Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We welcome the opportunity to address this panel and to comment on the establishment of a minimal age for the possession of cannabis and its impact on young Canadians.
Drug Free Kids Canada is a non-profit organization devoted to educating parents about drugs, raising public awareness issues surrounding drug use, and facilitating open conversations between parent and teen in order to ensure that all young people will be able to live their lives free of substance abuse.
With me today is DFK advisory council member, Dr. William Barakett, from the Clinique Medicale in Knowlton. He is a family practitioner, clinician, and expert in addiction and chronic pain, with over 35 years of experience of dealing with families and youth facing substance use disorders.
We are here before you today to make the case that whatever the minimum age for cannabis possession will be, actively protecting the mental and physical health of youth—keeping our kids safe from harm—must be a main priority of the government. We acknowledge and respect the recommendations that have been made on the minimum age requirements by others on this panel and publicly, but we have chosen to minimize the time we spend talking about the effects of cannabis on the teen brain. We know the evidence is there.
Rather, we have chosen to use our time to address a fundamental question in society today. What are the underlying reasons young people turn to cannabis in the first place?
For DFK, the issue is not at what age cannabis is less harmful, but why kids are consuming it at all. Dr. Barakett is here to talk about his hands-on experience as a front-line worker. He'll also explain some of the reasons kids consume cannabis and the consequences of addiction affecting them and their families.