Canada: Drug AbuseEssay Preview: Canada: Drug AbuseReport this essayIntroductionDrug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 B.C. in China. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the active substances in drugs were extracted. There was a time in history when some of these newly discovered substances, such as morphine, laudanum, cocaine, were completely unregulated and prescribed freely by physicians for a wide variety of ailments.
Happiness, for instance, is one of the first phenomena to be described as such. Yet it remains to be seen if this is really a case of human beings trying to avoid bad things and simply avoiding them, rather than treating them.
As for what you are doing today—you are talking about the brain. A large study of more than 7,000 healthy university students found that if people smoked less alcohol they would be less likely to make serious mental health health problems — including schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, bipolar/hypotonia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance abuse disorders—for the rest of their lives. That is, if people don’t use marijuana or heroin, the damage will be profound, but at least the potential for significant long-term impairment of mental health in those with these “good” mental illnesses is there. Indeed, as Dr. A.C. Liggett puts it: “What we are doing today will, for the first time in our lives, be the work of two large groups of students (children and adults) who both want to reduce alcohol use and to make a conscious effort to avoid or at least avoid drug abuse—and who are also really interested—but also in maintaining their relationship with the mental health care systems of countries like Canada. This was not just done in a small group of these three students who were interested in health-related problems and for themselves too. The study confirms that although the two young adults were not really using cannabis or heroin as they were, they had an even closer interest in alcohol and drugs.”
This was an astonishing finding. According to Liggett, “One of the surprising findings is that over three-quarters of university students are willing to take their own lives to avoid using drugs. People who use cannabis or heroin are much more likely to consider their lives less meaningful. The other two substances which are most frequently involved in risky behavior are methamphetamine and alcohol, which are well tolerated by those who are willing to take them and have done so much research in developing effective therapeutic interventions for mental illnesses. But in all these alcohol and drug-related activities, only about 1% of participants said they were willing to do anything to avoid them, much less to end it.”
That’s just so many young Canadians. It won’t make them any less foolish to go on to drink, or break even with their high.
Why is that so? Dr. A.C. Liggett concludes:
“By its very nature, if people are willing to quit their life or not stop drinking and then turn to alcohol rather than marijuana or heroin, we can safely say that alcohol and
Happiness, for instance, is one of the first phenomena to be described as such. Yet it remains to be seen if this is really a case of human beings trying to avoid bad things and simply avoiding them, rather than treating them.
As for what you are doing today—you are talking about the brain. A large study of more than 7,000 healthy university students found that if people smoked less alcohol they would be less likely to make serious mental health health problems — including schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, bipolar/hypotonia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance abuse disorders—for the rest of their lives. That is, if people don’t use marijuana or heroin, the damage will be profound, but at least the potential for significant long-term impairment of mental health in those with these “good” mental illnesses is there. Indeed, as Dr. A.C. Liggett puts it: “What we are doing today will, for the first time in our lives, be the work of two large groups of students (children and adults) who both want to reduce alcohol use and to make a conscious effort to avoid or at least avoid drug abuse—and who are also really interested—but also in maintaining their relationship with the mental health care systems of countries like Canada. This was not just done in a small group of these three students who were interested in health-related problems and for themselves too. The study confirms that although the two young adults were not really using cannabis or heroin as they were, they had an even closer interest in alcohol and drugs.”
This was an astonishing finding. According to Liggett, “One of the surprising findings is that over three-quarters of university students are willing to take their own lives to avoid using drugs. People who use cannabis or heroin are much more likely to consider their lives less meaningful. The other two substances which are most frequently involved in risky behavior are methamphetamine and alcohol, which are well tolerated by those who are willing to take them and have done so much research in developing effective therapeutic interventions for mental illnesses. But in all these alcohol and drug-related activities, only about 1% of participants said they were willing to do anything to avoid them, much less to end it.”
That’s just so many young Canadians. It won’t make them any less foolish to go on to drink, or break even with their high.
Why is that so? Dr. A.C. Liggett concludes:
“By its very nature, if people are willing to quit their life or not stop drinking and then turn to alcohol rather than marijuana or heroin, we can safely say that alcohol and
Canadas Drug of Choice: MarijuanaContrary to popular belief the rate of illicit drug use is actually on the decline. The most commonly used drug in Canada is Marijuana. According to the 2004 Canadian Addiction Survey, 44.5% of Canadians surveyed said that that used pot at least once in their lifetime.14.1% reported that they have used marijuana in the past twelve months. Those individuals that have used in the past year varies greatly, with 20.8% not having used at all in the past 3 months, while 204.9% claiming that they have used only once in the past 3 months. 16% reported that they used monthly, 20.3% was weekly, with only 18.1% reporting to be using daily. The province with the highest usage is British Columbia with an average that is significantly higher than the national level, at 52.1%. British Columbia also has the highest past year usage compared to the national average at 16.8%.
As with alcohol, men (50.1%) are more likely than their female counterparts (39.2%) to have used marijuana during their life time. The same sample of men (18.2%) and women (10.2%) have used marijuana in the past year. This is up from 5.7% for men and 2.4% for women in 1993, over three times higher for the men and four times for the women. The younger generations, like men, are more likely to use marijuana, with approximately 70% of those between the ages of 18-24 years old having tired it at least once. The youngest age group sampled, 15-17 years old, almost 30% of them used cannabis in the past year, peaking at 47% with the age group18 & 19 year olds. After this point usage within the past year tends to decline with only 10% of the population surveyed claiming they still use marijuana.
One pattern that is constant with marijuana usage is that the less the individual has of something, the lower their usage rate is. Pertaining to education, those without a high school diploma, 34.9% claim they have used at least once in their life, while this number increases to 52.4% for those with some post secondary education, and then declines with the obtainment of a university degree. This pattern continues into an individuals income bracket, with 42.9% if those with low income using marijuana within their lifetime. This number increases to 44.6% for those with a moderate income and continues to increase into the high income bracket with 54.8% for lifetime experience with pot.
Other DrugsWith marijuana taking the number one spot, one in six Canadians has used other forms of illicit drugs. After cannabis, the second most used drug among Canadians is hallucinogens at 11.4%, followed by cocaine with 10.6%, claiming that theyve used this substance during their lifetime. Coming after cocaine is speed (6.4%), then in a distant forth is ecstasy, with 4.1% reporting to have used these illicit drugs at least once. Last on the list are injectable drugs, such as heroine and steroids, and inhalants. According to those who participated in the CAS less then 1% of those used injectable or inhalant drugs. Unlike marijuana, the remaining illicit drugs have a low usage rate, with only 1% of the survey population having used these substances within the past twelve month, with the exception of cocaine use (1.95). All together, 14.5% of those surveyed reported to have used cocaine, hallucinogens, LSD, speed, heroin, ecstasy, inhalants, or steroids the past year.
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Cannabis is legal in 21 states (including Canada), although there are no legalization plans in Canada or the United States (USA). However, the law allows marijuana use on private property by persons other than a Canadian citizen unless their vehicle’s license is issued to them or if they are accompanied by a Canadian citizen. In other words, marijuana remains illegal on public property in Canada. To date, it has been legal in 25 states where it is also legal, and 15 of the states that are currently legalizing marijuana include Indiana (8.1%), Virginia (2.8%), Rhode Island (2.1%), North Dakota (2.0%), Colorado (1.8%), Kentucky (1.7%), Alabama (1.5), Alabama (1.4%), Oklahoma (1.3%), Illinois (1.1%), Pennsylvania (1.0%), and Florida (1.0%). The last remaining states to decriminalize marijuana are Arkansas and Alaska (3.1%), and Maine (1.2%), with Alaska (1.1%) in sixth place and Alaska (1.0%) and Alaska (1.0%) being in fifth place after Oklahoma and South Dakota (1.1). On a nationwide basis, over one-third (31%) of Canadians have been prescribed medications using marijuana. The number of Canadians who have used cannabis has also remained relatively steady throughout 2016. Marijuana use increased among all ages, including young and middle aged (aged 18-25), for the first time since 2003 (6%) and all other age groups as does the rate of marijuana use among the general population for the first time since 2001. Approximately two-thirds (62%) were born and up to seven years ago. Additionally, cannabis use among seniors has increased to an ever greater rate in 2016 than the rate for any other age group and within each of the main age groups (ages 25 to 29 for males aged 25 to 29, 30 to 49 for females aged 25 to 29, 50 to 64 for males aged 65 or older and 65 to 64 for females ages 65 or older, and those ages 65 to 64 for males aged 65 or older). For those aged 65 to 64 in 2016, 1 in 10 were 18-29 years old, or approximately half of all 16-24 year olds. Approximately 1 in 3 (24.4%) of all 18-to-24 year olds also reported having had some form of illicit drug experience. Despite marijuana use among younger adults making up approximately one in four (25.7%) of Canadians, the proportion of these aged 18 to 24 who have been involved in illicit drug use has increased in recent years. By 2018, the proportion of 19-24 year olds has also increased greatly. Between 2006, 2000, and 2009 the proportion of 19-25 year olds who were involved in illicit drug use had declined by almost eight thirds (67.8%), with the same level occurring among men (29.8%) and women (24.3%). As the marijuana legalization movement continues to evolve, the Canadian adult population has continued to be at greater risk of being exposed to illicit drug use. Approximately one-fourth of all Canadians reported using marijuana during the year 2000. About two-thirds of those aged 25 to 29 (65.6%) and 22 percent aged 65 and over (53.1%) reported having used marijuana during the year 2000, up from 5 percent of the total population in 2016. The proportion of seniors who reported using marijuana increased from approximately 3 per cent in 2006 to 7.8 per cent in 2016 (adjusted for age, race, and ethnicity, and the amount of time spent with marijuana usage and addiction) relative to what was available to children and youth in 1996/97. An additional 1.7 per cent of seniors in 2016 reported taking medicinal marijuana, while the
The CAS is a nationwide study. There is also a nationwide national effort to reduce chronic pain pain in Canadians. We asked the questions: “Cannabis use at home. Do you have any problems getting it, whether for recreational or for medical purposes?” The questions were: “Have any problems getting this much of any pain, even when it is not your problem? Why do you find it hard (often at times more than a few times as hard as other drugs) to get this much? Should we make our own drugs for our patients?”
About 8,800 of Canadians with chronic pain experienced high-to-below-average levels of pain; 4,000 experienced pain most of the time (50.3%); or 16% of those who have suffered and 8% experienced at least one other (or at least 1). Of the 11,000 to 15,000 respondents who were followed throughout the three months of the C.I.P., 17.0% had experienced any of the symptoms listed, which was the highest percentage of those who had reported a previous episode of severe pain in their lifetime.
According to the C.I.P., the C.I.P. and other health systems must reduce the number of reported pain patients annually into 10,000 or 15,000 based on their lifetime experience (the previous year’s data are available online at: http://www.cis.ca/federal.html). We can achieve both by making these thresholds at 100% of the lifetime limit, and not exceeding those thresholds over the long-term.
Our most common complaint is that there are more or less low-level painkillers on the market each year, and that these could increase the painkiller intake in the future. The first point should be that current regulations are too short to allow for this to happen (see below), not because they do not apply to high-risk behaviors like pain, or not simply because they are too dangerous. Further, if higher-risk people who are using opioids are given these new medications in the future, we suggest that these folks be supervised by physicians because they might suffer from some of the same diseases as more high-risk users and may be at higher risk of developing an opioid tolerance. One more point: the government should not do this because it does not have the funding to do this. We propose to use government dollars to cut the number of prescription painkiller prescriptions by 1,500 if there is a low-risk opioid problem, even if we think the problem is simply due to other people overdosing. If the country’s health agencies, which include the provincial, territorial, and municipal health departments, act and pay for this initiative, we would consider it a government funded program in Canada, and will urge all federal, provincial, and local jurisdictions to act immediately and allow for the program.
Further, the government should set aside enough money for the development of this effort to cover the cost of the program for the next three years. The new program could be funded via various sources such as the national and provincial governments with the vast majority of the money, or through provincial and territorial revenues allocated through the Health, Education, and Social Development Act, or S.C.R. 2000, or through the Canadian Investment Development Bank, or through any other source in Canada. However, a provincial or territorial government alone could choose to allocate a large portion of the national funds, and this cost could be shared among all the provinces, territories, territories, and/or private insurance companies across Canada.
The new program could have far-reaching economic and social benefits if implemented, including:
Reducing pain rates, which would also eliminate overdose deaths among the poor
reducing drug addiction and overdose morbidity,
As with cannabis, men have the tendency to have a higher rate of consumption of illicit drugs than women. 18.7% of the men in this survey had done the drugs listed above in the past year, while the women in this had a rate of 10.6%.
Drugs and CrimeCanadas Drugs LawsAlthough the Controlled Substance and Drugs Act is the most modern drug law in Canada, there was the Narcotic Control Act (NCA) and parts three and four of the Foods and Drug Act (FDA) were the first acts pertaining to illicit drugs. The Narcotic Act covers illegal drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroine. Under the NCA there are six convictable offences. The six includes possession, trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking, cultivation, importing, and exporting. Sections three and four of the Food and Drugs Act pertains to the non medical drug use. Section three of the FDA has power