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Joint Study By Two Groups Finds Pot Use Higher in B.C. Than Rest of Country
Greg Joyce | CBC News | 10/05/2006

VANCOUVER (CP) - Like, stop the presses, dude. A joint study by two groups on marijuana use in British Columbia has resulted in at least one finding that will come as no surprise to most people in the province.

Toking on the dried flowers and leaves of the hemp plant, also known as Cannabis sativa, is more widespread in the westernmost province than in the rest of Canada, the study concludes.

"We all know that cannabis is a very prevalent drug in the general population," said Benedikt Fischer, co-author of the study done by the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. and the Centre for Applied Research of B.C.

"In some parts of the province it's more prevalent than alcohol or tobacco."

About one in six British Columbians use pot at least once a year, the study found, and about 1.84 million people in the province have tried cannabis at least once.

Not only had more British Columbians used cannabis - 53 per cent in B.C. versus 44 per cent in the rest of Canada - but those surveyed said it was also "very easy" to obtain -65 per cent in B.C. versus 44 per cent elsewhere.

Compared with other Canadians, significantly fewer B.C. respondents believed cannabis use should be illegal - 42 per cent in B.C. versus 49 per cent elsewhere.

"The way (society) views cannabis now is sort black and white; no use is good and any use is bad. That's what the law says," said Fischer.

But the number of people who use it or have tried it "have to acquire it illegally. You can't grow or buy it legally."

Acquiring it requires these people to commit an illegal act each time they buy it from someone, he said.

"How do we deal with this most adequately from a public policy point of view?"

The findings seem to suggest that lawmakers must deal with realities, Fischer said.

"We know that double the number of people today compared to 10 years ago are using cannabis," he said. "The drug is likely here to stay. So we better learn to live with it.

"We're better trying to find an approach that really looks at how can we minimize the risks and harms as opposed to pretending that we'll make this drug go away."

He said the study underlines his belief that dealing with marijuana use should be a public-policy issue, rather than a legal one.

The study's introduction points out that in 2004, more than 67,000 arrests for cannabis offences were made by police across Canada and three-quarters of those were for simple possession.

As well, 25,014 police charges were brought against grow-ops in B.C. between 1997 and 2003.

But Fischer acknowledges that "the legal system and the enforcement side is not interested in losing that jurisdiction because it's tied to resources."

"If we make cannabis control a health issue tomorrow, the enforcement side would lose a lot of dollars (from its budgets)."

The study also found the majority of people who use marijuana do so infrequently; the number of people who use it daily are a small minority and the number of people who use it in a harmful way is also small.

"The people who have problems with it are also in a minority," he said.

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