CAMH Statement on the release of the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation report to government

CAMH Statement on the release of the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation report to government

Tuesday December 13, 2016

“In June 2016, CAMH’s President and CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn was appointed as a Member of the federal government’s Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation.

As Canada’s leading academic health science centre specializing in addiction and mental health, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has long advocated for reform of Canada’s system of cannabis control. In 2014, CAMH released a Cannabis Policy Framework. The framework called for a public health approach to cannabis regulation based on evidence about the harms associated with cannabis use.

CAMH is pleased with the recommendations included in the Task Force report. Recommendations concerning minimum age for legal purchase, advertising and marketing , taxation, pricing, THC potency and limits on some products, as well about enforcement tools for impaired driving, all drive toward an approach that puts the health of Canadians at the centre.

We encourage the federal and provincial governments to work expeditiously to bring about the legislation and regulation required to implement these reforms.“