Marijuana not worse than tobacco

For months, I have been amused and repelled by the American Republican race for presidential nominee, which has been dominated by jingoism, xenophobia and nonsense. Sadly, we have descended to these depths in our federal election.

It is incomprehensible that a controversy over whether a facial covering can be worn at a citizenship ceremony is at issue at all. This is a case addressing our rights as Canadians, which is being decided in the courts. It distracts us from far more germane issues. Now we have talk of federal hotlines to report barbaric cultural practices. Surely a simple call to the police will suffice.

Most stunning to me, though, is the Conservative leader’s assertion that marijuana is “infinitely worse than tobacco.” This statement is shocking in its sheer ignorance.

As a specialist in Internal Medicine in Ottawa, in the past 20 years I have admitted and cared for thousands of patients with illnesses directly related to smoking, be it heart disease, cancer, emphysema, or a dozen other ailments. In that time, I have admitted only one with a marijuana-related illness, and he walked out of hospital a day later as good as new.

No one would deny that marijuana is not benign, especially for teens. But its health effects and societal costs are a fraction of those attributable to cigarette smoking. To have a politician make this statement raises serious questions about his judgment and capacity to put societal wellbeing above political ambition. Stephen Harper is entitled to his own opinions, not to his own facts. Steve Kravcik MD, Division of General Medicine, University of Ottawa, Staff Physician, Ottawa Hospital