Table 3 Example Guidelines for Youth’s Cannabis Use
From: Lower-risk substance use guidelines accessible by youth
Category | Sub-Category | Focus | Example Guideline Components |
|---|---|---|---|
Abstinence | General | Abstinence | The best way to avoid the negative effects of cannabis is to abstain from its use |
Specific | Age of Onset | Younger users are more likely to experience harm because their brain is developing. It is best to delay use past age… (16 + , 18 + , 21 + , 25 + , late 20 s) | |
Mental | Keep a check on your mental health and motivation and avoid using cannabis as your main way of having fun or coping with stress. There are healthier ways to enjoy yourself or deal with negative moods. If you think marijuana is affecting your mental health or motivation, ease off using it | ||
Mental | If you have a distressing mental experience while using cannabis, stop consuming it temporarily and seek help | ||
Remedies | If you are feeling too high some ways to reduce the high are to consume black peppercorn, CBD, stay hydrated and nourished, ibuprofen, smelling limonene terpenes, and to breathe deeply | ||
Situational | Know how cannabis affects you and know your limits. If it makes you tired or distracted, do not use it if you need to be alert and focused. Do not use before work or school unless you have a valid medical reason to do so. Employers have the right to expect their employees not to be high, stoned, or drunk on the job | ||
Situational | Frequent users who experience difficulty controlling their use should attempt to cease use; if they are unable to do so unaided, they should seek professional help | ||
Sub-Population | There are some populations at probable higher risk for cannabis-related adverse effects who should refrain from using cannabis, including: Users with a personal or family history of mental health problems; pregnant women; users with a personal or family history of mental health problems and pregnant women; users with a personal or family history of mental health problems, middle-aged men with cardiovascular issues, and pregnant women | ||
Synthetic Cannabis | Synthetic cannabis can lead to more acute and severe adverse health effects (including instances of death) compared to non-synthetic cannabis. The use of these products should be avoided | ||
Behaviour | Legality | Combination | Do not break more than one law at a time. For example, if you are driving with cannabis in your car, make sure your lights are working on your vehicle and your registration is up to date |
Environment | Do not smoke in a car. The smell of cannabis emanating from a car is the single most common way people get busted. In fact, it is safest to keep it in the trunk, out of sight in an odor-proof container, such as a glass jar or an oven roasting bag. Don't use car ashtrays to hold your roaches or pipes | ||
Growing | Do not grow it unless you are legally allowed too. Stay within legal limits and keep the plant count as low as possible | ||
Legal Education | Educate yourself about your rights, health risks, laws, and consequences of using | ||
Mercantilism | Do not sell cannabis; every customer is a potential narc or snitch. Do not smuggle (including shipping cannabis through the mail illegally). Getting caught crossing international borders creates more serious problems than it is worth. The penalties for sales and smuggling are very serious | ||
Possession | Know the Legality, and make sure you are within your possession limit | ||
Sharing | Do not share with minors, cannabis is for adults | ||
Preparation | Food and Drink | Cannabis can make you hungry, so load up on your favorite snacks beforehand. Bring water, cannabis can prevent your body from producing saliva, leading to dry mouth; it can help with thirst, headaches, fatigue, and coughing. Always have 16 oz of water ready before you begin | |
Hygiene | Keep your stuff clean. Keep your bongs and pipes clean and do not roll your weed on dirty surfaces. If sharing, hold joints or devices in a way that you can inhale the smoke or vapor without touching them to your lips. If sharing, quickly apply flame to the pipe mouthpiece or wipe with rubbing alcohol to kill germs | ||
Information | Consult with dispensary employees on different options and products for your needs and always read the product label carefully before use | ||
Planning | Have a safety plan or contact in case you feel you are in trouble. If you are planning to use any substances, tell your friends what you’re taking and how much. If anything goes wrong, they are equipped with the necessary information to tell medical personal | ||
Pre-Use Preparation | Eat a good meal at least three hours before a party. A full stomach can moderate some of the negative effects of cannabis. This reduces your chances of nausea and serves as protection for the stomach if you plan to use substances | ||
