Martin C. Barry

Is marijuana a gateway drug? Is it addictive? Are teenagers vulnerable to the effects of marijuana? Recently Canada became one of the few countries in the world to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

The debate surrounding its legalization has been in the spotlight in Canada and most westernized countries. Proponents of legalization frequently point out the huge social, economic, political and law enforcement costs related to the “war on drugs.”

Scientific evidence

Despite all these things, one thing has become certain: Now it is time that to use science to answer to some of the questions relating to the use of cannabis.

In a highly-detailed and scientifically-focused presentation on Oct. 18 at Concordia University’s Loyola Campus on the purely evidence-based aspects of the effects of cannabis on people, Dr. Mary C. Olmstead, a professor of psychology and addictions researcher at Queen’s University, discussed the long-term impact of cannabis use on brain function.

Teenagers most at risk

Although she didn’t necessarily have all the answers to the questions, Dr. Olmstead maintained that continued neuroscience research should inform the development of guidelines for recreational marijuana use in the future, while suggesting that so far the issue has been driven primarily by political considerations. Her exposé also made clear that adolescents are primarily at risk if they start using cannabis.

Regarding the persistent rumor that today’s marijuana is many times stronger than the substance which was produced and smoked by an earlier generation during the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Olmstead confirmed that in the last 40 or 50 years “the compound composition of cannabis – at least street cannabis – has changed dramatically.

Rising psychoactivity

“In the 1960s, the average cannabis plant that would be confiscated on the street in North America contained around 3 per cent of THC [the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana]. And within the last 10 years this has risen sometimes as high as 30 per cent.”

Conversely, cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid found in marijuana which does not have intoxicating effects and is believed to actually counter THC, has fallen by a comparatively equal amount, she added. “So it really is true that the marijuana that’s on the streets these days is far more potent than it was 40 years ago.”

The ‘gateway drug’ theory

Describing the effects of THC, Dr. Olmstead said that “at relatively low doses there’s often a feeling of euphoria or well-being. As the dose is increased, there’s feelings of anxiety, impaired cognition.”

If she didn’t necessarily debunk certain beliefs often associated with drug abuse, Dr. Olmstead pointed out nonetheless that some ideas, like the notion of a “gateway drug” that invites individuals into full-blown addiction, had its origins in a New York City adolescent drug use study during the 1970s. According to the findings, the use of marijuana always preceded the use of other illicit drugs.

Teenage use of cannabis

“If you’re using cannabis during adolescence, the risk of increased addiction is much higher,” she acknowledged. “In fact, in some of these studies they talk about the linear relationship: the younger you begin, the more you use, the higher the risk. So I would say that is actually not debated.”

Citing other studies involving exposure to harder drugs, she continued, “There is something unique about the adolescent brain that makes it particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of drug administration, that seems to be coming across.

Risk of psychiatric disorders

“If cannabis is administered or if there’s a high level of cannabis exposure during this period, then the vulnerability to psychiatric disorders increases dramatically,” she continued, noting that teenagers are particularly vulnerable to psychiatric disorders during adolescence.

Of all the evidence compiled in a review of health problems caused by cannabis, Dr. Olmstead said “the one thing that is emerging that is reasonably conclusive is that in vulnerable individuals, someone who has risk factors for psychotic conditions who begins using cannabis in adolescence, the risk of psychosis is increased.”

TLN

The Giant Steps Foundation hosted its annual general assembly on Oct. 17. The audited financial statements were presented and another terrific year was reported by the foundation. The board members were elected and a review of the events of the year was confirmed. Giant Steps’ annual auction, the school’s largest event for the 2018-2019 year, will be held on May 8 at Le Windsor in downtown Montreal. For more information on this event, please write to foundation@giantstepsmontreal.com.

Martin C. Barry

With Halloween less than a week away, this year’s celebration of all things spooky and fit for trick or treating promises to be an especially horrifying one along Jean-Paul-Sartre St. in Laval’s Fabreville district.

A spooky tradition

At 3410 Jean-Paul-Sartre to be precise, members of the Schwartz family will be carrying on a longstanding Halloween tradition on Oct. 31 when their garage and driveway storm shelter are transformed into one of the most elaborate and labyrinthine haunted houses in the Montreal region.

For Jonathan Schwartz, the father of the clan, creating the haunted house each year at Halloween is a labour of love and creativity that dates back decades.

Building a haunted house

Schwartz is a lifelong Laval resident who has lived in several areas of the city, including Chomedey. Neither he nor anyone else in his family would never want to live anywhere else so great is their attachment to Laval.

“I’ve done this roughly since I’m 13,” he said in an interview with the Laval News. “I’ve done this at Centre de Sablon, I’ve done this at Jules Verne Elementary School and at my parents’ house, then at my house in Sainte-Rose and now here.”

A haunting they will go

Over the coming days leading up to Halloween night, the four members of the Schwartz family, as well as grandparents, in-laws and volunteers from the surrounding community, will be working to build and assemble the haunted house structure.

A large wooden framework will be covered with sackcloth and blankets to create walls and corridors. Anyone with enough nerve will be invited in to take a walk along the passageways where they’ll encounter sights scary enough that they’ve been known on past Halloweens to frighten even adults.

Not for the faint-hearted

“It’s a guided maze,” Jonathan pointed out. “There’ll be myself, Nancy my wife and a few other people who bring in groups of five or six people at most through.” If anyone doesn’t want the full treatment, that’s available, too.

Visitors are first asked if they want to be scared. If not, the hosts then instruct the spooks and goblins hiding behind the scenes to take it easy until another group arrives who have asked for and get the works.

Each Halloween, the family and volunteers develop a special theme. Last year’s was pirates. The year before it was witches. This year it will revolve circus imagery.

Circus theme this year

“There’s going to be animal skeletons, a wolf that howls and a ringmaster,” said Nancy. The Schwartz’s love Halloween so much they think twelve months ahead and shop for Halloween decorations the day after when everything is on sale.

People come from far and wide to partake of experience. According to Jonathan, attendance last year was 1,426, based on a count he did with a handheld clicker. All told, a trip through the Schwartz’s haunted house should take visitors an estimated 10 to 12 minutes to complete.