Resources for Professionals

WECHU Curriculum Support
Looking for topic information or supportive resources? Our online database contains a variety of resources and tools to assist you with your lessons.

Ministry of Education – Support for Educators
Information for parents/guardians and educators about the steps Ontario is taking to protect children and youth, the impact this may have on schools and what information and supports are available to parents/guardians and students related to cannabis.

Drug-Impaired Driving Toolkit for Educators

Cannabis & Health

Cannabis and Other Substances, health impacts – Infographic (CCSA, 2020)

A Guide to Cannabis for Older Adults – Information sheets (CCSA & CCSMH, 2020)

Why Youth & Young Adults are at a Higher Risk - Poster (WECHU, 2019, accessible PDF)

How Can I Lower My Health Risks from Cannabis - Poster (WECHU, 2019, accessible PDF)

Is Cannabis Harmful to My Health? Printable information sheet (WECHU, 2018)

Health Effects of Cannabis - Printable brochure (8.5x11)

Know the Health Risks of Cannabis - Poster (8.5x11) (CCSA, 2019)

10 Ways to Reduce Risks When Using Cannabis - Poster and Postcard (CAMH, 2018)

Canada’s Lower Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines - Printable brochure (8.5x11)

Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines - FRENCH

Cannabis: Inhaling (smoking or vaping) vs Ingesting (eating or drinking) - Infographic


Reproductive Health & Parenting

Parents Matter: Strategies for Parents to Prevent or Delay Alcohol and Other Drug Use - Printable booklet

Parents Matter - Printable poster

Thinking about using cannabis before or during pregnancy? - Brochure

Thinking about using cannabis while parenting? - Brochure

Risks of Cannabis on Fertility, Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Parenting - Printable booklet

Eight Things You Need to Know about Cannabis, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding - Poster (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, 2018)

Cannabis Talk Kit - Know How to Talk with your Teen - Order free printed booklets in English and French.

Thinking about using cannabis before or during pregnancy? - FRENCH

Thinking about using cannabis while parenting? - FRENCH


Impaired Driving

Will Cannabis Use Affect My Driving? - Printable information sheet (WECHU, 2018)

Don’t Drive High - Infographic

Arrive Alive
- Order free items to promote driving unimpaired by alcohol or other drugs such as small car insurance folders, posters, and coasters. Other resources available such as videos, help with community events.

Talking pot with youth – A cannabis communication guide for Youth Allies - A set of practical approaches and exercises to engage youth in meaningful conversations about cannabis. This guide takes a harm reduction approach and contains answers to frequently asked questions about cannabis (CCSA, 2020)

Engaging Clients Who Use Substances Best Practice Guideline - evidence-based recommendations related to assessment and interventions for individuals aged 11 years and older who use substances and may be at risk for or experiencing a substance use disorder (RNAO, 2015)

National Clinical Guidelines on Substance Use Disorders among Older Canadians – The first ever created Canadian Guidelines on Alcohol, Benzodiazepine, Cannabis and Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Adults (Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health, 2020)

Non-Medical Cannabis Resource for Primary Healthcare Providers in Ontario - Guidance for health professionals on screening for cannabis use, harm reduction measures and patient counselling, and benefits/harms for patients using cannabis (CEP, 2018).

Cannabasics – Set of fact sheets on cannabis for health and social service providers

Is cannabis safe during preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding? - Evidence Brief with key messages for health care providers

The Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana scale (PBSM)
Use this assessment form to identify strategies (including harm reduction strategies) that may reduce the harms of marijuana use among young people who choose to use it.

Talking with Your Clients: Health Effects and Safer Use

Talking with Your Clients: Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women

Talking with Your Clients: Youth and Young Adults/Individuals at Risk or Living with Mental Illness or Addiction

Talking with Your Clients: Regulations and Impaired Driving

Substance Use and the Workplace: Supporting Employers and Employees in the Trades [toolkit] (CCSA, 2021)

Substance Use Resources for the Workplace (policies and activities to address or prevent substance use)

Impairment and Workplace Health and Safety Guidelines and Duties (Ontario Ministry of Labour, 2019) 

Impairment and Cannabis in the Workplace (Health Canada, 2019)

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2019). Clearing the smoke on cannabis: Regular use and mental health.

Fischer, B., Russell, C., Sabioni, P., van den Brink, W., Le Foll, B., Hall, W., Rehm, J. & Room, R. (2017). Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG): An evidence-based update. American Journal of Public Health, 107(8). DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303818.

