Local councils made shortsighted decision on cannabis

To the Editor, We are writing to express our deep concern with councils’ recent decisions to permit the establishment of retail cannabis stores in local communities.

As dedicated healthcare providers in Wellesley Township, we would hope our local governments would help us to support a healthy lifestyle in our community. We provide medical care to more than 4,500 patients in our rural clinic, and are challenged daily by the devastating experiment in the use and misuse of cannabis.

As healthcare providers, we rely on evidence-based scientific proof of the benefits and harms of medical treatments, including cannabis. We refer to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) submission to Bill C-45: The Cannabis Act, which stated: “The CMA has longstanding concerns about the health risks associated with consuming cannabis, particularly in its smoked form. Children and youth are especially at risk for cannabis-related harms, given their brains are undergoing rapid and extensive development. Since current scientific evidence indicates that brain development is not completed until 25 years of age, this would be the ideal minimum age for legal cannabis use.”

In addition, the Canadian Paediatric Society, in an article entitled “Cannabis and Canada’s Children and Youth (May 3, 2017), concluded that “Youth should not use cannabis recreationally because its many potentially harmful effects are serious. These effects are present in the entire population, however the developing brain is especially sensitive to the negative consequences of cannabis use. Canadian youth are at significant risk for developing Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and, possibly, for doubling their risk of having a psychotic illness. Driving under the influence of cannabis increases the risk for motor-vehicle accidents. Where cannabis has been legalized in the USA, children required emergent medical care at greater