Marijuana research not reaching Canada's toking teens

For nearly a century, Canadian pot enthusiasts haven't let the law stop them from smoking,vaping and eating their favourite drug.

But with an end to prohibition in sight, researchers say we still have plenty to learn about the drug's potential health effects and that's especially true for Canada's many toking teenagers.

UNICEFreportsCanadian teens are among the heaviestpot users in the world.More than 22% reported lighting up within the previous year.

And yet the impact of long-term use on adolescent brains isclouded by hazy research and confused by decades of ineffectivepublic health messages.

The pot prohibition effectively stifled studies of the drug.Clinical trials weren't allowed and in all but a few cases, long-term studies on what happens to marijuana users were impossible.As a result, both supporters and detractors have tended to cherry-pick the conclusions that reinforce their existing views.

In its latest report, the Canadian Centre onSubstance Abuse(CCSA) summed up the problem:High frequency use in adolescents is associated with several poor outcomes, including lower academic achievement and loss of motivation, but most teens continue to believe marijuana is harmless.

"I smoked weed all through university and I was on thedean'slist the entire time," says SamanthaMartinuk, a 24year-oldwho puffed away in a bikini top on Vancouver's Sunset beachduring the city'srecent 4/20 rally.

"It didn't turn me into a dead-brained person, like most peoplesay."

The annual event on April 20 has seen its focus shift from a prohibition protest to a celebration of marijuana culture that featuresthousands of B.C. teenagers who skip school to get stoned in public.Many of them who spoke to CBC News claimed they smokeseveral grams of marijuana every day.

But exactly what kind of impact could that much marijuana use have on a young person's brain? Canadian substance abuse experts admit they're not much closer to answering that crucial question than they were a decade ago.

What they do agree on is THC, marijuana's psychoactive ingredient, can play havoc with a developing brain as it tries to reach optimal performance.

Researcherssay higher order functions, such as cognition, academic achievement and motivation, can all be compromised.But whether the damage is temporary or reversible is still unknown.

TheCCSAcites studies that claim one in six Canadian teens who use marijuana can become dependent on the drug.

Matt Ciolo of Toronto counts himself in that unfortunate club.

"I wish I never started, to be honest," saysthe 25-year-old,who once dreamed about a career as a golf teaching pro.

"It totally ruined my character. I don't believe in myselfanymore."

A gifted golfer as a teen, Ciolo says his motivation fadedas his obsession with marijuana grew.

"All my drive went out the window. All I wanted to do was bein bed and smoke weed."

He says based on his experience, marijuana'sgreatest harm might be that it distractsyoung users from more important things in life.

"You're not unlocking your true potential.It dumbs you down.It's not unlocking your mind."

Smart messaging

"The experts would agree that pot is not harmless," saysJoyJohnson, vice-president of research at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.,anda health sciences professorwho hasstudied why teens use marijuana.

Beyond that, she says frequency of use, potency of the pot and how marijuana is used in conjunction with other drugs make it difficult to generalize about the possible health effects.

Considering the federal government plans to legalize marijuana for recreational use, "there is still a lot we don't know," Johnson says.

"We're going to have to get on top of this issue in a better way."

But that's unlikely to happenin the next year, which is thetime frame announced by the federal health minister to introduce a bill to legalize marijuana.

Johnson says the priority in the meantime should be developingsmart public health messages and education for teens until sciencecatches up.

She says scare tactics or "denigrating" marijuana users staples of past public education campaigns have proven ineffective.

"We all need to get educated about marijuana in a balanced way.I don't think it's saying it's harmless or harmful.It's about knowing thefacts and being willing to have that conversation with teens in life."

For the warriors of the legalization movement, squashing theperception of marijuana as harmful represents the final battle in a longfight.

"We have to address this myth of inherent harm to young people, and unless we address that issue, we're going to get stuck with acrappy version of legalization," says David Malmo-Levine, who took his fight against the criminalization of marijuana all the way to the Supreme Court.

His lawyers tried to convince the justices that prohibiting marijuana use violates his charter right to liberty, but they voted 6-3 against him.

• Doctors advised kids and cannabis don't mix
• Panel probes marijuana myths, effects on teens

Malmo-Levine, who owns a Vancouver marijuana dispensary, says the biggest potential consequence of marijuana use for teens is running into trouble with the law and earning a criminal record.That's why he says the fewer restrictions, the better.

"In 2002, [the Senate]released a report that recommended 16 years old as an age limit for cannabis and teen use," he says.

"I'd say that would be OKtoo."

The grade 11 and 12 students on the beach for 4/20 in Vancouver would probably raise a bong to that.