Sturge.

According to the report, people aged 35 to 44 were more likely to 
have tried using marijuana than 15- to 20-year-olds. The use among 
older people was likely to be more moderate than those who are younger.

"I'm kind of curious, too, whether the people using it daily are 
using it for medicinal purposes and so on," said Sturge. "There 
hasn't been any psychological investigation into [the respondents]."

The report cited another study, done by the Fraser Institute, that 
found the B.C. cannabis industry contributed to between one and 2.8 
per cent of the provincial GDP in 2000, amounting to $130 billion. It 
also stated that taxing cannabis could contribute approximately $2 
billion in revenue to the province.

"I think [the report] is good for an evidence-based debate," Sturge 
said. "If you went to see some health policy officials, you could 
say, 'These are your users, this is how they're using it, this is how 
often they're using it.' It's an informed way of developing a policy."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Elaine