Canada begins consumption of "marijuana" despite health and ethical warnings

Canada became the second country in the world to introduce marijuana use, after Uruguay. While some US states have moved to legitimize this drug in recent years, this politicized issue has been largely debated and divided for decades. Opponents of marijuana consumption legislation believe the drug is dangerous, increasing the risk of mental illness and long-term memory damage. And legal accessibility will increase their use by people, and more children will accept to smoke, as there is a growing awareness that "medicine" is safe, because it is legal.

In contrast, the advocacy group in Marijuana, Canada, points out that the positives far outweigh the negatives. Their argument is that rationing will reduce crime, eliminate the black market for drugs, and support the government with hundreds of millions of new tax dollars each year. Advocates also point to the lack of evidence that marijuana use will increase after approval of the law.

It is a giant "social experiment" that the world has never seen before, and it has started in Canada and is expected to give a clear look at the pros and cons of this drug, which has become "legal" a week ago. Over the next few years, academics, lawmakers and governments around the world are certainly watching this country closely. The legalization of this drug, on such a large scale, will provide some clear answers to questions that have been the subject of much debate in the West for many years.

Great fears

One of the major concerns often raised about the legalization of cannabis or marijuana is that by removing taboos from their illicit status, more people will be tested and abused, including more children and adolescents. The data has so far been mixed on the issue. In the United States, Colorado offers the best indicator of how legislation affects public use rates. The state was one of the first to introduce full entertainment legislation in 2013, and the results so far have been controversial, to say the least.

One study found that adult use of marijuana in Colorado last month increased by an average of 63 percent, two years later, compared with an average of two years before rationing. In the same period, the use of marijuana among young people increased by 20%.

According to another recent survey, while adult use of the property has increased slightly since legalization, youth employment has remained unchanged. Globally, there is clear evidence that there is no link between diluted drug laws and increased use. Portugal is the most convincing case of the world for the effects of collective drug abolition.

In 2001, Portugal adopted a resolution not to criminalize the abuse of all drugs. The law transferred personal use and possession of recreational drugs from a criminal offense to a "health care" case. Drugs were still illegal, but if a person was caught in small quantities, he would not go to court, but would appear before the Drug Addiction Commission. These committees include social workers, psychiatrists and lawyers, to convert users from a criminal case to rehabilitation or social welfare programs.

However, the data can be integrated into a variety of conclusions, and the Portuguese experience has acquired varying impressions as to whether the abolition of criminalization at the country level is useful. Will Canada provide some clarifications on the issue of "use versus legitimization?" Only time will prove that.

Exercise pressure

Two days before lobbying in the Canadian Parliament to approve the Marijuana legislation, a stern editorial in the Canadian Medical Association magazine said that the country was on the verge of "an uncensored national experiment. The profits of cannabis producers and tax revenues were given priority directly At the expense of the health of Canadians. "The Canadian Psychiatric Association joined a group of medical professionals interested in the new legislation, issuing a statement indicating that, given the effects of the drug on the brain in development, it should be more restrictive for those under the age of 25 years.

"There is strong evidence that early and regular use of cannabis can affect cognition, including memory, attention, intelligence, and the ability to handle ideas and experiences," says Dr. Wei Song, president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. "It can also increase the risk Primary mental disorder, as well as other mental health problems, such as depression in people at risk. "

It is clear that for those exposed to mental health problems, marijuana can amplify these problems. However, the impact of legislation, or the elimination of criminalization, in these factors from a comprehensive societal perspective remains unclear. After four or five years of regulation in parts of the United States, we do not know whether mental health problems are rising or not. It may be reasonable to assume that if utilization rates do not rise significantly, mental health problems should not have risen, either.

One study focused solely on suicide rates and admission to drug treatment centers throughout Colorado and Washington during the first two years of marijuana regulation. Suicide rates were slightly higher, but the report concluded that it was too marginal to be associated with drug rationing.

Two studies

The relationship between marijuana use and traffic accidents is still subject to contradictory data. This controversy reached its peak when two studies were issued, in one week, last year. Both studies assessed the effect of allowing marijuana use in traffic accidents, and the findings concluded that the findings were contradictory. The most negative study indicated that the average rate of traffic collisions was 3%, due to legalization of the property across the states of Colorado, Washington and Oregon. The other study, which examined crash mortality rates, found that there was no increase at all in Colorado and Washington compared to the rest of the country.

The limit

Canadian public health officials stress that cannabis smoking is as harmful as tobacco, but they welcome the legal legislation that allows for open dialogue. At the same time, the police are struggling to prepare for an expected rise in drug driving, and are not yet ready to impose new fees, which require blood tests within two hours of sampling to show levels higher than the drug limit. "As a doctor and a cape, I do not agree with cannabis legislation," said Antonio Figano, a medical marijuana specialist and research director at the Santi Canapés clinic in Montreal. "There are health concerns, but the legislation creates an opportunity for discussions about cannabis consumption," said Gillian Connelly of the Ottawa Public Health Agency. "For example, parents will start talking to their children about it. For decades we were just saying (not using), but that did not work. "

Canadians are the world's most cannabis consumers, with 4.6 million people consuming this drug, one out of eight this year, including 18% of young people in Ottawa. The government says there is a concerted effort to get information to people about cannabis damage, and people will also have information about what they consume, with levels of narcotics on the packaging, to make the right decisions about how much they can eat.

The government sent an e-mail to 14 million families setting out the basics, including health warnings, and keeping cannabis away from children and pets. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Ober and cannabis farmers have also been involved in a campaign against cannabis-induced driving.

Great Landing

Legitimacy of marijuana is a major change to society and can also lead to a number of unexpected effects, both positive and negative. The researchers considered the effectiveness of law enforcement in US state legislation, assuming that once the police were relieved of the burden of marijuana crimes, they would have more time to resolve other crimes and better.

"Our models do not show any negative effects of legislation, and instead suggest that treatment rates for some other types of crime are increasing faster in states where the drug has been legalized than in states that have not .

There have also been some allegations that the medical or recreational Marijuana States have seen a significant decline in opium consumption and use. But it raises important questions about the role that marijuana legislation can play, especially in a country like the United States, which suffers from the epidemic of opiate use.

Another side effect of this drug is the low risk of alcohol intake in general. A study conducted at Georgia State University concluded that alcohol sales declined significantly in states that approved medical marijuana laws. Research suggests a 15% drop in alcohol sales over the next 10 years.