Canadians smoke more than Americans

[Dr Dog]

Just an article I found this morning, thought it would lead to some discussion.
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2007/07/11/4330223-sun.html



Wed, July 11, 2007
Pot shots taken by study
UPDATED: 2007-07-11 02:22:38 MST

Report says Canadians surpass Americans in trying marijuana

By CP

TORONTO -- A new study shows Canadians surpass Americans when it comes to trying marijuana, but drug policy experts say it's not a cause for concern.

The UN's 2007 World Drug Report found 16.8% of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 used pot in 2004 -- the highest rate among developed nations.

By comparison, 12.6% of American respondents said they have tried pot. Britain (8.7), France (8.6), Germany (6.9), and especially Japan (0.1) all reported much lower rates than Canada.

But, Benedikt Fischer, a drug policy expert with the University of Victoria, said the UN report is flawed since it didn't examine patterns of use.

"From a public health point of view or consequence point of view, these numbers are fairly meaningless," Fischer said.

"We want to know how many of those people use marijuana in a highly frequent way, how many of them have problems related to marijuana use and, thirdly, what are the social harms?"

York University law professor Alan Young, who launched a constitutional challenge to Canada's marijuana laws in 1997, said the UN findings could have been distorted by the willingness of Canadians to openly discuss drug use.

"It's become a large part of youth culture in Canada, and more importantly, 50 percent of marijuana smokers are over the age of 30," Young said.

"So it's really gone to all age groups, all class groups. There's no question about it that there is less stigma in Canada."

Papua New Guinea (29.5%), Micronesia (29.1), Ghana (21.5) and Zambia (17.7) all ranked higher than Canada for pot use.

About 6.1% of people in the Netherlands, where pot use has effectively been decriminalized, reported trying it. This shows decriminalization has no bearing on rates of use, and Canada shouldn't be afraid to follow the Dutch lead, said Ottawa lawyer Eugene Oscapella said.

 

[smellthefunk420]

i could of guessed this.. we have some pretty damn good beer too

 

[Storm Crow]

America! Are we going to be outdone by the Canadians? Be patriotic! Light one up for Uncle Sam!- Granny

 

[Guest]

i think most people in America lie about there consumption thus the flaw in the statistic...i smoke like a whole fucking lot and everyone in my family does to...shit just about everyone i know is a toker there just closet tokers a lot of them

 

[Gr8StonedDragon]

I noticed that. I visited BC for about a week recently and was pleasantly surprised how open smoking was. I caught quite a few wafts of reefer walking around. ALso went skiing and smoked with some guy on the lift. People were passing joints in the line when there's hundreds of people around. Nobody seemed to care. It was pretty chill. I really liked Canada a lot. It made me wanna move there. I got such a good vibe off of pretty much everybody I met. Really cool people and funny as hell. I love the accent but it's only cool in Canada.

Only bad part was Vancouver near China town. There's a huge meth problem there and it's really depressing even driving around. There's like 150 people strung out on meth walking around looking for a hit on one corner. Those people need help and seems like nobody is doing anything about it. I don't really like cities too much anyhow. I think the nicer part is North Van. I spent most of my time in Whistler tho. Love skiing in June!

 

[qwerty]

This American holds his own.

 

[PoppinFresh]

I think it's bullshit if you ask me. Ask yourself how many people lie on these polls in the first place. A lot of people in the US are FRIGHTENED of this government which it shouldn't even be that way. Look at how much security we have to express on this forum individually and totally just to talk about something we love. Fuck, even NAMBLA has less security in place than we do!

Do we really believe kids in this United States of Lockdown would admit to any drug use? Not even most adults would admit it because of fear of losing homes, jobs, and even family!

If you ask me, this nation is chock full of potheads at every level and walk of life. If we had the true freedom to express that, we'd make Canada look like a bunch of lightweights.

It's like I always tell my friends, the day this nation legalizes marijuana as it should be, the smokers, growers, and breeders here would put Canada and even the Netherlands to shame! I would say the real percentages of these tests would double or even triple easily!

I put it to you like this, Canada's population is just around 33 million total and the total population of the Netherlands is 17.5 million. US population is over 300 million! With REAL percentages reported, the number of people who have at least tried marijuana would probably be double the total population of both nations combined. Imagine the type of Cannabis Cup we would have in this US if marijuana were legalized. Screw a yearly event. HighTimes wouldn't even be able to hold an event large enough to satisfy this crowd.

Figure the amount of growers and breeders in the US would not just increase, but actual production would probably increase at an insane number with farmers dedicating parts of their land to marijuana or at least hemp.

I am sure all of this would taper off in the long run. But, legalizing marijuana would be a serious boom to this nation's economy! But, I digress from the point. Laws make it difficult to gauge real numbers and I hardly believe that low, paltry 12.6% figure at all! It makes Canada look good in the marijuana world but I suspect even Canadians know the truth!

 

[Dr Dog]

Now this thread is starting to cook, I suspect that the numbers are flawed as well, but I suspect that it is probably too high. Marijuana is pretty accepted in basically all walks of life, I don't think anyone would be too shocked to see someone smoking a joint, now somebody with a needle in their arm will attract attention.

I remember getting surveys and shit to do when I was in high school, and I always bended the truth.

 

[Guest]

dam maybe i should of sent my penpal form Papua New Guinea some ganja, he kept sending me endangered bird feathers from the bird of paradise, made me scurred.

 

[Old Man Time]

Consider the population difference.

US 300,000,000
Canada 33,000,000

 

[bongasaurus]

similar article in my newspaper

Canadians going to pot: UN study 16.8% used marijuana


Tue Jul 10 2007

By Juliet O'Neill



OTTAWA -- Marijuana use in Canada is the highest in the industrialized world, far higher than in the Netherlands where it's legal, and more than four times the global rate, a report by the United Nations has found.
The report also says cannabis use around the world appears to have stabilized and appears to be declining in North America. A plunge in use by Ontario high school students was cited as a factor in the trend.

