Health Committee on Sept. 13th, 2017

[Dr. William J. Barakett]

The most troubling feature of PTSD is insomnia, the dreams, the nightmares, recurrent nightmares, and the reliving of that trauma, whatever it was back in their past, so you use medications that will help to deepen their sleep. If they try taking benzos or anything else, they just don't work. Anti-depressants just make them feel poorly, so we've happened onto a few things. One of them is nabilone, which is a synthetic cannabinoid. It looks nothing at all like CBD or THC, but it helps to improve the depth of sleep and to suppress—

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

What does it have in it? THC, CBD, or a bit of both?

[Dr. William J. Barakett]

It is neither. Nabilone is neither. It's just a synthetic cannabinoid that came out on the market to help in pain management years ago. It doesn't work, but it does work for inducing sleep in PTSD. For the people we have who want to get on it because of PTSD sleep disturbance, we're using an equal of combination CBD and THC. They're fifty-fifty, so they're not stoned, but they relax enough to have a more profound sleep.

[Len Webber, Conservative, Calgary Confederation, AB]

That's interesting. Thank you for that.

Mr. Chair, I'm finished with my questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

You're out of questions. Okay. Good.

We'll move along to Madame Fortier. Welcome.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Hello.

Thank you for your presentation. We are pleased to see that you have worked very hard on your campaign directed to parents.

I represent a very diverse riding, which includes many aboriginal youth and francophone youth from cultural communities.

Based on your experience, do you think it would be possible to reach these specific client groups through public education campaigns, given that they are directed to parents?

[Marc Paris]

Every time we prepare a campaign, we conduct tests using a sample of at least 300 parents. We make sure to include a range of respondents to obtain the best possible results and to achieve our objective with this target group. In the case of certain communities at risk, however, specific campaigns might be needed.

Since our organization currently depends on the generosity of the media, which give us air time, it is difficult for us to target specific markets. The media give us air time or space in newspapers, but we do not know when we will get it since it is often space that is not sold. As a result, we do not have complete control as to targeting diverse communities.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Based on your expertise, do you think these aspects should be considered in the future?

[Marc Paris]

Children are children and parents are parents. The problems affect nearly everyone in the same way. There is some universality. Whether in the United States or Canada, I think parents have the same problems, in most cases. Children go to school together, and so forth.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Ms. Chapados, in your presentation, you talked about the importance of using digital platforms and the Internet, I believe, as regards marketing and promotion.

Can you elaborate on the kind of measures you would suggest?

[Maude Chapados]

I am not a social marketing expert, but applications are available now, and campaigns....

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

As an expert, have you conducted studies?

Have you confirmed how this could apply to what you have studied?

[Maude Chapados]

No. On the other hand, we know that young people are on the Internet. Furthermore, just walking around Montreal you see signs for the web applications of companies and dispensaries that are currently illegal. This is tolerated or at least the approach is lax. This is clearly an issue. The industry is already on the Internet.

[Mona Fortier, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Very good. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bill Casey]

Thanks very much.

Now we'll go to our final round, with Mr. Davies.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We have warnings on tobacco products. We have warnings on alcohol products. I presume there's going to be a warning on cannabis products.

Maybe I'll start with you, Ms. Porath. What should be on that warning?

[Amy Porath]

I think we need to have evidence-based information on that warning. I don't think we want to take a scare-tactic approach, but I think we really need to state what the facts are.

We've identified that there's still a lot we don't know about cannabis, but there has been some research, and we can come to some firm conclusions in a few areas. We know that it increases the risk of psychosis. We know that it impairs the ability to safely drive a motor vehicle. We know that there's a risk for addiction. Based on the science that we know conclusively, I think that's what should inform the warning labels.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Dr. Barakett or Mr. Paris, would you add anything to that?

[Marc Paris]

I think, as long as it's evidence-based, because kids are smart.... They can go and find out, and if they smell that it's BS, then they're not going to—

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

It could actually be counterproductive.

[Marc Paris]

Yes, exactly. It has to be totally evidence based. I totally agree.

Certainly, marketing should be out of the question. Right now, we are seeing medical cannabis companies sponsoring concerts of rappers and giving it a bit of a lifestyle thing. To me, this is a huge no-no, because as we learned with alcohol.... It's too late now. We can't undo that. We can't unscramble that egg, but we had to unscramble it in tobacco, because way back when, you had ads from doctors saying that smoking is good.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Why can't we roll that back? Why couldn't we? If we've done it with tobacco, why not? What's the hockey stadium in Montreal called? Is it the Molson Centre?

[Marc Paris]

Correct...it's the Bell Centre now.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

The Bell Centre, but it was the Molson Centre, right? Is it that kind of thing? Why couldn't we bring those kinds of—

[Marc Paris]

I think trying to unscramble that egg at this point, mostly—