Pubdate: Fri, 21 Nov 2014
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Giuseppe Valiante
Page: 28

GRIT MP: TORIES BLOWING SMOKE

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 that 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.

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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom