harms associated with early and frequent marijuana use among BC youth Blunt Talk Context It is currently illegal to possess marijuana Growing pressure to legalize marijuana use Prior research has demonstrated the risks of ID: 571943
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Slide1
blunt talk:
harms associated with early and frequent marijuana use among BC youthSlide2
Blunt Talk - Context
It is currently illegal to possess marijuana.Growing pressure to legalize marijuana use.Prior research has demonstrated the risks of starting using marijuana at a young age
regular marijuana useThis report seeks to identify:At what levels of use there is an increase in health related harms
Who is at risk for problematic use
What protective factors are linked to less harmful use
What are the baseline levels of use for comparison with future surveys.
www.mcs.bc.caSlide3
Administration of the BC Adolescent Health Survey
2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey29,832 surveys were completed
1,645 classrooms56 school districts325 PHN’s and nursing studentsSlide4
Youth who had tried marijuana
www.mcs.bc.caSlide5Slide6
Youth who had not tried marijuana
www.mcs.bc.caSlide7
Age of first use
Note: Among
youth who had tried
marijuana
www.mcs.bc.caSlide8
Is early use harmful?
Note: Among
youth aged 16-18 who had tried
marijuana
www.mcs.bc.caSlide9
Is early use harmful?
Note: Among
youth aged 16-18 who had tried marijuana
www.mcs.bc.ca
* The percentage should be interpreted with caution as the standard error was relatively high but still within a releasable
rangeSlide10
Youth aged 12 or younger
Used marijuana
Had not used marijuana
Good/excellent
overall health
80%
93%
Health condition or disability
40%*
19%
Suffered a serious injury
in past year
45%*
23%
Attempted suicide
17%*
3%
Sexually abused
28%
2%
Had supportive adult in family
53%*
85%
Tried alcohol
76%
5%
* The percentage should be interpreted with caution as the standard error was relatively high but still within a releasable
rangeSlide11
Predictors of early use
Used marijuana before age 13
Refugees
37%*
Note: Among
16-18 year olds who had tried
marijuana
Before the age of 13
used alcohol
41%
used tobacco
48%
Physical disability
35%*
Lesbian, gay or bisexual
18%
Went to bed hungry
39%*
* The percentage should be interpreted with caution as the standard error was relatively high but still within a releasable
rangeSlide12
Recent use
Note: Among youth who
had tried
marijuana
www.mcs.bc.caSlide13
What are harmful levels of recent use?
Any use in the past monthThree or more days
Consistent risk associated with 20 or more daysThese youth appear to have been driving the outcomes at a lower thresholdMatches other research
www.mcs.bc.caSlide14
Harms associated with frequent use
SleepNutritionInjuriesSchool
Other substance use
Note: Among
youth who had tried
marijuanaSlide15
Predictors of frequent use
Stressful life eventsRisk takingTobacco useFuture plans
Mental health
Note: Among youth
who had tried
marijuana
* The percentage should be interpreted with caution as the standard error was relatively high but still within a releasable
rangeSlide16
Youth who first used marijuana recently
Those who had been using for more than a year were more likely to have…
Used in the past monthUsed frequentlyEver used other substancesSlide17
Progression to regular use
Note: Among
youth who had first tried it within the past
year
www.mcs.bc.caSlide18
Reasons for using
More common among frequent and at-risk users.
Note: Among youth who
had used marijuana
exclusively
www.mcs.bc.caSlide19
Consequences of use
The most common consequences of marijuana use were:Being told I did something I couldn’t rememberPassing outLosing friends, boyfriends or girlfriends
Changes in grades or school workArguing with family membersSlide20
Driving after using marijuana
Ever drove after using marijuana19% of males and 11% of femalesDrove after using marijuana in the past month
11% of males and 6% of femalesMore frequent among:Older youthThose who had used marijuana for more than a year
Those who used frequently
Note: Among youth
who had tried
marijuanaSlide21
Youth who needed help
Seven percent of youth who used marijuana exclusively felt they needed help for their use in the past year.Groups at risk include:Younger users
Those who started at a younger ageFrequent usersThose who experienced a negative consequence of use
Those who had a negative vision of their future
Those who skipped class 3+ times a month
Those who missed out on necessary mental health servicesSlide22
Sources of marijuana
Note: Among youth
who used
marijuanaSlide23
Protective factors - Family
Connection to familyTheir family understood themHad fun with their familyFamily paid attention to them
Had an adult in their family they could talk toParental monitoringSlide24
Protective factors - School
School connectednessSchool safetyHelpful school staff
Note: Among
youth aged 16-18 who had used
marijuanaSlide25
Protective factors – Peers
Having at least one close friendFriends who would discourage marijuana use
Note: Among
youth aged 16-18 who had used
marijuanaSlide26
Protective factors - Community
Community connectionSafe in communityExtracurricular activitiesSports
Meaningful engagement in activities
Note: Among youth who
had tried
marijuanaSlide27
Final word
Early use and frequent use are associated with health challenges.There are certain groups at risk for early and frequent use, but also protective factors in the lives of young people that are linked to safer behaviour.
Future surveys will continue to provide information on marijuana use, and will be useful in the event of legalization legislation.
www.mcs.bc.caSlide28
For more information
Copies of the report are available at: www.mcs.bc.caFollow us on twitter: @mccrearycentre
Facebook: McCreary Centre SocietyFor enquiries about this report, presentation requests
, or information about accessing data
from the
BC Adolescent Health Survey, please email: mccreary@mcs.bc.ca
www.mcs.bc.caSlide29
It’s a great time to have conversations about cannabis -
and we can helpSlide30
Focus on building competenciesStudents explore social and environmental factors that influence their personal attitudes and behaviours related to alcohol and other drugs
Based on a constructivist approach, iMinds engages students Includes all required materialsCross-curricular
iMinds - A real-world approach to drug education & tools for inquirySlide31
How else can CARBC help ... www.helping schools.ca
Cycles -a film-based resource that encourages teens to talk openly and honestly about why some young people use cannabis
www.drugsanddriving.ca – an online cross-curricular resource The Art of Motivation – online support for using a motivational interviewing approach
Take Care with Cannabis –
http://www.vch.ca/media/TakeCarewithCannabis.pdf
www.alcoholsense.bc.ca –
for parents
Consultation, workshops and support Slide32
Supporting parentsSlide33
For more info on CARBC’s work
ciandrew@uvic.cawww.helpingschools.ca Slide34
Thank You
annie@mcs.bc.ca duncan@mcs.bc.ca