The world drug-use study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said that 16.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 64 smoked marijuana or used other cannabis products in 2004, the most recent year for which statistics were cited.

Marijuana possession remains illegal in Canada, despite years of recommendations by parliamentarians to decriminalize it. As a result, tens of thousands of people have criminal records for possession.

The study, using the most recent statistics collected from each country -- although some dated back almost a decade -- estimated that 3.8 per cent of the world's population aged 15 to 64 used cannabis in 2005. That was about 159 million people, down slightly from 162 million the previous year.

The data show Canadian usage fifth after Zambia (17.7 per cent in 2003), Ghana (21.5 per cent in 1998) and Papua New Guinea and Micronesia tied for first place at 29 per cent each in 1995.
The Canadian statistics compared to 2005 rates of 8.7 per cent in England and Wales, 12.6 per cent in the United States, 8.5 per cent in Israel; 10.7 per cent in Jamaica (2001), and 6.1 per cent in the Netherlands (2001), where it is legal to buy and sell marijuana for personal use.

In some countries in East and Southeast Asia, such as Korea and Singapore, and in the Middle East, such as Oman and Qatar, cannabis use is negligible.

The report said cannabis comprises, by far, the largest illicit drug market on the planet.

The study also noted a 38 per cent decline in cannabis use among U.S. 12th graders between 1979, when marijuana use peaked, and 2006. A 19 per cent drop in use by Ontario high school students between 2003 and 2005 was also noted.

The report also said there was slightly less trafficking of cannabis from Canada into the United States in 2005.

"This could indicate that cannabis production stabilized or even declined slightly in Canada, following large production increases in previous years," the report said, citing Canadian government estimates. "Between 2000 and 2004, production Canada more than doubled."

However, the report also suggested that the altered trafficking trend could also indicate that organized crime groups have relocated to the American Pacific northwest and California to avoid tightened border controls.

-- CanWest News Service

 

[PoppinFresh]

Once again, it's all bullshit in my opinion. It really sounds like a media tactic. In general, people will follow trends as opposed to create them. Some silly fashion guru says black is out this fall and you'll have all the wannabe fashionistas shuddering when they even see anything black. And, that's just the way this nation is - a bunch of iSheep chasing after the next iPod product. US citizens are lot like lemmings. Proof: President Bush jumps into a war and most of the nation followed.

The people in control of the US government know this wholeheartedly and they use the media to almost totally control. This is easy to say but it's not always easy to show. We already know the government is lying about the effects of marijuana use. They won't even admit to their own scientific studies that show marijuana is not harmful. They would rather tout obviously flawed reports and general imagination (outright lying).

The problem that I have is just like a woman who stays with a husband that beats her because she believes he loves her. US citizens are stuck in just such a situation. But, I don't blame the US government for taking advantage of a people who are complacent and unwilling to express their own liberty or freedom. At some point, you can't blame the husband when the wife ends up in the hospital with a bullet in her face talking about she's gotta go home to fix dinner for her husband. You have to start blaming the people for the nation's pile of shit being dumped worldwide.

Anyway, it's good I can catch myself digressing before a supposedly short response turns into a literary prize winning dissertation.

The point is that I believe the US government is simply lying to us with these numbers - yet again.

We can go through the whole, UN blah blah blah not US blah blah blah, but it would end up with the US in control anyway; yes, they do control the UN. They're basically exploiting the "beaten wife" syndrome of the US population by showing us one thing while hiding the truth - yet again!

They're showing a trend that doesn't exist! A trend meant to give the iSheep another false shepherd to follow. The trend being that marijuana use is somehow declining globally. We as a nation, as US citizens, as plain fucking earthlings (because this shit is obviously worldwide) are going to have to exhibit some common sense and learn to think for ourselves and unfortunately stand in the face of mega aggression.

That's why I am going to continue growing my own!

Poppin Fresh for President
(2016 is when I'll be eligible lol)!​

 

[Guest]

I don't believe those numbers. It is higher. A lot higher. Most likely 30% to 60% in Canada. Think about it! Who would want to live in a ice box other than a stoner with a bad case of the munches? lol...I am only teasing. hehe

 

[Guest]

I smoke more than anyone else I've ever known in my life,medical or recreational.My cannaboid tests average 250 ng./ml. and never falls below 200.Nobody ever asked me if I smoke cannabis,and if they did I'd probably deny it.So goes the accuracy of the comparison.I live to ride and smoke to live,I am the American.If the smokiest Canadian would slap me with a glove,I'd surely accept the challenge!

 

[alexnalaskaOG]

are you guys forgeting who put out this info?

lets review. goverment involvment equals propaganda bs

 

[Discombobul8]

I don't believe those numbers. It is higher. A lot higher. Most likely 30% to 60% in Canada. Think about it! Who would want to live in a ice box other than a stoner with a bad case of the munches? lol...I am only teasing. hehe

That's a rather large range. 30% to 60%. Is that 30% smoke weed and the next 30% did'nt inhale. Or is that the next 30% were to cold to hold the joint!!!!

 

[Guest]

somebody is a little lost...here is what site your looking for http://www.mentalhelp.net/

 

[Discombobul8]

or maybe even: http://www.apa.org/topics/controlanger.html

 

[Reasmokes]

well said alexnalaska,and most americans are scared to death of big brother coming in and slaming them.When we see articles that show how the abuse of poor americans bye the DEA then one would understand the plite of a surpressed nation.

 

[OG bub]

how could this be accurate..?
I diddnt get a survey.. did any of you?

knowhatimean....

lol, bub.