Clearing the Air about Cannabis is a collection of columns that were created to continue the conversation and provide a space to ask questions on topics related to cannabis that concern you, your classroom, and your school community.
The columns in this collection:
- provide evidence-based research and accurate information about cannabis
- identify connections between topics such as legalization and its implications for youth
- share strategies for talking about cannabis within schools and classrooms
Columns
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Legalization
We recently sat down with Jean-François Crépault, Senior Policy Analyst at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to talk about cannabis legalization. He leads CAMH’s public policy efforts in the area of substance use, including developing and communicating evidence-based public policy to...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Brain Development and Related Harms
Following our first Clearing the Air About Cannabis Q&A column featuring a discussion on legalization with Jean‐François Crépault, Senior Policy Analyst at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), we received questions asking for us to expand on his comments referring to cannabis harms...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: The Role of School Boards
As members of school communities, we all have important roles to play in educating young Canadians about cannabis use. The legalization of cannabis in Canada has brought up plenty of questions for educators, especially related to the impact of legalization on schools, students, and communities;...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Youth and Driving
In the fourth installment of our “Clearing the Air about Cannabis” series, we spoke with Dr. Robert Mann from the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) about youth cannabis use and driving. Read on to discover what you need to know about...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Using a harm reduction approach to cannabis education in the classroom and the school setting
What do students need to know and be able to do in order to make informed decisions when dealing with situations involving cannabis? In the fifth installment of our “Clearing the Air About Cannabis” series, we tackle how cannabis education can be implemented in the classroom through a harm...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Back to School
Welcome to the Back to School issue of Ophea’s Clearing the Air on Cannabis Q&A Column! The continuation of this series will help you have access to timely information regarding cannabis this school year. A new column will be posted each month and distributed through the Ophea eConnection...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Edibles
For our October column we wanted to provide information on cannabis edibles, which will become legal this month. It’s important that educators and school staff are aware of current regulations, to be able to answer any questions students may have on edibles and integrate this information into...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: What is Vaping?
What do teachers need to know to support discussions with other teachers, discussions between teachers and students as well as teachers and parents, guardians and caregivers? And what do students need to know and be able to do in order to make informed decisions about Vaping? With the recent...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Medical Cannabis
We have received multiple questions on the evidence behind medical cannabis, so have broadened the scope of this month’s issue to provide you with some answers. Read on to learn more about medical cannabis, how to approach and support conversations with students or other teachers, and resources...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: Trends in Student Cannabis Use Since Legalization
In the period surrounding cannabis legalization in Canada, questions abounded on the impact it would have on youth. As an educator, you may have debated with your colleagues, or had friends and family members asking your opinion. Today, we finally have data to help us understand what’s changed and...
Clearing the Air About Cannabis: To use or not to use? Youth share their perspectives
Most of our students are under the legal age for cannabis consumption, and the majority of them do not use cannabis. The 22% of Ontario students (and 18% of Canadian students) who do use cannabis have a number of different reasons for doing so (O'Malley, 2020). In this Q&A column, we’ll explore some of the...
Clearing the Air about Cannabis: Consider the Continuum of Use
We know that 22% of Ontario students between Grades 7-12 have used cannabis in the past year (O'Malley, 2020). Some of those students used cannabis only once, whereas others used it daily. The potential risks associated with these different levels of use can vary greatly, and therefore, different messages...
Clearing the Air about Cannabis: Key Learnings from our Live Chat with CSSDP
On January 20th 2021, we went live on Facebook for #Cannabis101Chat, an interactive chat about harm reduction in cannabis education. During the event, guest speakers from Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), Hasham Kamran and Kira London-Nadeau, answered your questions about harm reduction in the school setting...
References
O'Malley, S. (2020). Ontario student use of e-cigarettes and cannabis edibles on the rise. CAMH. https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/ontario-student-use-of-e-cigarettes-and-cannabis-edibles-on-the-rise
