Dear colleagues, I rise today to speak at second reading of Bill C-45.

[English]

Government consultations indicate social acceptance for the use of cannabis among baby boomers and millennials. However, for my generation, the parents of millennials, recreational cannabis consumption raises many public health and safety concerns. According to UNICEF, Canadian teenagers use cannabis more than the youth in other developed countries.

As a nation, young people are our intellectual and social capital. They assume the responsibility to stimulate development, peace and democracy, and to promote Canadian values. A healthy environment for the development of youth is through increased social awareness, education, satisfying employment and entrepreneurship.

[Translation]

I read the proposed legislation fully cognizant of the fact that decriminalizing cannabis possession is an urgent matter and that we need to put an end to the crime wrought by the black market.

The extent of the effects of cannabis on young people has been well known for quite some time. The government could have created programs a long time ago to educate the public and raise awareness about issues associated with cannabis abuse or motivate young people by creating programs in the areas of arts, sports, science and technology in order to provide them with healthy leisure activities.

When you compare Bill C-45 with scientific reports or what other countries have experienced, it becomes clear that the bill contains a number of gaps and inconsistencies in relation to the objectives set out by the government. These gaps and inconsistencies require careful reflection and improvements.

[English]

There is strong scientific consensus that cannabis is addictive. In the short term, it can impair cognitive function and motor coordination and in the long term it can lead to respiratory problems, cognitive impairments in learning, memory and attention, increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia, increased anxiety and depression and is linked to low-weight babies.

Canada is one of the top 10 cannabis consuming countries in the developed world. Why? Psychosocial studies identify several factors: the effect of THC in relieving stress, anxiety, fear, pain or anger related to personal, psychological or family issues; it allows for more intense sensations; popular culture endorses cannabis use; there is a low perception of harm; and also because of peer or family influence. Bill C-45 will impact several of these factors.

Cannabis consumption data reveals a large range of potential users: between 6 and 21 per cent of the Canadian population. Of these users, 0.3 per cent are legally registered to purchase medical cannabis from 88 licensed producers. Recent data shows that the number of medical users has increased to 235,000 in 2017. This fact alone raises great concerns about health deterioration if so many Canadians need medical cannabis.

Cannabis users represent a very low percentage of the Canadian population. Yet, this bill appears tailored to their needs. Of the individuals who responded to the government consultation, 79 per cent were medicinal or recreational users of cannabis. Based on this, have we considered these consultations representative of the Canadian population?

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Are the rights of non-users respected by C-45? Will a child’s right to a cannabis-free environment be respected? Will work-related risk to non-users increase after legislation? Moreover, addiction is considered a handicap that requires accommodation. Will this legalization impose higher costs to employers or schools for accommodation? Should non-users pay for this?

The present medical cannabis situation reveals parallel worlds: One is the world of illegal dispensaries where “medical” cannabis products with potencies from 2 per cent to 30 per cent THC can be purchased. The other world involves patients being treated at hospitals with cannabidiol or cannabinoid products at very low THC concentrations, from 0.2 to 3 per cent, that are administered via patches, pills, intravenously or by suppositories. In the former, the more visible world, the number of illegal suppliers and dispensaries is unknown. Even the Vancouver-based Canadian Association of Medical Dispensaries doesn’t know. Spokesperson J. Shaw estimated that there are 90 in Vancouver and 70 in Toronto.

In 2016, The Globe and Mail investigated cannabis quality in dispensaries. The results showed that some products failed a variety of quality-control tests as they contained more unsafe levels of micro-organisms, potentially harmful bacteria and even toxic pesticides. Canadian standards don’t require testing for pesticides, yet growers use them to save money.

Can it be said that Canadian legislation of medical cannabis was a success? Why, 16 years later, is medical cannabis not sold as a typical pharmaceutical drug? Will legalizing recreational cannabis, extending from a failed medical system, have a chance to succeed?

Bill C-45 is a complete repeal of prohibition and an absence of regulation. It transfers the majority of the responsibilities of legalization to the provinces, which in turn are transferring them to municipalities. However, consideration should be given to keeping more controls at the federal level. Following the legislative experiences in other jurisdictions, policy experts propose alternatives. A central agency or authority that could better control the supply chain or a system of non-profit organization or agency that control a few for-profit licences are good alternatives. Instead, by dispersing responsibility and not establishing clear, measurable goals, Bill C-45 sends a mixed message in terms of health, but also what the real intent of the government is.

