Evidence of meeting #27 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was effects.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Well that's actually a common side effect of most anxiolytic or anti-anxiety medications—
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
—so some increasing anxiety is reported by some cannabis users as part of the short-lived withdrawal syndrome. It's more short-lived than withdrawal syndromes associated with benzodiazepines or barbiturates, which are less widely used now.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
That's true, thank you.
You mentioned for some reason that marijuana users who also smoke cigarettes, or nicotine, actually have better academic performance than those who smoke cigarettes alone.
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Yes, that's right.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
I'm trying to understand why you would raise that. It seems to me you're trying to connect marijuana with better academic performance, which is ludicrous because the primary effects of marijuana are euphoria, memory loss, and apathy. If you want to destroy a student's future, probably the best drug you could give them is marijuana because it ruins their memory; they can't learn anything in school, and it causes apathy and they won't care.
Why are you trying to connect marijuana to better academic performance?
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
I'm certainly not saying that I would recommend it as an academic enhancer. As an educator, that's certainly not something that I'm interested in doing.
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Rather, I'm referring to the results of the study that showed that in people who used both cannabis and tobacco, compared to tobacco alone, we see worse outcomes among the tobacco users. It has to do with the increased stigmatization of tobacco use.
Conservative
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Well, not exactly. I think it reflects the confounding effects of people who use one or both.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
You also claim there's no rise in psychotic disorders, which is contradicted by the medical experts and pharmacologists. We heard from them that marijuana can lead to depression, and we know there's been a very significant rise in youth suicide in recent years. Have you studied the relationship between suicide and marijuana?
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
I don't know of any evidence to suggest that marijuana leads to increased suicide.
Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria, As an Individual
Yes. There is a study in the U.S. that shows a decrease in suicides in states with medical marijuana. They assume it's because of less suffering and the suffering that's relieved by it.
You also mentioned higher income and academic achievement. In Canadian polling of medical cannabis users, Canadians who use marijuana have higher income levels and higher education levels than those who don't use cannabis.
Conservative
Terence Young Conservative Oakville, ON
Whoa, are you trying to claim that marijuana leads to higher income levels?
Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria, As an Individual
I'm saying those are the facts according to all polling—
Conservative
Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria, As an Individual
It's not a ludicrous connection at all.
Conservative
Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria, As an Individual
You don't need to believe it, but those are the stats. Those are the facts. It's not a belief system; it's a fact.
Doctoral Candidate, University of Victoria, As an Individual
Those are the facts.