There are two new resources that might be of interest for individuals, families or organizations looking to speak with young people about cannabis legalization and the risks of cannabis use.
The Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction has released, Talking Pot with Youth: A Cannabis Communication Guide for Youth Allies.
This resource provides a series of exercises that will:
- Guide you through a self-assessment process to determine your potential biases and explain how to set these biases aside before talking with youth about cannabis;
- Provide you with the values and principles for supportive communication, including practical ways to create a safe space for youth; and
- Lead you through the spectrum for using cannabis and support you in having judgment-free conversations about cannabis with youth.
Read Talking Pot with Youth: A Cannabis Communication Guide for Youth Allies (http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Cannabis-Communication-Guide-2018-en.pdf).
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has also recently released a youth version of the Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines.
The 10 recommendations come from Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG), a public health tool developed that provides evidence based recommendations that can lower the risks of harms associated with cannabis consumption.
Given the high levels of cannabis use among younger Canadians – 29 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 reported using cannabis over the past year – the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health developed the guidelines to be accessible to a younger age group.
Read the LRCUGs (http://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/guides-and-publications/lrcug-for-youth).