Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 2016
Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Owen Sound Sun Times
Contact: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/letters
Website: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
Author: Scott Dunn
Page: A1

KEEP A LID ON POT, LYNN URGES

Medical Officer of Health in Favour of Legalization, but With 
Controls to Reduce Risks

The Grey-Bruce medical officer of health wants controls placed on the 
sale of marijuana to protect the public, particularly young people.

Dr. Hazel Lynn presented a report on the issue to the board of health 
Friday. Later she told reporters she personally supports legalization 
of marijuana, along with "a regulatory system that reduces the risk."

Her recommendations were drawn from the Centre for Addiction and 
Mental Health's policy framework.

The federal Liberal government is going to legalize marijuana, which 
former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, the parliamentary secretary 
to the justice minister, is leading a task force to do. He has said 
he intends to see the drug strictly regulated and it will have 
restricted access for minors.

Lynn advocated for a government monopoly on the sale of marijuana and 
that taxes are collected on it. Regulations should also set a minimum 
age requirement to control who may buy it, "similar to alcohol," she said.

She wants government to limit where pot is sold and increase its 
price as a tool to limit its availability and curb demand. She 
advocates curtailing "higher risk products which we know cause more 
problem than smoking," including high potency pot and products 
designed to appeal to youth.

She sees the government having a role in limiting the active 
ingredient THC in pot sold to the public, she told the board in 
answer to a member's question.

Lynn said increased public education should explain which users are 
most at risk of harm to protect the most vulnerable. Restrictions 
should be placed on marketing, advertising and sponsorships involving 
pot to reduce use, and the pot should be labeled with details 
including its strength, she said.

She called for more study of the issue of driving while under the 
influence of pot, how to measure those level and regulate that. It's 
already illegal to drive while impaired by a drug but there's no 
roadside test used in Canada to determine concentration levels, like 
there is for alcohol.

And there should be increased access to treatment, she said. Lynn 
said marijuana is "probably not" any worse for us than alcohol use, 
"perhaps less of a problem than tobacco cigarettes as far as health."

About 700,000 Canadians have a criminal record for using pot. Lynn 
told the board that about nine per cent of people who use pot become 
dependant on it. That's generally the proportion of users who become 
dependant on other addictive substances, she said.

There's a special, increased risk when young people smoke a lot of it.

"We know that if you start using it below, say age 21 or a youngster, 
and if you use a lot of it, it can cause or is associated with mental 
illness; schizophrenia, depression and so on. So that's probably one 
of the big ones," Lynn said of potential negative pot effects.

Her report notes Canada's prohibitionist policy for pot has existed 
since 1923. The LeDaine Commission of the 1970s recommended removal 
of possession from the Criminal Code and a 2002 Senate report said 
"Criminalization of cannabis remains unjustified based on scientific 
data on the danger it poses."

Her report also says the current federal government's plans to 
legalize the already widely used substance offers an opportunity to 
shape the harm reduction approach so it protects people, particularly 
the most vulnerable.

Legalizing will also reduce or eliminate the health and social harm 
resulting from criminal prohibition, she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom