Mr. Speaker, the key reason we have such difficulty doing research on medical marijuana is because of the government's prohibition approach. The second recommendation in the dissenting report addresses that. It says that more in-depth research to examine the potential benefits of medical marijuana is needed, but is difficult to undertake due to current Canadian government policies on marijuana. It recommended that the government fund research on the clinical effectiveness of marijuana, as well as the long term effects on vulnerable populations, such as youth and those who suffer from mental illness.
Smoking anything cannot be good for people and I know ingesting it in other ways is an option as well, and that is before the courts right now. That is the first thing. The emphasis on prescription drugs versus marijuana actually needs to be addressed as we find more and more people producing medical marijuana in the market, as I described in my remarks.