3 % of Adult Drivers
In Ontario Have Driven After Smoking Cannabis
Toronto, Tuesday June 3, 2003: According to Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health's Provincial Drug Monitor The Centre
for
Addiction
and Mental Health's (CAMH) released
the first Canadian description of changes in the prevalence of using
cannabis and driving within an adult population.
The data are from the 2002 CAMH Monitor (CM), which is an ongoing health
survey of adults in Ontario. The survey shows that among adults with
a driver's license, 3% (approximately 200,000 drivers) report having
driven a vehicle within an hour of using cannabis, at least once during
the year before the survey. The rates are highest among males (5%) and
18 - 34 year olds (6%). This is a nominal increase from 1996/97 when
2% of adults surveyed reported the same behaviour. While the difference
is not statistically significant, the authors of the study recommend
that this behaviour warrants further scrutiny to see whether it will
turn into a dominant trend.
The survey shows that in 2002, 11% of Ontario adults reported using
cannabis at least once during the year before the survey. Use is significantly
higher among males (15%) than females (8%) and higher among younger age
groups (from 22% among 18-34 year-olds, down to 3% among those over age
55).
The CAMH eBulletin highlights the findings of the CAMH Monitor, a survey
based on telephone interviews with 2,627 adults. The report describes
the extent of addiction and mental health indicators among Ontario adults
aged 18 years and older. This report also describes trends in alcohol,
tobacco, and cannabis use, based on 16 surveys conducted between 1977
and 2001. The resulting compilation of these surveys represents the longest
ongoing study of adult drug use in Canada.
The eBulletin is a regular electronic publication of the CAMH Population
and Life Course Studies Unit focussing on current research related issues.
To receive future issues of the eBulletin, please e-mail Anne Ptasznik,
Media Relations Coordinator, at Anne_Ptasznik@camh.net or telephone 416-595-6015.
Copies of all the eBulletins are also available in PDF format at the
following location: http://www.camh.net/research/population_life_course.html. CAMH is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization
Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the
University of Toronto. CAMH was formed in early 1998 through the merger
of the Addiction Research Foundation, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry,
the Donwood Institute and the Queen Street Mental Health Centre.
Media Contact: Anne Ptasznik, Media Relations Coordinator, at 416-595-6015.
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1-800-463-6273
