One of the myths about marijuana is that it isn't addictive. Here is a check list. If any of the marijuana addiction symptoms we are about to discuss show up in yourself or in someone you care about who smokes pot, there’s a chance that addiction could be a factor and that additional, professional...
One of the problems with teens using drugs and alcohol regularly is the getting "high" and "being high" becomes so normal for them that they stop caring about how they do that. "Head Shops" (stores that cater to people who are cannabis users are selling products that are "synthetic marijuana" There...
We currently do not have a “limit” for the amount of THC that would constitute impaired driving, we do for alcohol and we need to consider how to manage THC impairment. The bigger issue is that most people who use this drug don’t consider it a problem to drive while stoned and they...
I met Joe at the IOS concernce in Vancouver last year. We chatted a bit and had enough in common that we continued to keep in contact. We met again when I was back in Vancouver a few months later. He talked about trying to pay back. That is what most of us are trying to do. Here...
Alternatives We are just heading out on another trip to Hay River North West Territories to do some work during National Addictions Awareness Week. As always this is an opportunity to hopefully help people change how they think. If we think what we are doing is OK that it isn't a problem or a big...
I was just walking through the concourse of one of the schools I work in and there were three girls sitting sitting at a table. That wasn't unusual, what was unusual was that they weren't talking to each other. They were all totally immersed in their phones. A big part of being a teen is learning...
Epidemic I hear more and more from teens that this is really becoming an issue. More and more kids are using pharmaceuticals to get high and using them with other drugs particularly alcohol. The following statistics are from USA but if we divide them by 10 (pull out your calculators) we will ...
I think one of the reasons the Drug Class program works in our schools is that it brings a problem into the open, talks about it, teaches about it and makes getting help OK. I've told this story hundreds of times but here it is again. Part 1 One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The...
Again another interesting day. Presentations to the grade 5 and then grade 6 classes then watched a Canada World Youth project. This involved video interviews and diary cam work with local teens and guess what... one of their primary concerns is substance use. I also had a really interesting session...
In Gabore Mate's book "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" he talks about substance abuse being an escape from pain. Sometimes we are aware of what that pain is, sometimes not. A couple of weeks ago I was able to attend a conference on the relationship between trauma and substance abuse. ...