Responsibilities | Clear your schedule, weed smokers often pass out or feel heavy-bodied. You will in no way be able to function for regular routines after smoking weed. Do not blame cannabis for not achieving your goals, or for a lack of self-control. If you are, assess how you are using it. If it gets in the way of fulfilling obligations and responsibilities to yourself and your loved ones, consider re-assessing your usage | ||
Sexual Wellness | Carry condoms and lube | ||
Safety | Carpooling | Do not ride in a vehicle with someone driving who has recently used cannabis | |
Combination | Do not break more than one law at a time. For example, if you are driving with cannabis in your car, make sure your lights are working on your vehicle and your registration is up to date | ||
Combination | Combining risky behaviour will magnify the risk of negative outcomes from using cannabis | ||
Driving | Do not drive or operate machinery while under the influence. Make sure you have money for a cab, bus rides or designate a sober driver. Wait (15 min, 1–2 h, 3 h, 5–8 h, etc.) | ||
Immune Wellness | If consuming with others, try not to share the smoking device. Sharing items that have touched your lips increases the risk of spreading infections including meningitis, flu, and other germs | ||
Injury Prevention | Prevent burns on your lips or fingers. Use a small piece of rolled unbleached cardboard as a filter. Avoid using cigarette filters—they do not remove toxins in the smoke | ||
Overdose Response | If you feel too high, don' t panic, acknowledge it as anxiety, eat, hydrate, and find a safe place, and distract yourself (a friend can help with this, and maybe talk you down), remember that nothing bad is going to happen. Effects wear off within 2–8 h | ||
Legality | If you are 19 years or older, possessing up to 30 g of cannabis for your own use is legal in Canada. Cannabis is regulated by the province of BC. You must be 19 or over to purchase, possess or use cannabis or cannabis products. Minors in BC (people under the age of 19) are not allowed to possess any cannabis. Be sure you know where and when it is safe and legal to use cannabis | ||
Serious Medical Issue | Seek medical attention if the person is unconscious and cannot be wakened, their breathing is irregular and/or shallow, their skin is clammy or pale, or there is blood in their vomit. Place the person on his/her side, with one arm extended above the head (recovery position) | ||
Subscription Interaction | If you are using prescription medications, herbal supplements, or other products, or have health concerns, you should speak to your doctor or another medical professional before using cannabis. Avoid using if on any medication, herbal supplements, or other products that interacts with Cannabis | ||
Set and Setting | Set | Be clear about why you want to use. Is it going to help you in some way or make things worse? | |
Setting | Only in smart and safe contexts. Trying cannabis at a weekend party is less likely to result in trouble or harm than smoking cannabis on school property or driving after using. Making informed decisions about where and with whom we use cannabis helps to minimize harms. It is also a good idea to have a responsible adult present who is not under the influence of liquor or drugs | ||
Social | Communication | Listen to the advice and criticism of others. If you are exhibiting behaviour that makes them uncomfortable, cannabis use may need to be reassessed | |
Disposal | Do not dispose of used joints on the ground where animals or kids might find them | ||
Environment | Respect others: Do not smoke in designated non-smoking areas. Limit exposure of secondhand smoke to others. Do not smoke around children or if you are responsible for watching children | ||
Support | If you need more information or support, talk to your parent/guardian, teacher, coach, or other trusted adult | ||
Sourcing | Edible Quality | Shop at a legitimate dispensary that sells lab-tested edibles with labels that say how much THC is inside. Some edible products may have expiry dates and ingredient that can cause allergic reactions. The label should always be checked before consuming | |
Extract Quality | For Extracts looks for products with less than 10% THC (100 mg/g) and higher or equal levels of CBD | ||
Product Quality | Care about quality. Whenever possible, choose organic cannabis products. Make sure the cannabis is from a reliable source, unadulterated, pesticide free and carefully assess the quality | ||
Strain Selection | Change the cannabis variety if the one you are using seems to be losing its effectiveness. Take note of what effect each variety produce for you (therapeutic and side effects); keeping a log can be helpful | ||
Storage | Storage | To avoid accidental overdoses with children or pets, store edibles and other cannabis products safely and out of reach. Do not leave open containers in the car | |
