Even though cannabis is now legal, there are still health, social, and legal problems for young people. Health issues include problems with brain development, memory, focus, and decision-making. Social problems can be skipping school, family fights, or losing friends. Legally, young people can still get in trouble if they use cannabis underage…

Read more

Springboard Services is offering free training to build critical literacy about youth cannabis use!

Weed Out the Risk (WOTR) is an evidence-based program designed for youth that explores the risks of driving impaired or under the influence of cannabis. Grounded in harm reduction, WOTR includes a variety of interactive components to…

Read more

I’m curious – it’s been a few years since this comment, and I wonder if there is any change in the experience of the brick and mortar cannabis shops. Have they continued to integrate into the community fabric? Do they persist with stigma? Have they contributed in any way to their communities?

I believe the challenges of lack of shelter, youth run away from their parents and human traffic have have being contributing to increase the consume of different and more dangerous drugs by youth in GTA, and the government instead to help to rehabilitate the youth offer more avenues to continue with the use of drugs.

Ways in which we can spread more awareness/knowledge about the negative effects of cannabis with youths.

I have personally never looked at the consumption of cannabis as something positive, even if it were for leisure purposes, so its decriminalization is not positive to me. However, people who like it, would still consume it even if it were to be criminalized. It is this unsupervised consumption that causes problems. So it is better to…

Read more

As we reflect on five years of cannabis legalization (!), I wrote an article for REX Blog that summarizes key takeaways from the two-part community dialogue we co-hosted with community partners on 4/20 (April 20).

Through engaging presentations from youth sector initiatives and interactive breakout group discussions, we created space…

Read more

YouthREX is excited and honoured to co-sponsor and be a part of the Ontario Native Education Counselling Association C3 (Clean, Confident, Cool): Empowering Indigenous Youth Conference!

This conference will educate and empower Indigenous youth about the effects of cannabis and vaping, and provide workshops on confidence building, mental…

Read more

Last Monday marked the fourth anniversary of cannabis legalization in Canada. The federal government has announced a legislative review of the Cannabis Act, to be led by an Expert Panel chaired by Morris Rosenberg. The review will “focus particularly on the health and cannabis consumption habits of young persons, the impact of cannabis…

Read more

We wanted to share details about an upcoming online event — Innovations in Harm Reduction for Youth Cannabis Use — being hosted by Daniel Bear (Humber College), Rebecca Haines-Saah (University of Calgary), and Emily Jenkins (University of British Columbia).

This event will take place on Monday, October 17th from 9AM to 11AM PST (12PM to…

Read more

Did you know that YouthREX offers *two* FREE online certificates that can build your cannabis literacy? 💻📚

Cannabis and Youth: A Certificate for Youth Workers is self-guided with open enrollment, which means that you can register and begin learning any time! This certificate provides evidence-based information on the health, social, and legal…

Read more

The redesigned webpage looks amazing! Such a useful resource 👌

If you’re looking for resources on cannabis to share with young folks in your life, check out the redesigned What’s With Weed webpage! YouthREX collaborated with a variety of partners — including young people! — to redesign a youth-friendly one-stop-shop on everything they might ask about cannabis and cannabis use.

Take a look through the …

Read more

Debra, I agree with your comment one hundred percent. Even though cannabis is legal black youth, who use cannabis face stigmatization within society.

I agree with your statement one hundred percent. This guide can be beneficial for youth workers and caregivers.

Your comments are 💯true, Debra! Despite the legalization of cannabis that has made corporations a lot of profit, the stigma that Black youth experience using continues. This stigmatization interweaves with anti-Black racism.

Even though personal use of cannabis is legal in Canada there is still significant stigma around it as a ‘gateway’ drug to other illegal substances. The media image of the dealer has a Black face, yet the commercialization and profit does not. Black youth who legally use cannabis are more subject to that stigma of being lazy, unfocussed…

Read more

Yes!! Encouraging young people to evaluate their use is so important, and I think this is where harm reduction approaches are really helpful. If we think of cannabis use as a continuum or matrix, we can recognize that not all use is harmful, but that certain types of use are associated with greater risks. We need to provide young people with…

Read more

I agree with the six signs of risky or harmful cannabis use. The students that I work with are in grade 7 and 8. They are using cannabis and I find they don’t often understand the psychological effects that smoking has on the brain and changes in mood. I believe supporting youth in evaluating their use is important by getting youth to…

Read more

These are great! 😃

Thank you, Kathe! 👏 For anyone who is interested in sharing info from this factsheet, check out the Insta-friendly images I shared by clicking on the Photos or Albums tabs!

Hello, Katarina

I have checked the factsheet you have shared in your post.

I found it is very very helpful to how to engage with youth who are using cannabis. I agree that fearing the youth to use cannabis and making abstinence-based drugs are not helpful for the treatment.

However, I started to wonder how should I tell the youth if they want…

Read more

Such an important discussion! 👏

Thank you for sharing, Jae! I agree, it is so important to be critical of the information we consume, especially now that a number of different actors have a vested interest in promoting cannabis use. Young people should be aware of the risks and benefits of cannabis use, so that they are able to make their own (informed!) decisions.

In thinking about the challenges that come with the legalization of cannabis, we can also consider the legacy of criminalization.

ICYMI, YouthREX partnered with our friends at Exploring the Link and Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy on an Ask The Expert event that featured young people discussing how racism has impacted, and is…

Read more

From Katarina’s information, this reminds me of the past 3 years ago when Canada started to legalize cannabis usage. As an international student who is from South Korea where cannabis usage is banned to use except for medical usage, I have not had cannabis.

I received information from my South Korean government saying people living in…

Read more

This YouthREX factsheet identifies six signs of risky or harmful cannabis use. I’m curious to hear if others have found these helpful in their work. How else can we support youth in evaluating their use?

I think this guide might be helpful for youth workers and caregivers. It addresses common claims about cannabis (“It is commonly claimed…”) and provides a summary of the current scientific evidence (“But research suggests…”). It’s an accessible resource that takes a harm reduction approach.

I think this factsheet we developed as part of our collection on Cannabis Use is really helpful because it outlines what youth and youth workers need to know about cannabis legalization, including the law that you point out, @katarina : 8 Things to Know About Cannabis Legalization and Youth in Ontario

One of the things that stood out to me is that it is illegal to have ‘open’ cannabis in a vehicle (i.e., the same logic as ‘open container’ liquor laws). If you’re transporting cannabis and it’s not in the trunk, it must be sealed AND in its original packaging. I found this especially interesting considering dried cannabis cannot be…

Read more