... in risk taking and impulsive behaviour, such as experimentation with new drugs, due to the high activity and "quick fire change" of this region of the brain (Ross, 2003, p. 1). The Nova Scotia Department of Health (2003) recognized substance abuse as a problem in the adolescent population in the Nova Scotia region when they reported that over half (51.7%) of the students ranging from grades 7 to 12 indicated that they had used alcohol at least once in the past year. Twenty-three percent of this sample indicated that they had used tobacco and 36.5% indicated that they had used cannabis at least once in the past year. In addition, 17.3% of students surveyed reported using all three, alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis, during the previous year. It has also been found that 22.8% of students surveyed had reportedly been a passenger in a motor vehicle that was being operated ...

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