POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 63 Learn more about drugs continued continued youth aged 15 across 40 countries and found that use by Canadian youth was the thirdhighest, 23% of boys and 21% of girls. 8 An estimated one in 5 Ontario students in grades 712 (22%) used cannabis in 2019.9 Cannabis use by students across Canada increased from 16.7% in 2016 – 2017 to 18.1% in 2018 – 2019. 10 It’s estimated that 1 in 6 teens who consume cannabis will develop a cannabis use disorder. 11 Cannabis was the most common substance associated with substancerelated hospitalizations for youth aged 10 to 24 years in 2017–2018. 12 1 – Journal of Toxicology, 2013 Nicholas Sullivan et al. 2,3 – OSDUHS 2019 4,5 – McKiernan &Fleming 2017 Canadian Youth Perceptions on Cannabis, CCSA 6 – Drug Alcohol Depend, Winters and Lee 2008. 7 – Canadian Drug Summary – CCSA May 2020 8 – Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children 2018, World Health Organization 9 – OSDUHS 2019 10 – Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey 2018–2019 (CSTADS) 11 – Government of Canada. (2019). Addiction to cannabis. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/healthcanada/services/d rugsmedication/cannabis/healtheffects/addiction.html 12 – Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2019). Hospital Stays for Harm Caused by Substance Use Among Youth Age 10 to 24 Cocaine & Crack ALSO KNOWN AS: Angie, blow, C, Charlie, coke, crack, flake, freebase, hard, Henry, nose candy, rock, snow, stardust. Cocaine is a powerful stimulant made from the leaves of the coca plant. The purified chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, was isolated from the plant more than 100 years ago. Before the development of synthetic local anesthetic, surgeons used cocaine to block pain.1 It was considered safe and used in toothache drops, nausea pills, energy tonics, and, of course, the original “CocaCola” beverage.2 However, research has since shown that cocaine is a powerfully addictive substance that can alter brain structure and function if used repeatedly.3 The two main varieties available are a watersoluble white powder, which is often mixed with other substances such as cornstarch, to be snorted or injected, and a waterinsoluble whitish opaque crystal, known as crack.4 Crack cocaine or “freebase” are smokeable forms of cocaine which look like crystals or rocks that can be smoked or dissolved and injected. These cheaper forms of cocaine are made by chemically processing cocaine powder with baking soda or ammonia. In 2019, cocaine was the most commonly used illegal drug, accounting for approximately half (49%) of illegal drug use.5 What do cocaine & crack look like and how are they used? The major ways of taking cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking (including freebase and crack cocaine). Health risks of use exist regardless of whether cocaine is inhaled (snorted), injected, or smoked. A regular cocaine snorting habit is evident by a red, chapped, runny nose. A person may lose his/her sense of smell and develop sinus infections. The wall that separates the nostrils may develop a hole and bleed often. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very quickly and results in an intense and immediate high, it appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly when smoked rather than snorted.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==