Government of Canada. (2018). Is Cannabis safe during preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding? Cannabis Evidence Brief.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist. (2017). Marijuana use during pregnancy and lactation. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 130(4), 205-209. Retrieved from https://www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Marijuana-Use-During-Pregnancy-and-Lactation

Best Start. (2017). Risks of cannabis on fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding and parenting. Retrieved from https://www.beststart.org/resources/alc_reduction/RisksOfCannabis_A30-E.pdf

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2015). The effects of cannabis use during adolescence. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Effects-of-Cannabis-Use-during-Adolescence-Report-2015-en.pdf

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2016). Clearing the smoke on cannabis: Highlights.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2017). Canadian youth perceptions on cannabis. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Canadian-Youth-Perceptions-on-Cannabis-Report-2017-en.pdf

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2018). Cannabis: Canadian drug summary. Retrieved from https://www.ccsa.ca/cannabis-canadian-drug-summary

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2017). Clearing the smoke on cannabis: Cannabis use and driving. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Cannabis-Use-Driving-Report-2017-en.pdf

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. (2018). Clearing the smoke on cannabis: Maternal cannabis use during pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Cannabis-Maternal-Use-Pregnancy-Report-2018-en.pdf

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2017). Canada’s lower-risk cannabis use guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/pdfs---reports-and-books---research/canadas-lower-risk-guidelines-cannabis-pdf.pdf

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2018). Cannabis: What parents/guardians and caregivers need to know. Retrieved from https://smh-assist.ca/wp-content/uploads/WEB-Cannabis-Information-Document-SMHA-CAMH-ENGLISH.pdf

Government of Ontario. (2018). Cannabis legalization: Learn what will and won’t be legal in Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.ontario.ca/cannabis

Drug Free Kids Canada. (2018). Cannabis talk kit. Retrieved from https://www.drugfreekidscanada.org/order-cannabis-talk-kit/

Drug Free Kids Canada. (2018). Tips for parents. Retrieved from https://www.drugfreekidscanada.org/prevention/tips-for-parents/

Fried, P.A. (1995). The Ottawa Prenatal Prospective Study (OPPS): Methodological Issues and Findings - It's Easy to Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water. Life Sciences, 56 (23-24):2159-68.

Garry, A., Rigourd, V,. Amirouche A., Fauroux, V., Aubry S., and R., Serreau. (2009). Cannabis and breastfeeding. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jt/2009/596149/

Health Canada. (2016). Access to cannabis for medical purposes regulations: Daily amount fact sheet (dosage). Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/information-medical-practitioners/cannabis-medical-purposes-regulations-daily-amount-fact-sheet-dosage.html

Health Canada. (2018). Your cannabis questions, answered: Get the honest facts. Retrieved from www.canada.ca/cannabis

Health Canada. (2017). Health effects of cannabis. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/campaigns/27-16-1808-Factsheet-Health-Effects-eng-web.pdf

McLemore, G., and Richardson, K., (2016). Data from three prospective longitudinal human cohorts of prenatal marijuana exposure and offspring outcomes from the fetal period through young adulthood. Data in Brief, (9): 753-757. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2016.10.005

Metz, T. and Stickrath, E. (2015). Marijuana use in pregnancy and lactation: a review of the evidence. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 213(6):761-78. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.05.025

Ontario Ministry of Transportation. (2018). Impaired driving. Retrieved from http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/impaired-driving.shtml#cannabis

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). The health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: The current state of evidence and recommendations for research. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/24625/chapter/1

Parachute Vision Zero Network (2018). Cannabis and drug impaired driving: What’s happening in Canada right now?

Schwartz, R. (2017). Legalize marijuana without the smoke. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 189(4): E137-E138. doi:https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.161203

Tomar, R., Beaumont, J. & Hsieh, J. (2009). Evidence on the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke. Retrieved from https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/proposition-65/chemicals/finalmjsmokehid.pdf

Volkow, N., Baler, R., Compton, W. & Weiss, S. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. New England Journal of Medicine, 370(23): 2219–2227. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1402309

Warner, T., Roussos-Ross, D., & Behnke, M. (2014). It’s not your mother’s marijuana: Effects on maternal-fetal health and the developing child. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4254522/pdf/nihms626138.pdf

Barrus, D., Capogrossi, K., Cates, S., Gourdet, C., Peiper, N., Novak, S.,… Wiley, J. (2016). Tasty THC: Promises and challenges of cannabis edibles. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press.

Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. (2019). 7 Things You Need to Know about Edible Cannabis. Retrieved from https://ccsa.ca/7-things-you-need-know-about-edible-cannabis

Government of Canada. (n.d.). Cannabis: Lower your risks. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/resources/lower-your-risks/lower-your-risks.pdf

Government of Canada. (2019). Update on the potential risk of pulmonary illness associated with vaping products. Retrieved from http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2019/70939a-eng.php

Health Canada. Consumer Information - Cannabis (Marihuana, marijuana) https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/licensed-producers/consumer-information-cannabis.html

Health Canada. (n.d.). Consumer information – Edible Cannabis. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/documents/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/laws-regulations/regulations-support-cannabis-act/consumer-information/Cannabis_Consumer_Information_Sheet-Edibles-EN.pdf