Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!

Military members may legally be allowed to partake in cannabis consumption but the commanders at Garrison Petawawa wish to remind members that they are expected to make responsible choices.

“Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, civilian employees and contractors should engage their respective Chains of Command or employers before deciding to consume cannabis to ensure they are authorized to do so,” said 4th Canadian Division Support Group Commander Colonel Louis Lapointe. “Although as of Oct. 17 the consumption has been legalized, the Garrison has identified specific Cannabis smoking areas to inform users in order to ensure the health and safety of all our personnel.

“On Garrison Petawawa our priority remains the maintenance of physically fit, employable and deployable forces as well as the promotion of safety in the workplace,” he added.

With legalization, the Department of National Defence (DND) has issued a new policy that covers the use of recreational cannabis for its military members as well as its Defence Team employees. This policy applies to all civilian workers, as well as officers and non-commissioned members of the CAF.

“2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group has a laser-like focus on being ready to deploy, fight and win whenever and wherever we are called to do so. While the use of cannabis will soon be legal, its use is not congruent with our daily quest of improving our readiness,” said 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG) Commander Colonel Jason Adair. According to the policy, there is zero tolerance of impairment or usage in the workplace or activities related to work. There is also an “8-hour period of prohibition of recreational consumption prior to regular duty performance in the workplace, 24-hour period of prohibition of recreational consumption prior to a safety-sensitive duty in the workplace and 28-day period of prohibition of recreational consumption prior to safety-sensitive duties involving operating in a hyperbaric environment, diving, submarine service or use of a recompression chamber; or controlling or directing an aerospace platform or asset.”

Though there is a short-term feeling of euphoria associated with cannabis, there are also negative effects. The short-term effects on your brain can include confusion, sleepiness, as well as the impaired ability to remember, concentrate and pay attention to react quickly. Recreational cannabis can cause anxiety, fear or panic and can result in psychotic episodes characterized by paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations. It causes a decrease in blood pressure and in some people it can cause fainting. It can be dangerous for people with heart conditions as it leads to increased risk of heart attack. It also damages blood vessels leading to lung conditions if smoked.

According to Health Canada, there are also long-term effects of chronic use, which include a decrease in intelligence, difficulty forming memories, concentration or making positive decisions as well as lung conditions.

“Using cannabis is a personal choice, however, individuals should be aware that it can have short and long-term effects on your health,” said Manager Health Promotion, Personnel Support Programs (PSP) Dana Lawson.

“Effects may include short and long-term memory impairment, increased anxiety, impaired ability to safely operate vehicles or machinery, mental health issues and damage to the lungs if consumed by smoking. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) along with other stakeholders have developed Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRUCG) to help people make an informed decision on whether or not to use recreational cannabis.”

Research has shown that mental illness such as depression, psychosis or schizophrenia can develop from cannabis use in a small segment of the population, especially in those under the age of 25 as the brain has not fully developed. Those who are frequent users, chronic users or young users may develop permanent conditions from recreational cannabis.

It isn’t just the medical effects of recreational cannabis that one should be wary of.

Driving while impaired is dangerous as it impairs your ability to think and your reaction speed. If police suspect you are driving impaired, they can use Standard Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evaluation, which includes a urine, oral fluid or blood sample. This can lead to fines, criminal charges and even jail time for those found to be impaired.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some individuals may respond differently to medical cannabis. In its CANNABIDIOL (CBD) Pre-Review Report, it illustrated the differences between medical cannabis and recreational cannabis. The recreational type usually contains a significantly higher amount Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than its medical counterpart. THC is the compound that produces the high or impairment while CBD does not produce any psychoactive effect, and doesn’t give the feeling of euphoria traditionally associated with the plant.

Pure CBD has been found by the WHO and Cannabidiol: State of the art and new challenges for therapeutic applications by Pisanti et al to be effective in reducing pain, nausea and muscle spasms as well as treating certain mental illnesses and other medical issues like Alzheimer’s disease, Crohn’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy, and cancer.

It is not a cure-all, however. It remains controversial, as research is still ongoing.

Those looking to control their medical conditions with cannabis or CBD should speak to a medical practitioner to procure the correct strain for their needs and treat it like any other serious medication.

Additional information on the Canadian Government’s policy on Cannabis use can be found at www.canada.ca/cannabis.