Marijuana use is in a decline among high school students in BC, but District 57 is recording higher than average numbers.
That’s the findings of a survey from the McCreary Centre Society, a watchdog for youth health.
Marijuana activist Dana Larsen behind the “Sensible BC” decriminalization campaign calls news of teenagers using fewer drugs “A good sign”.
“Our organization supports legalization for adults, we don’t think minors should be able to buy marijuana in a store, it shouldn’t be legal for them to use it,” he says. “We should treat it more like we do with alcohol, in terms of not criminalizing people of any age for possession of marijuana.”
33% of students surveyed in the region say they have tried marijuana, which is down from 39% in 2008.
The provincial average is 26%.
The survey also finds that 7% of students have driven after drinking, though 15% say they have driven after smoking marijuana.
Larsen agrees that impaired driving on any substance should be illegal and wants to see advertising about it presented in a similar fashion to drinking and driving awareness campaigns.
“That kind of messaging is really what I think is important, telling people to say ‘No’ is really not a successful tactic, it hasn’t worked, and ends up causing a lot more harm than good,” he says. “That’s the kind of message we’d like to see directed to minors using cannabis.”