We know marijuana by many names including pot, weed, cannabis, and in Punjabi, bhang. This has been a hot topic in the media, but we will discuss specifically how it is influencing our youth. One of my cousins was telling me recently that many Sikh youth are consuming marijuana in high school these days, even those from Amritdhari families. There is a strong perception amongst youth that marijuana is not harmful. The Canadian Center on Substance Abuse states “Of particular concern is recent research suggesting that Canada’s youth do not have the knowledge they need about the risks associated with this drug to make informed decisions.” Because of this, it is important for us as individuals, parents, relatives, teachers, and healthcare providers to get knowledge and awareness about the effects to share this message with youth in our lives.
I sorted through evidence from well reputed sources like the Canadian Pediatric Society, Canadian Psychiatric Association, Canadian Center on Substance Abuse as well as Center for Addiction and Mental Health. They studied and found out that youth use marijuana to cope with stress, out of boredom, because their friends or parents use it, to get more social, and for the excitement. The key findings about the effects revolve around the concept that since our brains are developing until the mid-20s, youth’s brains are especially susceptible to the damaging effects of marijuana. Marijuana use especially affects development of the part of the brain responsible for decision making and judgement, but also affects memory, motivation, attention and processing speed. This reveals itself as poor school performance, and increased risk of car accidents. Marijuana also has affects on the body such as causing lung disease when smoked. Young people also often think that because there aren’t reported overdoses there aren’t adverse effects, but hospitalizations from marijuana do occur including from injuries, extreme anxiety, psychosis or stomach related symptoms. They also think that this means it is not addictive. Studies show that actually marijuana can be addictive and that is called “Cannabis Use Disorder” just like other substance use disorders. Lastly, there is also a known link of cannabis with mental health disorders although it is not yet known exactly how this works. The use of marijuana is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia/psychotic disorders (not knowing what’s real, paranoia), anxiety, and depression. As we can see from these diverse examples of how marijuana effects youth, it is dangerous for youth to go on thinking that it is safe.
It is often difficult for parents to know what to do when their youth is using substances, and a great resource is a doctor’s office as they can connect a youth to other resources. Risk factors for use of marijuana includes use of it among friends, low parental monitoring, availability, and belief it isn’t harmful. Prevention therefore includes counteracting these with proper supervision and communication, emphasizing the importance of a positive friend group, education, community engagement, role modelling, and teaching our youth skills to deal with their emotions and conflicts. As you can tell these are many things that are common teachings of Sikhi, like the importance of sangat, sewa for the community, and connecting the mind to God to reduce thoughts that link us to conflict. Generating skills for resisting peer pressure and standing up for your own values is also important. It is clearly outlined in the rehat maryada that intoxicants are prohibited. Sikhi teaches us that there is more Anand in Naam than any drug can give us and this is what we should be teaching our youth. There is a nice Sakhi about Babar trying to give Guru Nanak Dev Ji bhang in the links below, and Guru Ji provides the response to Babar in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in this shabad: “The Fear of You, O Lord God, is my marijuana; my consciousness is the pouch which holds it. I have become an intoxicated hermit. My hands are my begging bowl; I am so hungry for the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. I beg at Your Door, day after day. I long for the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. I am a beggar at Your Door - please bless me with Your charity. Pause. Saffron, flowers, musk oil and gold embellish the bodies of all. The Lord's devotees are like sandalwood, which imparts its fragrance to everyone. No one says that ghee or silk are polluted. Such is the Lord's devotee, no matter what his social status is. Those who bow in reverence to the Naam, the Name of the Lord, remain absorbed in Your Love. Nanak begs for charity at their door.” (Ang 721).
I hope that this short post was a way for you to start those conversations with youth and address some of the common myths about marijuana. It is important for all of us to be thinking about how our Sikhi fits in and how we get our youth to understand our Sikhi is practical and a way of life rather than a set of rules. Then when we teach Naam Japna, Vand Shakhna and Kirat Karni, we are actually using methods of prevention to steer our youths minds on the path to God and achieving what we came here for in this lifetime.
References
http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Canadian-Youth-Perceptions-on-Cannabis-Report-2017-en.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOHZLxqpaO4Basics of Sikhi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN09EP-x8PYSakhi Guru Nanak
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