Cannabis policy is a relief

Re Lighting up the nanny narrative, Cohn, Sept. 12 To all those calling the Ontario government a “nanny” for its plan to control the sales of cannabis in the province, I wonder: who would you rather sell pot to your family?

Would you prefer cannabis sales be controlled by private companies, marketing pot the same way they sell cheeseburgers? Offering “two joints for the price of one” would benefit no one except those who seek to pad their wallets off a potentially harmful product.

While many details are yet to be revealed, it’s a relief to see Ontario introduce a cannabis strategy that keeps public health and harm reduction in mind.

Giving the LCBO control of sales and setting a minimum age of 19 will help limit young peoples’ access to the drug, and public awareness campaigns will help potential cannabis customers make informed decisions.

As we move closer to July 2018, hopefully the government will go further in promoting public health by banning cannabis advertising, selling cannabis products in plain packaging and limiting the potency of the available products.

The province will also need a comprehensive cannabis-impaired driving strategy that includes education and enforcement.

Legalizing cannabis can do a lot of good by decreasing illicit markets and ending the harmful criminalization that has impacted countless lives.

But to do so safely, we need strict regulations that decrease the drug’s health and social harms.

Ontario must take the lead. Doris Grinspun, chief operating officer, Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, Toronto