Pubdate: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 Source: Expositor, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2014 Brantford Expositor Contact: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/letters Website: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1130 Author: Giuseppe Valiante Page: 8 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)." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom