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VANCOUVER -- Marijuana and alcohol were the most common substances leading to hospitalization of youth aged 10 to 24 across the country, says a report that highlights the prevalence of mental-health conditions as contributing factors.
About 23,500 people in that age group were hospitalized for harm caused by substance use, amounting to an average of 65 hospitalizations every day between April 2017 and March 2018, says the Canadian Institute for Health Information in a report released Thursday.
Overall, cannabis was documented [highest] almost 40 per cent of hospitalizations…For youth who stayed in hospital for cannabis use, 81 per cent received care for a mental-health issue such as anxiety
Harvey, director of the institute's population and health initiative, said the data show only the "the tip of the iceberg" because they don't include care in emergency rooms, family doctors' offices, addiction centres…
The report is also based on data collected before cannabis was legalized last October, suggesting the information is a baseline for further research involving youth drug use, Harvey said. "We need to be protecting kids, we need to be educating kids that just because it is legal doesn't mean it's safe," she said. "I think it can be a bit of a wake-up call for parents and those who are working with youth."
Well – Surprise, Surprise! Which drugs are doing the greatest harms? The legal or social permitted ONES! Adding Cannabis to the list of PERMITTED community harming substances is supposed to make our lives less ‘criminal’ and more 'healthy'... After all we are repeatedly told… ‘it's a HEALTH ISSUE!’
Like Australia, Canada has 'free' health care! So, now the NON-drug using, and clearly healthier citizens are paying for the now government sanctioned self-harm of the drug user! And remember, this is all supposed to be 'progress'!?!?
As we have said and will continue to say, ‘You may not be able to arrest your way out of cannabis use, but you can be rest assured you will not ‘treat’ your way out of it either!”
We need real solutions, not self-indulging social passes for the recalcitrant hedonist. Demand Reduction and drug use exiting Recovery that enlists education, legislation and the judicial educator, not for punitive exercises, rather the facilitated remediation processes that change both attitude and behaviour. Enough of the costly and useless ‘manage the damage’ models for bad choices – Choices that cost everyone else, emotionally, familial and financially.
For real change we must do, as we have done with the anti-Tobacco campaign; We need One Focus, One Message and One Voice in the marketplace – QUIT. (Dalgarno Institute
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Professor, Operations Research and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, and the co-editor of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know
Whether one can overdose on cannabis depends on one’s definition of the word overdose. If overdose means any acute adverse health consequences of taking too much, then absolutely. There is no question cannabis can do that. If one means more narrowly death by the same physiological mechanism that is involved in opioid overdose (suppressed respiration, etc.), then no, that is not how cannabinoids work. If one means death by any mechanism, then the answer is contested but appears to be yes, but only in very rare circumstances. There are case studies of cannabis-related deaths via at least three mechanisms: (1) Tachycardia, (2) Passing out after dabbing and hitting ones head, and (3) Psychotic episodes inducing suicide. But even those who think such deaths can be causally attributed to the large dose of cannabis acknowledge that they are very rare events.
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- Studies on marijuana's effects on sex and reproduction have yielded mixed results
- Some have suggested heavy pot users have poorer quality sperm
- A new Danish study is the first to find the central nervous system's cannabis receptors are in the testicles, too
- This system plays a role in how sperm is produced and matures
- Researchers say marijuana may effect these receptors and therefore sperm
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“Legalizing cannabis will reduce crime and raise Tax revenue – All savings will come from reduced policing, lower crime rate, less supply reduction costs, and increased tax-revenue from licensing!”
So pealed the promises to the unwitting population from the addiction for profit advocates! Well, as the following (and little broadcasted) data reveals, the cannabis chaos continues to unfold in California (and other states). It does not augur well the future of this always clearly ‘bad idea’! Outside of the emerging ‘medicinal cannabis’ market, Australia currently has one market for marijuana – the illegal market (Black Market). We most definitely do not need this three market ‘circus’ – Legal, Black and Grey Market and the ballooning costs both fiscally and health wise, these will bring.
‘In regards to illegal Cannabis grows, they are getting worse, not better. One of the things I promoted over two years ago, when I got involved with the issue of cannabis policy, was to address the issue as we move from the illegal to a legal market, that we have to hold accountable those that are not participating in the legal market. Particularly those that are continuing to profit of illegal grows now are manifesting they’re getting bigger and becoming more stubborn, more acute. They are not just issues for environment, of an environmental concern, but increasingly of fire safety itself. So, there is a direct correlation again between our fire preparedness and our fire safety, in addition to addressing – mitigating ah [sic], the Cartel activity that persists up north…” (February 11th 2019 Press Conference)
“Stepped-up enforcement comes with a certain measure of irony — legalization was meant to open a new chapter for the state, free from the legacy of heavy policing and incarceration for minor infractions. Instead, there are new calls for a crackdown on illegal selling…But no other state has an illegal market on the scale of California’s, and those illicit sales are cannibalizing the revenue of licensed businesses and in some cases, experts say, forcing them out of business.
‘Getting Worse, Not Better’: Illegal Pot Market Booming in California Despite Legalization (NY Times 27/4/2019)
California Department of Finance – Office of State Audits & Evaluations.
- Even with a thriving illegal market in California, only 15 enforcement unit staff positions have been filled, though 68 were authorized. "The bureau's ability to process complaints, perform inspections and investigations and review ... testing laboratories is severely impacted," auditors wrote.
- The three agencies that regulate marijuana need to do a better job communicating. "Enforcement unit staff stated a central contact from the other licensing authorities has not been established," the report found.
- There's a cash shortage. The primary source of revenue for the agency is from application and license fees. About $200 million was expected to come in through June 30, 2019, but the bureau has collected only $2 million as of January 2019.
California Cannabis Regulators Struggle With Job, Audit Shows
During fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18, cannabis program expenditures totalled $6,774,577 and $14,876,055, with revenue received of $0 and $1,092,250, respectively. Due to the program’s infancy and initial establishment of its structural foundation, the Bureau has incurred expenditures higher than revenue.
Bureau of Cannabis Control – California Department of Consumer Affairs Performance Audit