Turns out, all the B.C. kids are smoking pot
Studies claim British Columbians smoke more marijuana than the average Canadian
By Matthew Gauk - The Martlet
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: News
VICTORIA, BC (CUP) -- 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 in 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. BC'ers 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.
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 in 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. BC'ers 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.
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