SmokeDog420
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As someone who has been jailed in every province, B.C. marijuana activist Marc Emery considers himself a man with his finger on Canada's pot pulse.
He said yesterday's Statistics Canada report, 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey, indicating more Canadians than ever are toking up, shows the growing need for new legislation to make it easier for people to access marijuana and squeeze organized crime out of the drug scene.
The report says that the number of Canadians who admit to indulging in marijuana or hashish nearly doubled to 12.2 per cent between 1989 and 2002 -- and the highest rates of use were among teens. That was a substantial jump from 6.5 per cent in 1989 and 7.4 per cent in 1994.
"I think it's pretty accurate," said Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party. "I'd say there are about three million smokers at any one time who would be considered regular smokers, or about 12 per cent.
"It's ingrained in our national psyche to smoke pot at some point in your life and as these children grow up the numbers will continue to increase, so it's going to continue to get larger and larger."
Provincially, B.C. had the highest rate of cannabis use at 15.7 per cent, Nova Scotia was second at 13.7 and Quebec was third at 13.5 per cent, according to the survey.
Many of the big gains were among youth. Thirty-eight per cent of teens aged 18 and 19 reported smoking pot or hash in the previous 12 months, while 29 per cent of teens 15 through 17 indulged.
That dropped to six per cent in adults 45 to 54 years old and virtually disappears after age 65. Men in nearly every age group were more likely to toke up than women.
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Author: Stuart Hunter and Ethan Baron, The Province
Published: Thursday, July 22, 2004
Copyright: 2004 CanWest Interactive Inc.
Contact: provletters@png.canwest.com
Website: Canada.Com
He said yesterday's Statistics Canada report, 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey, indicating more Canadians than ever are toking up, shows the growing need for new legislation to make it easier for people to access marijuana and squeeze organized crime out of the drug scene.
The report says that the number of Canadians who admit to indulging in marijuana or hashish nearly doubled to 12.2 per cent between 1989 and 2002 -- and the highest rates of use were among teens. That was a substantial jump from 6.5 per cent in 1989 and 7.4 per cent in 1994.
"I think it's pretty accurate," said Emery, president of the B.C. Marijuana Party. "I'd say there are about three million smokers at any one time who would be considered regular smokers, or about 12 per cent.
"It's ingrained in our national psyche to smoke pot at some point in your life and as these children grow up the numbers will continue to increase, so it's going to continue to get larger and larger."
Provincially, B.C. had the highest rate of cannabis use at 15.7 per cent, Nova Scotia was second at 13.7 and Quebec was third at 13.5 per cent, according to the survey.
Many of the big gains were among youth. Thirty-eight per cent of teens aged 18 and 19 reported smoking pot or hash in the previous 12 months, while 29 per cent of teens 15 through 17 indulged.
That dropped to six per cent in adults 45 to 54 years old and virtually disappears after age 65. Men in nearly every age group were more likely to toke up than women.
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Author: Stuart Hunter and Ethan Baron, The Province
Published: Thursday, July 22, 2004
Copyright: 2004 CanWest Interactive Inc.
Contact: provletters@png.canwest.com
Website: Canada.Com
