Cannabis: The Low-Down on Getting High
part 1 published in The Filipino Journal, Number 22, Nov. 20 – Dec. 05, 2018 part 2 published in The Filipino Journal, Number 23, December 05 – 20, 2018 Kumusta kayo! Let’s talk about cannabis, aka damo, joots, chongki, maryjane, tiririt, greta, pito pito, doobie, etc . Why so many Filipino terms? Well, according to Wikipedia, it is the second most used drug in the Philippines, after shabu (methamphetamine). Although some say “everyone uses cannabis”, Manitoba surveys have shown that approximately 55 % of people have tried cannabis at some point in their lifetime. However, in 2017, 80% of Manitobans reported that they had not used it in that year. As many may know, on October 17, Canada became the second country in the world (after Uruguay) to legalize recreational marijuana, likely triggering our nation’s biggest public policy challenge in decades. It is helpful to look at the issue through a health lens, rather than a justice one: while cannabis ha