Government should tread carefully with pot legalization: health unit

By: Jonathan Migneault

With the federal government's plans to legalize marijuana in motion, the Sudbury and District Health Unit has proposed those plans should follow a public health approach to reduce any health and societal harms associated with marijuana use. File photo

Health and societal harms need to be taken into account

With the federal government's plans to legalize marijuana in motion, the Sudbury and District Health Unit has proposed those plans should follow a public health approach to reduce any health and societal harms associated with marijuana use.

While the health unit has acknowledged the health risks associated with marijuana use are significantly lower than those tied to tobacco or alcohol, the federal government should ensure regulations are in place to make sure the drug is not abused.

Brenda Stankiewicz, public health nurse with the Sudbury and District Health Unit, said smoking marijuana damages the lungs, and like cigarettes, can lead to lung cancer or bronchitis.

Numerous studies have also linked early marijuana use, especially in teenage years, to increase a person's risk of developing a severe mental illness like schizophrenia.

“There has been a positive association between the use of cannabis and an increased likelihood of mental illnesses, especially with people who have a pre-existing vulnerability,” she said.

Like alcohol, marijuana can also impede a person's ability to drive, said Stankiewicz.

“If you're going to use marijuana please don't get behind the wheel,” she said. “It is a cause of many collisions.”

Jurisdictions that have already legalized marijuana, such as the state of Colorado, have also faced some unexpected complications.

Stankiewicz said there have been reported cases in Colorado of people eating too many pot brownies at one time, leading to toxicity.

“When people eat a marijuana-laced brownie they may have one, and then have a second,” she said.

Stankiewicz said the government would need to keep marijuana out of the hands of children and youth, and set strict guidelines for any marketing materials.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has suggested the LCBO could handle the sale of marijuana, since it already has the infrastructure and expertise in place for alcohol sales.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed MP Bill Blair to lead the government's efforts to legalize marijuana.

Blair, who was formerly chief of the Toronto Police Service, has said he supports legalization as a way to restrict marijuana access to children and deal with the societal and health problems it can cause.

“Our intent is to legalize, regulate and restrict,” Blair told the Globe and Mail. “There needs to be reasonable restrictions on making sure that we keep it away from kids, because I think that is very much in the public interest. We also have to ensure that the social and the health harms are properly managed and mitigated, and that can be done through regulation.”