Quebec walks fine line to educate on cannabis use with awareness campaign for young people

Cannabis has been legal in Canada for four years, but Quebec public health officials are still trying to walk a fine line to warn users of its potentially-harmful effects, without condemning its use.

According to Quebec's statistics institute, 40 per cent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke cannabis -- a number that has remained relatively stable in recent years.

“What we see is that legalization did not have an impact,” said Regional Public Health Director Mylene Drouin, at a conference at Dawson College.

Five Montreal CEGEPs, including Dawson and Vanier on the English side, and Bois-de-Boulogne, Maisonneuve and Rosemont, which give instruction in French, have launched a video to educate young people about cannabis use. It's called ‘Know Your Bud’ – a reference to a slang word for the flower of the pot plant.

The video aims to stay non-judgmental, striving instead to educate people on how to use cannabis safely.

“In order to make sure that people make good judgments,” said Shera Robinson, a social worker from Vanier CEGEP, “it's important to come up with these capsules so that we can get the information out to the students in a fun, non-judgmental way.”

For example, the video explains the difference between the effects of edible cannabis versus smokable products. It also dispels myths about the medical benefits of pot smoking, because the science remains inconclusive.

“I think it's great that we talk about it because I think it goes under the radar for a generation today,” said Annabelle Martin, a Vanier student who attended the video’s launch at Dawson.

Despite the overall proportion of pot users remaining stable, public health says consumption has increased among older men. Officials credit local cannabis marketing, which hasn't targeted youth.

“We do not have promotions, we do not have [candy] edibles, or flavours,” said Dr Drouin, describing the what kinds of cannabis products are available for legal purchase.

Quebec public health says it plans to have awareness campaigns for the other age groups as well.