Pattern of Use | Administration | Bong/Pipe Administration | Stick to glass, stainless steel or brass bongs and pipes. Avoid wood, aluminum, rubber, and plastic bongs and pipes. Some can give off toxic fumes. Plastic bongs can contain chemicals like BPA and phthalates, which have been linked to serious health effects, including cancer. If you do use one, change the water frequently to limit exposure to germs and viruses |
Choice of Administration | The method of consumption and strain can affect dosage strength, effects, and the risks to the user. (e.g., Smoking is one of the easiest ways to dose cannabis, but it can lead to respiratory harm. Edibles have no respiratory risk but can be difficult to dose due to the long onset time. Pills containing hash or cannabis oil or ingest via tincture or sprays; like edibles effects may take a while to kick in, start with no more than 2 drops and wait an hour before increasing dosage. Topicals are one of the safest ways to consume cannabis but may not result in psychoactive effects.) | ||
Concentrate Administration | Dabbing concentrates is one of the cleanest ways to smoke cannabis. This is because you are inhaling vapor instead of smoke | ||
Ignition Source | To avoid inhaling unnecessary chemicals, use hemp paper coated with beeswax to light your cannabis rather than matches or a lighter | ||
Inhalation Techniques | Users should avoid deep inhalation, breath-holding, or other harmful smoking practices. Take smaller, shallower inhalations rather than deep inhales | ||
Paper Product Administration | Choose joints over blunts. Blunts can contain leftover carcinogens as well as potentially harmful chemicals themselves. They are also bigger, leading to a bigger dose | ||
Paper Product vs. Bong/Pipe Administration | Water bongs are not as safe as joints. Bongs filter out more THC than tars since water tends to absorb THC, and you can inhale water vapor or water drops into your lungs. This requires you to puff harder, increasing the amount of tar that is inhaled | ||
Dosing | Concentrate Dosing | Concentrate products frequently contain higher THC than other cannabis products, thus the risks associated with high THC content also apply to dabbing, and in some cases even more so. Products may also be impure and contain harmful substances | |
Edible Dosing | Take your time with edibles. To avoid accidental overdose "start low, go slow". It takes longer to feel the effects of edibles than with other consumption methods (e.g., 30 min—2 h., Start with a small amount and wait until you feel the effects before taking more. The full effects may take as long as 4 h to take effect. Start with an initial dose of 2.5 mg. Start with an initial dose of 10 mg or less. Start with an initial dose of 5 mg. Users should wait until they feel the effects before consuming more or wait until the next day; and increasing the next dose by 5-10 mg. Users should wait until they feel the effects before consuming more edibles. Users should wait at least 2 h before consuming more edibles.) | ||
Extract Potency | For Extracts looks for products with less than 10% THC (100 mg/g) and higher or equal levels of CBD | ||
General Dosing | Start Low and Go slow, limit the amount of substance used and only start with a small amount. This is especially the case if you are using an unfamiliar cannabis product (e.g., Wait at least an hour to gauge effects before consuming more. Wait to feel the effects before you take more, it takes seconds to minutes to feel the effects of smoking/vaping and 30 min—2 h for edibles) | ||
High Potency | Use higher potency cannabis so you use less cannabis. Concentrates can be useful, particularly if you need higher doses. You can also use less and avoid unnecessary smoke and toxins in your lungs while still getting the same high | ||
New User | If you’ve never used cannabis before or have low tolerance starts with a lower THC product. If using an unfamiliar strain, sample a small amount first and wait to see how you react | ||
Product Strength | Higher strength cannabis can worsen the negative effects of cannabis and can lead to a higher chance of overdosing. Use cannabis with a lower THC content. It is also advisable to use cannabis with a high CBD:THC ratio | ||
Smoking Dosing | Smoke as little as possible. Effects are felt in seconds to minutes, it can take up to 30 min to feel the full effects (e.g., Try 1 to 3 inhalations and wait 10 to 15 min to find the right dosage, increase dosage as necessary. Start with 1 or 2 puffs of a vape or joint with 10% (100 mg/g) or less THC | ||
Intensity | Frequency of Use | Frequent use (i.e., daily, or near-daily use) is associated with most severe problems and should be avoided. Occasional use (e.g., use only on 1 day/week, weekend use only, etc.) at most | |
Mixing | Mixing with Drugs | One at a time. Complications are more likely if you mix drugs. This includes alcohol, tobacco, pain medication, and street drugs. Be aware of any synergistic affect’s cannabis and any other drugs your taking has |