Health Committee on May 13th, 2014

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you. And—

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Libby Davies]

You're actually at three minutes and 30 seconds, so depending on how much time you want to give Mr. Young....

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

I have just one quick question.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Libby Davies]

Yes, Mr. Gravelle.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

On a point of order, Madam Chair, just as a point of information for Mr. Wilks, I'm currently working on a case where a women was arrested for simple possession of under 30 grams. She was fingerprinted. The charges were dropped, but her fingerprints are still on record. She's having problems finding a job because of that.

So people have been fingerprinted.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Libby Davies]

Thank you very much, Mr. Gravelle.

What I would suggest is this. I think Mr. Lucas also questioned whether or not that was correct. So I would invite the witnesses and also the committee members, if you have other information, to later submit it to the committee, if you want, in written form so that it can be part of the record.

We'll go now to Dr. Lunney.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, I just hope the intervention on behalf of our colleague didn't cut into the time that remains.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Libby Davies]

No, no, you have about three minutes.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Okay. Thanks.

My concern is about that use among young people in particular, and maternal use. These are the comments of the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse:

Cannabis use during pregnancy has been shown...to affect the development and learning skills of children starting at about the age of three years, and these effects continue at least until the children’s teenage years.

This is a big concern. The numbers from Mr. Sabet were mentioned earlier: one in six teens become addicted, one in ten adults. The adolescent brain is especially susceptible. We're concerned about the myelination in the prefrontal area that could affect them for a lifetime.

My first question—I also want to pose a second one, because time is limited—is the following. Is the delayed myelination in the prefrontal area not of concern to the people at the end of the table? And how do we manage that with young people? That's question one.

Number two is on safety. You mentioned Colorado as an example of no harm done, but the evidence presented by Dr. Sabet was that in fact vehicle accidents in Colorado have gone up. He said: “While the total number of car crashes declined from 2007 to 2011, the number of fatal car crashes with drivers testing positive for marijuana rose sharply.” On the same point, he talked about increased ER admissions: “In 2011, marijuana-related incidents accounted for 26 percent of the total ER visits, compared to 21 percent nationally.”

Perhaps I can ask you for a quick comment on that. Then I'll turn it over to my colleague here if there's any time left.

[Philippe Lucas]

Sure. I have two quick comments.

First, I studied the cannabis substitution effect. The first study on this that I'm aware of was by a researcher named Karen Model, who looked at U.S. states that had decriminalized cannabis in the 1970s. She found a reduction in ER visits and in alcohol-related driving incidents in U.S. states that had decriminalized cannabis. That seems to contradict a little bit of what we've heard.

Just to quickly finish off, I think no matter how you feel about the impact of cannabis on the young brain, I'm just not sure whether arrest and prosecution are the best ways to reduce that impact.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Do you have a better way to manage that?

[Philippe Lucas]

Yes, I think we've done a very effective job in reducing tobacco through honest education without having to arrest youth or give them a criminal record.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

So you're talking about a 40-year program to try to get them down on marijuana?

[Philippe Lucas]

Absolutely. I think at a time when most Canadian youth have access to it under our current system after 70 years of prohibition, it's hardly exemplary to continue doing the same thing.

[The Vice-Chair, NDP, Libby Davies]

Thank you very much.

We've now reached the end of the committee.

I want to say thank you to both of our witnesses.

You certainly had a very full two hours with a lot of questions. I would like to state for the record that both of you absolutely met the criteria for the study, which said in part that people had to be experts in their field, and you both do qualify.

A lot was made about your credentials. You're not medical doctors, but you are both experts and have done research and so you actually met the terms that were laid out in the motion for this study. That's why you're here today. We very much appreciate the thoughtful replies you gave. You answered a lot of question from all sides of the committee.

Thank you to the committee members as well.

The meeting is adjourned.