Free public lecture at UW focused on marijuana legalization

WATERLOO — Lots of questions remain as marijuana legalization in Canada looms.

“Even for users, I think it’s going to take a while to get your head around it,” said Prof. David Hammond of the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health and Health Systems. “People have legitimate questions.” To help people better understand this “once in a lifetime change in drug policy,” UW is hosting a free public lecture and panel discussion on Monday.

Anne McLellan, who was chair of the government’s marijuana task force on legalization and regulation as well as the former federal justice minister and deputy prime minister, is the invited speaker. The panel will also have local experts, including Hammond and the region’s medical officer of health.

“I think we’re going to have a really interesting mix of opinions,” Hammond said.

They’ll discuss what legalization will mean for public health and safety, and what a new regulated market will look like as Canada becomes the only G-20 country to legalize and regulate cannabis at the national level.

“Countries around the world are going to be watching what’s happening,” Hammond said.

“It’s not about creating a market. We have a market.”

That includes both medical and recreational users, Hammond said.

Twelve per cent of adults report using marijuana in the past year. That climbs to 20 per cent for youth and 30 per cent for young adults.

Hammond has been studying tobacco marketing for 15 years and is interested to see what the marketing will look like, since the government’s legalization plan includes allowing some marketing although not to children.

He doesn’t know why it needs to be promoted, and how to craft a message that warns of the risk while use is being normalized.

“How do you achieve the right balance of risk perception?”

People have very different opinions on the issue, Hammond said, but he thinks there’s a genuine interest in learning more and ensuring this change actually reduces harm. Objectively, marijuana causes much less harm than alcohol or tobacco, which are both government controlled.

Regulating marijuana will take it out of the hands of criminals and give more control over what people are actually getting.

“We will see where we end up and I’m not sure anyone really knows where we will end up,” Hammond said.

The event is being held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the applied health sciences building.

Admission is free, but registration is required at uwaterloo.ca/public-healthand-health-systems/events/anne-mclellanpublic-lecture.