OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — A report from Canada’s Department of Health revealed that almost half of the country’s young adults and teenagers are marijuana users.
According to a 2024 report from the Canadian Department of Health obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, 48% of young adults under 24 and 40.5% of high schoolers reported using cannabis in the past year.
“Use of cannabis is common in Canada,” said the health department’s Canadian Cannabis Survey 2024.
The report surveyed 12,031 people nationwide and collected information from those who self-identified as marijuana users.
The report found marijuana use is most common in Western provinces, with 54% of young adults in Alberta using the drug compared with 52% in British Columbia and 51.5% in Manitoba.
Thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, marijuana, commonly referred to as cannabis, has been legal since 2018. Since then, it has become increasingly popular among Canadians, especially the youth who view it as similar to alcohol.
While it is true that marijuana is a less dangerous drug compared with cocaine or opioids, research has shown that marijuana use is often a gateway to harder substances.
Additionally, the drug is also known to have permanent effects when used by those under age 25.
According to Pediatrics, the official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the “adverse effects of marijuana have been well documented. Numerous published studies have shown the potential negative consequences of short- and long-term use of recreational marijuana in adolescents.”
“These consequences include impaired short-term memory and decreased concentration, attention span, and problem-solving skills, all of which interfere with learning,” it continued. “Alterations in motor control, coordination, judgment, reaction time, and tracking ability have also been documented.”
“These effects may contribute to unintentional deaths and injuries among adolescents, especially those who drive after using marijuana,” the report warned. “Negative health effects on lung function associated with smoking marijuana also have been documented.”
The drug is especially harmful to the young as their “adolescent brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex areas that control judgment and decision-making, is not fully developed until the early 20s, raising questions about how any substance use may affect the developing brain.”
Regardless of the evidence, the Liberal government has not only kept marijuana legal but pushed to decriminalize simple possession of heroin, cocaine and all other illegal drugs across Canada.
The Trudeau government’s consideration of nationwide decriminalization comes despite drug-related deaths skyrocketing in British Columbia after decriminalization was implemented there by the Trudeau government in 2023. In fact, the policy was considered so damaging by the left-wing controlled province that it had to ask to have certain aspects of the policy, such as the public use of drugs, rescinded earlier this year.
Other soft-on-drug policies have already been implemented by the Trudeau government, including the much-maligned “safer supply” program.
“Safe supply” is the term used to refer to government-prescribed drugs given to addicts under the assumption that a more controlled batch of narcotics reduces the risk of overdose. Critics of the policy argue that giving addicts drugs only enables their behavior, puts the public at risk, disincentivizes recovery from addiction and has not reduced – and sometimes even increased – overdose deaths when implemented.
The effects of decriminalizing hard drugs have been the source of contention throughout the country, as evidenced in Aaron Gunn’s documentary, Canada is Dying, and in U.K. Telegraph journalist Steven Edginton’s mini-documentary, Canada’s Woke Nightmare: A Warning to the West.