Some studies show that cannabis seems to help relieve chronic pain in adults and improve symptoms for conditions like multiple sclerosis. It also helps manage the side effects of the nausea and vomiting chemotherapy can cause.
However, just because non-medical cannabis is legal, doesn’t mean there aren’t major health risks associated with it. There are—and it’s important that you think about the risks, and how using cannabis can affect their day-to-day life, well-being, and long-term health.
According to the 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey:
Cannabis is one of the most widely used substance in Canada with close to half of all Canadians aged 15 or older reporting having tried it
Canadian youth aged 15–19, have the second highest rate of cannabis use in the world.
14.8% of Canadians over the of age 15 had used it in the past year, and 18% had used it in the past 3 months. In 2019, 6.1% of Canadians 15 and older reported using it daily.
23.4% of people in BC reported using cannabis in the past year, which is far above the estimates for the rest of Canada
Those aged 15–24 tended to use it the most (about 19% aged 15–19 and 33% aged 20–24).
34.8% of Canadians aged 18-24 said they used it in the past three months.
About 12.5%% of people aged 18-24 said they used it every day.
12.7% of people 25 and older said they used it in the past year.
Studies show that using cannabis under age 25 can affect how the brain develops. The damage can affect the person for the rest of their lives. Using under age 25 can affect memory, learning, attention, judgement, and decision-making—never mind how it affects the rest of the body.
How much cannabis, how often, and how you use it will affect how much and how long it can affect your health:
According to the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health " the safest approach for people who use cannabis is to avoid smoking or vaping cannabis extracts."
