Pubdate: Fri, 21 Nov 2014
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/letters
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Giuseppe Valiante
Page: 12

ADS BASED ON SCIENCE: MINISTER

OTTAWA: Liberal MP tells health committee the Tories are 'scaring
people to death'

OTTAWA - The Conservative government is "going around scaring people
to death" with "panicky" and politically motivated anti-marijuana
commercials, Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Commons health committee
Thursday.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose replied the TV ads are based on science
and aren't partisan.

The multimillion-dollar campaign includes a TV spot that shows a human
brain made out of glass tubes with thick smoke flowing through them.
"(Marijuana) can damage a teen for life," the narrator says.

Fry, a health committee member, said the Conservatives aren't
interested in telling Canadians about the benefits of marijuana. She
said the government should be encouraging research and clinical trials
on the drug, echoing her party leader's call for a less restrictive
climate around marijuana in Canada.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has called for the legalization of
marijuana. He argues government taxation and regulation would curtail
and restrict its availability to children. Ambrose said the campaign
was created precisely to combat the drug's use by children - not to
further the Tories' anti-marijuana policy. She said Health Canada and
other members of the Canadian medical community told her an education
campaign was necessary to raise awareness about the potential harmful
effects of marijuana on a developing brain.

"I cannot believe the reaction from people who say (the commercials)
are from a partisan point of view," Ambrose told the committee.
"Parents are struggling with kids who are clearly impacted physically
and psychologically (by marijuana). We will continue on with (the ads)."
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MAP posted-by: Matt