Legal pot not a public health or safety threat, researchers say
There’s little evidence that legalized marijuana poses a threat to public health and safety, and there may be benefits, says a new study from Canadian doctors and researchers.
The report, submitted to the Senate this week, outlines the positive and negative impacts legalization has had in other jurisdictions.
“It hasn’t been a public health disaster or crisis yet, but there are some key areas that we need to watch,” said Rebecca Haines-Saah, a public health specialist at the University of Calgary and one of the report’s authors.
The federal government has promised to legalize recreational marijuana later this year under Bill C-45.
Dr. M. J. Milloy with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use worked on the study and said researchers didn’t find significant declines in road safety in American states where marijuana had been legalized, but they did find a drop in alcohol sales.
They also found that rates of fatal opioid overdoses went down in some places.
“There is evidence to suggest that when legal cannabis is available, people substitute that for other substances,” he said.
“We are hopeful that we might see some of the same benefits here.”
The Senate report also outlines 28 indicators to watch for as Canada legalizes marijuana, grouped under the themes of public safety, cannabis-use trends, other substance-use trends, cardiovascular and respiratory health, and mental health and cognition.
The indicators include instances of cannabis-impaired driving, rates of use among youth and the number of marijuana-related calls to poison-control centres.
Watching those areas will be key to determining if marijuana policy has been a success, said Haines-Saah.
It’s possible some of the negative indicators will see an uptick, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that legal pot is having a detrimental effect, said Haines-Saah.
It’s important to look at the broad picture instead of specific instances, Haines-Saah said.