BC's Mental Health and Addictions Journal
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BC’s Mental Health and Addictions Journal Visions Vol. 5 No. 4 | 2009 Cannabis experiences background perspectives& 3 Editor’s Message Sarah Hamid-Balma 14 From Thrills to Ills: Why pot smoking is risky business Geoffrey Griffiths 4 What Do We Know About Cannabis? Philippe Lucas 16 Cannabis and My Road to Healing Kerry Porth 6 Cannabis Glossary 17 Cannabis and Me: A cautionary tale... 7 Cannabis Background Anita Smith 8 Cannabis and Psychosis 19 Alternatives: Miracle marijuana Alasdair Barr, Ric Procyshyn & Heidi Boyda Michelle Rainey 9 Why People Use Cannabis Rielle Capler 20 Marijuana: Help or hassle? Emily Smith 11 Cannabis, Tobacco and Alcohol Use in 22 Should We Have Been More Aware? How Canada Gerald Thomas & Chris Davis cannabis changed my life Matt 12 The Legal History and Cultural Experience of Cannabis Andrew Hathaway web-only articles available at www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/visions Should We Have Been More Aware? Epilogue: Mom’s View Gina Cannabis: A mental challenge Mark Ware bc partners visions Seven provincial mental health and addictions non-profit Published quarterly, Visions is a nationally award-winning agencies are working together as the BC Partners for Men- journal which provides a forum for the voices of people tal Health and Addictions Information. We represent Anxiety living with a mental disorder or substance use problem, BC, British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, Canadian Men- their family and friends, and service providers in BC. tal Health Association’s BC Division, Centre for Addictions Visions is written by and for people who have used mental Research of BC, FORCE Society for Kids’ Mental Health, health or addictions services (also known as consumers), Jessie’s Hope Society and the Mood Disorders Associa- family and friends, mental health and addictions service tion of BC. By working together we have a greater ability providers, providers from various other sectors, and leaders to provide useful, accurate and good quality information on and decision-makers in the field. It creates a place where mental health, mental illness, substance use, and addictions many perspectives on mental health and addictions issues including how to prevent, recognize, treat and manage these can be heard. To that end, we invite readers’ comments and issues. Our goal is to help people feel empowered and im- concerns regarding the articles and opinions expressed in prove quality of life. this journal. The BC Partners are grateful to BC Mental Health and Addiction Services, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, for providing financial support for the production of Visions 2 Visions Journal | Vol. 5 No. 4 | 2009 editor’s message fter our Visions issues on alcohol and tobacco, I’d been hoping for some time to round out the trilogy with cannabis. Cannabis is un- doubtedly a hot issue and even thought Visions is a substance use alternatives Ajournal in its own right, we were pretty sure we’d have—like in Alcohol and approaches& Tobacco—a lot of crossovers into mental health. We were right on all counts. In researching this issue and trying to find contributors, a quick stroll 24 When Help is Not at Hand: Teens turning to around the Internet reveals a lot of very strong pro-cannabis and anti-can- marijuana for emotional problems nabis advocates. We don’t want this issue to be either. We wanted it to be Joan Bottorff, Barbara Moffat based on credible research so we could set myths aside, but also grounded in & Joy Johnson real experiences and context. Because the context of use is so important. The more I’ve personally learned about cannabis, the more I knew that we didn’t 25 Tips for Cutting Back Rielle Capler want to paint it just in black and white, just the extremes. We want to fill in 27 The Health Effects of Medical Marijuana the middle. Project (HEMMP) Linda Balneaves, Joan Bottorff, H. Bindy Our Vision at the BC Partners—the group that brings you Visions Journal, Kang, Rielle Capler and the HEMMP the HeretoHelp website and many other resources—is to help provide good research team quality information to help you feel empowered to make more informed choic- es about your health. Each author speaks for themselves and/or their agency 28 Vaporizers: Safe alternatives to smoking? only. More than any other issue, I encourage you to read many articles in this Mridula Morgan issue, even ones that don’t fit your current opinion of cannabis. I want you to think about what your attitudes and assumptions are, suspend them for a lit- tle while, and listen to the various perspectives in this issue. Be curious. Ask questions. Talk to other people. Look up the research that’s brought up in many articles. Share this copy of