The business of cannabis in Canada extends far beyond the health sector. Medical cannabis companies are moving fast to the recreational market. Deloitte and others estimate the value of the Canadian market at $29 billion. Aurora Cannabis is building the world’s largest cannabis production facility near Edmonton. Golden Leaf Holdings is making high-potency recreational products including oils and edibles. Honourable senators, $700 million has been raised just in the last six months for cannabis businesses with some of these funds coming from fiscal paradises.

Policy experts emphasize that achieving the legislative objectives, namely, reducing illegal markets and the criminalization of youth, will depend on the retail price of cannabis. Prices will have to be competitive with those offered by illicit cannabis dealers but also prohibitive so as to discourage increased use.

Further, the infrastructure required to ensure quality control may increase pricing pressure. Despite the need to maintain this delicate balance, the reality is a free “yo-yo” type of market. It is critical to understand that both health and economic sectors agree that the increased availability of cheap recreational cannabis will most likely result in increasing cannabis use. Moreover, experts in the medical sector expect an increase in cannabis abuse and cannabis dependence with legalization, as shown in many studies of young university students in the U.S.

How will legalization limit youth access to cannabis and therefore decrease youth consumption? What will happen with medical cannabis dispensaries after legalization? Where is prevention, well-known to be the most effective and cheaper method to solve a problem?

In late 2017, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences released an in-depth report on cannabis. The report’s findings are important and revealing. In the past decade, there has been an influx of high-potency cannabis products in the U.S. such as sinsemilla, an engineered plant grown from clones, not from seeds. Data from U.S. DEA seizures record a substantial increase in potency, from 4 per cent in 1995 to 30 per cent in 2016. At 30 per cent THC content and higher, users are not seeking a recreational effect. As a child psychiatrist said:

Today cannabis is a whole different substance than that idealized by hippies; the only people saying cannabis is not addictive are regular users and vendors.

In fact, last year Colorado proposed an amendment to limit the potency of THC in cannabis products to 16 per cent. Not only do we know little about the health risk of high-potency cannabis products, but we don’t fully understand the effect when cannabis is consumed with other intoxicants. Yet, we know a lot more about cannabis compared to alcohol and tobacco when they entered our lifestyles.

Are imports of cannabis seeds being controlled by the Seed Act and Agriculture Canada? Should prices be fixed based on THC content rather than weight as recommended by the task force? How will competition be controlled? Can a minimum price be set? Will the products’ labels warn about all known adverse health effects? Are we allowing policy to outpace science?

Hundreds of studies show that cannabis has negative impacts on young, developing brains. It affects cognition, academic achievement and educational outcomes to various degrees, via various brain mechanisms and to various degrees of irreversibility.

Cannabis impairs the brain function in young people in terms of planning, reasoning, inhibitory processes, self-monitoring and problem solving. Through the use of neuroimaging techniques, some studies observe alterations in grey and white brain matter, the centres for decision making, executive function and communication between brain regions, from cannabis use. The medical research has also expressed strong concerns that the potency, frequency and mode of intake can alter these effects.

In one study of 410 patients with first-episode psychosis, the risk of individuals having a psychotic disorder was roughly three times higher for those who use more potent THC — a potency rate between 40 and 60 per cent — compared to those who never used cannabis.

Epidemiological data show that 30 per cent of users of cannabis present a variety of cannabis disorders. The U.S. Drug Abuse Warning Network estimated that in 2011 there were 456,000 drug-related emergencies in which marijuana use was mentioned in the medical record. In the U.S., there are 88 ongoing research studies on how to treat cannabis dependence.

What are the THC dosages, potencies, administration routes, accumulation rates, consumer age, conditions and habits that trigger this brain damage in young people? What are the cumulative impacts of the use of cannabis with other intoxicants? How will emergency and psychiatric services cope with an increase in cannabis disorders? Aren’t they already overloaded with the opioid crisis — a legal pharmaceutical product that has caused a serious societal problem? What are the costs of providing addiction support and services to users who eventually will want to quit cannabis? Are we mortgaging the future of young First Nation peoples or those young people wanting to pursue STEM careers? Can we expect legal action from individuals and groups against the government and/or private companies if this legalization experiment fails?

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All the facts and data I presented today include references at the end of this speech. They show that the risk of harm to the healthy development of young people through cannabis use and abuse is not only real but substantial. The legalization of cannabis needs a larger, integrated and comprehensive strategy, and, in its present form, Bill C-45 appears to focus more on economic and criminal priorities.

The government must put health considerations at the forefront, adopt a real and not only theoretical public health approach without promoting, intentionally or unintentionally, the emergence of an economic sector or using legalization as political leverage to support an existing risky practice.

Honourable senators, I invite you to work with me on shifting the focus of this legislation to prevention, education and health, as was the intent. Thank you very much.