QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Cannabis Edibles
December 15, 2023
Leader, a peer-reviewed study published in January looked at the rate of child hospitalizations from cannabis poisoning in four provinces between January 2015 and September 2021. It showed that cannabis poisonings in children aged nine and younger were more than double in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, where cannabis edibles are permitted, compared to Quebec where edibles in the shape of candies, chocolates or desserts are prohibited. According to this study, the average age of children hospitalized was just three and a half years old.
Leader, since this study was released, what has your government done to better protect small children from accidental cannabis poisoning, particularly from edibles?
The federal government has, in the legislation that we passed that decriminalized the possession of small amounts for personal use, made the safety requirements for packaging and distribution very clear; that is within federal jurisdiction.
As your question properly notes, each province has taken a different approach to how cannabis products are sold, through private or government stores, and what products can be sold.
It is important that the provinces that are responsible for determining what kind of edibles can be sold do their part as well to ensure that they don’t get into the hands of young people. It is also families’ responsibilities, if they are buying their own, to store their products in safe and secure places.
It is dangerous for children to take doses of cannabis to which they are not accustomed.
At the start of this study, before cannabis was legalized, an average of 3 children per month were being hospitalized for cannabis poisoning; by the end of the study, it was an average of 17 children per month.
When the minister was in Senate Question Period a year and a half ago, she said the Trudeau government needed to do better at educating adults and parents. What specifically has been done on this front since then?
I don’t know specifically what educational programs may be ongoing and what the federal involvement in that is.
From day one, as we know in this chamber from our debates, the federal government has taken its responsibility seriously to educate Canadians about the risks associated with inappropriate cannabis use.
