Standing Committee on Health

Comité permanent de la santé

For immediate release

Ottawa, October 22, 2014 -

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Health tabled a report entitled, Marijuana’s Health Risks and Harms. The report contains four recommendations that propose:

• developing a campaign to raise public awareness and knowledge of the risks and harms associated with marijuana use;

• increasing the awareness of professional health organizations with respect to the scientific evidence related to the health risks and harms of marijuana use, and promoting the development and dissemination of tools to support professional health organizations’ efforts to prevent, manage and treat drug abuse;

• supporting strategies for the prevention of drug-impaired driving through the RCMP Impaired Driving Strategy; and

• continuing to fund research aimed at improving the understanding of the short- and long-term harms related to marijuana use.

During the course of its study, the Committee heard from a range of witnesses that included medical doctors, academics, the RCMP and federal government officials.