BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children's Hospital Research, F508 4480 Oak St, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6H 3V4, Canada.
Department of Community Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Can J Public Health. 2018 Dec;109(5-6):752-755. doi: 10.17269/s41997-018-0137-3. Epub 2018 Sep 27.
The purpose of this commentary is to discuss how legalization of non-medical marijuana (LNMM) in Canada can potentially influence child and adolescent unintentional injuries based on evidence from states (American) and jurisdictions that have already legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. Although the evidence is still not conclusive, LNMM can bring about higher exposure, lower perceived harms, and higher prevalence of cannabis use by minors through role modeling and normalization of behaviour within the household and the community, and higher rates of driving under the influence of cannabis, which can contribute to a higher burden of road traffic injuries. Experience of American states with LNMM shows higher rates of emergency visits for pediatric poisoning due to unintentional ingestion of cannabis-containing foods and severe burns due to explosions during the course of home-based cannabis extraction. While the justification for legalization has created a strict legal framework for improved control of cannabis in Canada, the implications for health and safety of children and adolescents necessitate further study, communication with policy-makers and public health practitioners, and evidence-based education of parents, caregivers, and youth.
本评论旨在根据美国各州和已将大麻合法化用于娱乐目的的司法管辖区的证据,讨论加拿大非医用大麻合法化(LNMM)如何可能对儿童和青少年意外伤害产生影响。尽管证据仍不具结论性,但 LNMM 可能会通过家庭和社区内的行为榜样和正常化,以及更高的大麻使用流行率,使未成年人接触大麻的机会增加,感知到的危害降低,而在大麻影响下驾驶的比率也会升高,这可能导致道路交通伤害的负担加重。美国 LNMM 经验表明,因误食含大麻食品和在家中进行大麻提取过程中发生爆炸而导致的儿科中毒急诊就诊率更高,烧伤更严重。虽然合法化的理由在加拿大为加强大麻控制创造了严格的法律框架,但这对儿童和青少年的健康和安全的影响需要进一步研究、与决策者和公共卫生从业者沟通,并对父母、照顾者和青少年进行基于证据的教育。