ABSTRACT
Canada has the highest rates of cannabis use among youth in the world. In 2018, recreational cannabis was legalized with the goal of protecting young people by reducing their access and raising awareness of health risks. However, since legalization, cannabis use has increased among youth and young adults, hospital visits for cannabis-related injuries have risen, and cases of cannabis-induced psychosis have also increased. Cannabis use during adolescence is a serious public health concern linked to anxiety, depression, problems with memory and thinking, psychosis, and other difficulties. Unfortunately, there has been limited public education about these risks and how to reduce them. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of how youth, parents, and service providers perceive youth cannabis use since legalization, to improve education, training, services, and policies.
The research project was a partnership between the University of Toronto and Families for Addiction Recovery.
PUBLICATIONS
Citation
Kourgiantakis, T., Hamilton, A., Tait, C., Tekirdag Kosar, K., Lau, C., McNeil, S., Lee, E., Craig, S. & Goldstein, A. (2024). Reducing the harms of cannabis use in youth post-legalization: Insights from Ontario youth, parents & service providers. 21(193), 1-21. Harm Reduction Journal. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01112-9
POSTERS
PRESENTATIONS
Reducing the Harms of Cannabis Use Among Youth: What We Learned from Parents, Youth, and Service Providers. Presented Aug. 22, 2025 as part of Johnny’s Ambassadors Expert Webinar Series by Kourgiantakis, T. & Hamilton, A.
ABSTRACT
Families are often the first and last line of support for people struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), but their struggles are rarely recognized. In this study, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR) partnered to learn directly from families about their perspectives of laws, policies and practices related to SUD treatment. Between February and August 2024, we interviewed 87 family members across Canada. They told us how difficult it is to get proper help from health care and social systems, and how they often had to step in to reduce harm, keep family members safe and prevent their loved one from being criminalized. This research shows that real change is needed. Themes included systemic familial alienation and counterculture, difficulty in getting treatment for concurrent disorders concurrently, barriers created by privacy and consent/capacity laws, the lack of treatment on demand and the lack of regulation of services provided. Policies and services should be redesigned to include family voices, reduce stigma, and break down barriers to care to provide treatment and better support for those affected by SUD, their families and society.
MANUSCRIPTS
St-Amant, O., Hamilton, A., Stergiopoulos, V., Parada, H., Forchuk, C., Barbeau, B., Tanguay, R., Mor, J., & Stoiljkovic, B. (2025, article submitted for publication). Family members’ perspectives of laws, policies and practices in SUD treatment: Family counterculture and addiction in Canada. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.
St-Amant, O., Hamilton, A., Stergiopoulos, V., Parada, H., Forchuk, C., Barbeau, B., Tanguay, R., Mor, J., & Stoiljkovic, B. (2025, article submitted for publication). Family members’ perspectives of laws, policies and practices in substance use disorder treatment: Systemic alienation of the family in Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy.
Stergiopoulos, V., Hamilton, A., Mor, J., Parada, H., Tanguay, R., Stoiljkovic, B. Barbeau, B., & St-Amant, O. (2025, submitted for publication). Family members’ perspectives of laws, policies and practices in substance use disorders treatment: A qualitative exploration of seeking help for concurrent disorders. BMC Psychiatry.
POSTERS
ABSTRACT
Youth substance use is a serious problem that has immediate and long-term impact on individuals, families, and society. Adolescent substance experimentation that develops into abuse foreshadows long-term problems, such as adult addiction, co-occurring mental illness, declined or abandoned academic careers, and other individual and interpersonal harms. Early and effective intervention can mitigate the harmful effects on the lives of young people, their families, and their communities. Intervention may not be accessible, however, for adolescents and/or their families when they seek help, and wait lists are common. Waiting for treatment for substance use is the focus of this study, and in particular, the experience of waiting and its associated impacts on the youth’s substance use, involvement with police, running away, mental health and on the family unit. 118 parents of youth who use substances participated in a mixed methods study at Pine River Institute, a long-term residential youth treatment center. Clinical implications are discussed.
PUBLICATIONS
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