Visions with others. And make up your own mind. If an article excites or angers you—or just makes you think—tell us about it. Be part of the conversation. Visions is no stranger to controversy. Our sexuality issue back in 1999 ran- web-only articles regional kled some readers and we’ll be looking at that topic again with our GLBT issue available at www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/visions programs in the Fall. We want to pick themes that are timely and that add to important conversations—or even help fill gaps in knowledge. So whether you smoke 30 Compassion Clubs: weed or not, I think you’ll find this issue fascinating. You are bound to, as I did, Working for health and liberty Kailey Willetts learn something new. Sarah Hamid-Balma Sarah is Visions Editor and Director of Public Education and Communications at the Canadian Mental Health Association’s BC Division. She also has personal experience with mental illness subscriptions and contact us Tel: 1-800-661-2121 or 604-669-7600 advertising Mail: Visions Editor Fax: 604-688-3236 c/o 1200 - 1111 Melville Street Email: [email protected] Vancouver, BC V6E 3V6 Web: www.heretohelp.bc.ca If you have personal experience with mental health or sub- stance use problems as a consumer of services or as a family member, or provide mental health or addictions serv- editorial board | Representatives from each BC Partners The opinions expressed in ices in the public or voluntary sector, and you reside in member agency this journal are those of BC, you are entitled to receive Visions free of charge (one editor | Sarah Hamid-Balma the writers and do not free copy per agency address). You may also be receiving structural editor | Vicki McCullough necessarily reflect the Visions as a member of one of the seven provincial agencies views of the member that make up the BC Partners. For all others, subscriptions editorial assistants | Megan Dumas, Stephanie Wilson agencies of the BC are $25 (Cdn.) for four issues. Back issues are $7 for hard design/layout | Kailey Willetts Partners for Mental copies, or are freely available from our website. Contact us issn | 1490-2494 to inquire about receiving, writing for, or advertising in the Health and Addictions journal. Advertising rates and deadlines are also online. See Information or any of www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/visions. their branch offices Visions Journal | Vol. 5 No. 4 | 2009 3 guest editorial What Do We Know About Cannabis? arihuana is not an approved therapeutic “Mproduct and the provision of this information What does the scientific should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the community know about cannabis? use of this product, or marihuana generally, by Health We know that: Canada. • Cannabis isn’t nearly as physically dangerous or ad- Since this marihuana product has not been author- dictive as either alcohol or tobacco.3 ized through the Health Canada drug approval process, • It doesn’t lead to violent or criminal behaviour, or its safety and efficacy have not been established. The decrease motivation.3 use of this product involves risks to health, some of • It’s highly unlikely that smoking cannabis leads to which may not be known or fully understood.”1 upper respiratory or lung cancer. Evidence suggests that it could actually have a protective effect on the Philippe Lucas What do we know about lungs.4 marijuana (cannabis), its therapeutic • It appears to be associated with the potential devel- Philippe is the founder (healing) potential and its side effects? opment of psychosis and schizophrenia in people and Executive Director According to the Health Canada quote above, it may seem with a predisposition for these conditions, but this of the Vancouver Island like we don’t know much at all. And yet, a search for “mari- is still a highly debated issue with new evidence Compassion Society, a juana” or “cannabis” on Google Scholar turns up a total of emerging every day.5 Additionally, I believe there is non-profit medical 563,000 hits. evidence to sug- cannabis research and The same gest that this may distribution centre search on have as much to (www.thevics.com). He’s PubMed (a data- Recent polls show that over do with high lev- also a Graduate Research base of scientific els of ammonia Fellow with the Centre for publications) 50% of Canadians support resulting from ni- Addictions Research of BC, turns up 25,976 trogen-based a Victoria city councillor published sci- the legalization of cannabis fertilizers used and a federally authorized entific articles to grow the can- medical cannabis patient on marijuana and/or nabis as it does from the cannabis. plant itself.6-7 Cannabis is one of • About 10% of regular users the most studied herbs develop a mild psychologi- in the history of man- cal or physical dependence kind.