Psychologist Believes Cannabis On Campus May Control Binge Drinking

Psychologist Believes Cannabis On Campus May Control Binge Drinking

Psychologist Believes Cannabis On Campus May Control Binge Drinking from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Canada: University of British Columbia clinical psychologist Zachary Walsh says that he doesn’t think school campuses will see big changes once recreational cannabis is legalized, reports CBC News.

Walsh is currently working with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study the impact of adult-use cannabis on campus. “I don’t think it’s been a barrier to using and I think that was kind of the point behind legalization is the people are using anyways, so how can we reduce the harms associated with that,” he tells CBC New Brunswick News. He adds that as soon as cannabis is legalized, it will have less side effects on students’ health; plus, they’ll turn to the legal market to access it.

“If they do that they’re not going to be as readily exposed to other potentially more dangerous substances,” Walsh says, referring to the likelihood that students will no longer get cannabis from the black market.

He also believes that students will be more willing to engage in dialogue about their cannabis habits with health-care providers. “I think it’s going to have a positive effect on Canadian campuses where people are using cannabis anyhow,” Walsh explains. He attributes the many problems on campus to binge drinking, and the research he’s already done reveals that cannabis may actually help to curb this issue.

“People may choose to use cannabis as a substitute, but that’s less likely to happen if the only access that people have on campus is to alcohol.” He says that many of Canada’s campuses have bars on the premises, or are nearby other bars; but if there’s no access to pot, then there’s nothing to inhibit alcohol consumption.

“So I say put it on an even playing field with alcohol… and that’s going to really allow us to see if it’s going to reduce the harms associated with alcohol.”

We agree with Walsh when he says that banning cannabis on campus isn’t the solution, because they should focus on legalizing what will happen either ways. “If you provide people with a safe place for smoking cannabis then they won’t offend those who don’t want to be in contact with it. And they won’t risk getting in trouble for pursuing their rights.”

Walsh emphasizes on the difference between using cannabis and legalization, saying that there are side effects to just using it. “It can interfere with short-term memory and, if people are smoking it, it can be irritating to their respiratory system. So those are negative consequences, but I don’t expect those consequences to increase with legalization.”

Cannabis Is The Solution To The Effects Of Alcoholism

Whether it’s Canada or anywhere else in the world, it’s clear that making pot legally available is the panacea society needs. Alcoholism is linked not just to health problems, but domestic violence and other societal ills.

We hope that Canada’s universities eventually make way for more lenient cannabis consumption on campus. Studies already show that where cannabis is legal, people are hitting the bottle less. And considering how much Americans love alcohol, this is huge (and good) news.

A report from Cowen & Company released last April revealed that states with legal adult-use cannabis saw a decrease in binge drinking. The report, which was first released by Forbes, specifically stated that in Washington State and Colorado, adults were 13% less prone to go on drinking sprees compared to states where cannabis still hasn’t been legalized. Even more significantly, the analysts over at Cowen have predicted that legal cannabis has slashed drinking binges by the thousands.

“In adult-use cannabis states, the number of binge drinking sessions per month (for legal states through 2016) was -9% below the national average,” the report reads.

The report also states that legal cannabis states where adults aged 21 and up can purchase pot saw a 13% decline in binge drinking compared to states that still have prohibition full-on.

While many people feel these predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, is it any wonder then, why Big Alcohol companies have shown sudden interest in cannabis?

It’s become pretty clear that people who have access to recreational pot would rather spend some or all of their budgets on cannabis; money that was previously allocated to pot.

So will Canada’s schools develop a leniency toward cannabis consumption? Let’s wait and see.

Psychologist Believes Cannabis On Campus May Control Binge Drinking from CannabisNet on Vimeo.