Good afternoon to the committee members and the other experts on the panel.
I want to start by thanking the committee for having me today. It's a privilege to be able to share my perspective on addiction and mental health issues among young people.
The committee's study is timely. The World Health Organization just released an alarming study carried out in a number of countries, including Canada. It reveals an increase in the use of cannabis, alcohol and e‑cigarettes by youth. In addition, opioid and substance-related overdoses are the leading cause of death among youth in western Canada.
I have spent 20 years as a family physician working in addiction and mental health in Montreal. I currently practise at La Licorne Medical Clinic. I've worked in a number of settings, all in the area of addiction and mental health. In 2017, I founded Projet Caméléon, a not-for-profit organization focused on harm reduction.
I have a book on drugs and addiction coming out in September. It's geared towards young people between the ages of 12 and 25, as well as parents and teachers. I care deeply about young people. I think we urgently need to educate them, in an honest and non-judgmental way, about how their brains work and how drugs affect their brains. In my experience, education is the most effective way to prevent problems. Repression is an outdated approach.
A new phenomenon since I was a teenager is the exponential growth in the range of drugs on the black market. Thirty years ago, when I was in high school, we didn't have methamphetamines, GHB, MDMA, lean, ketamine, fentanyl, cannabis vape devices—known as wax pens—or ecstasy, and we had even fewer opioid and benzodiazepine-based drugs. Putting profits above all else, drug dealers no longer have any qualms about letting fentanyl and other opioids flood the market. It's a well-known fact that the family medicine cabinet tends to be the first place where teens come into contact with opioids and benzodiazepines.
I've been giving talks in schools since 2005, mainly to audiences in private high schools. Public schools say they don't have the funding to educate students about addiction and prevention. However, if we at least invested the profits from cannabis sales in prevention, education and addiction treatment, we could really make a difference for young people.
Since cannabis was legalized, its use has been overly trivialized by both young people and their parents. Legal equals no big deal. The reality is that THC is actually an extremely potent and unpredictable disruptor, even at low doses. Despite still being illegal, wax pens are readily found in high schools across the country because they have such a high THC content. In fact, even though selling cannabis to minors is prohibited, more and more young people are reportedly going to the emergency department and being hospitalized as a result of THC-induced psychosis. Not only has legalization not come close to eliminating the black market, but it has also brought down the price of cannabis that continues to be sold illegally on the street.
Like many, I have seen the significant impact the pandemic has had on people's mental health and substance abuse, especially among those 25 and under. They were craving emotional connections and human contact. Isolation, the prevalence of screens, cellphones and social media, compulsive gaming and the lack of recreational activities have, in some cases, had devastating consequences for the mental health of young people, whose brains are still developing. What's more, these factors have been a catalyst for the development of alcohol and substance abuse among youth. In many cases, they take substances as a way to self-medicate. Keep in mind that 50% to 70% of people with an addiction also have a primary mental health issue, one that existed long before they began using. That is known as comorbidity. My colleague talked about that earlier. A teen whose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, goes untreated may very well feel better and more able to function after taking speed or other such stimulant, or even a depressant such as hydromorphone.
If all my patients ended up in prison, psychiatric wards or the morgue, I wouldn't have spent the past 20 years doing this. Many people are able to come out the other side, becoming independent functioning individuals once again. However, that takes time, support and empathy, which are necessary to uncover the person's trauma and treat comorbid conditions as soon as possible. In my experience, that reduces the criminal activity and harms associated with drug and alcohol use, while improving the person's overall health.
My humble recommendation to the committee is that the government take concrete steps to support prevention, treatment and education around alcohol and substance use, for the benefit of all young people, in every school.
Thank you.