![An open bottle of prescription pills, spilt on an orange table top. The pills are white and orange. Wellington Dufferin Guelph is holding a webinar on cannabis and other drugs Wednesday night at 7 p.m.](https://frequencynews-wpoffloadmedia.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/13120051/christina-victoria-craft-ZHys6xN7sUE-unsplash-1024x684.jpg)
New local webinar aims to teach parents how to talk to their kids about drugs
Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health is holding its first-ever webinar to help parents talk to their teens about cannabis and other drugs.
Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum says they will be discussing the harms of drug use and help parents have those conversations with their families.
Tenenbaum says even though cannabis is legal, younger users risk unique harms including increased risk of addiction and affecting brain development. Tenenbaum says they now believe the brain doesn’t finish maturing until age 25.
A local survey of teens in Grades nine to 12 done in 2022 shows that 1-in-10 have reported using drugs that are common in most households like pain pills containing codeine and cough syrup to get high.
The webinar begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday and parents are welcome to register to attend right up until it starts. You can register by visiting the Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health website.