Health committee  I think that the limit of four plants is quite low and avoids the risk of diversion. Of course, for anything they put together, people will be right behind it finding a loophole, whether it's making the plant grow five metres horizontally instead of vertically, which would avoid the whole height limitation, or pooling resources so that if they have a neighbour who doesn't grow, they'll ask whether they can put four plants in their backyard.

Health committee  Depending on the strain, a one-metre plant can produce between zero grams and several hundred grams, depending on how it's grown, how it's pruned, the talents of the person growing it, the strain of marijuana in particular. If you have a one-metre high plant and you forget to water it and it dies, your basic yield is zero.

Health committee  Just briefly on the statistics of use by youth, the stats tend to go up and down, but on average, we have more consistency. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction has it at 26% in 2009, 20% in 2012, and 25% in 2015, so I question the numbers that indicate that there's a drop in use.

Health committee  If I may add, concerning the situation in Canada regarding licensed producers and the price they sell at, these companies are funded and publicly traded. Many of them are currently operating at a loss in the hope that eventually they will regain that. There's a lot of speculation, and I'm quite certain a number of these companies are going to go belly up, and someone is just vying to become the Walmart of marijuana.

Health committee  The primary flaw in my opinion is the requirement of having no criminal record, specifically in regard to cannabis. Excluding people who have previously been arrested for cannabis is excluding the majority of members of the population who are interested and involved in this market.

Health committee  If I may, NORML Canada believes that the focus should be on impairment assessment training, instead of chemical detection, because right now the science does not support the levels of THC vis-à-vis the actual level of impairment. That would open up many possible legal challenges.

Health committee  I did ask my colleague to present first, but I did not want to forgo my presentation.

Health committee  It's very brief. It will only be three minutes.

Health committee  Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee. My name is Marc-Boris St-Maurice. I was the executive director of NORML Canada. I am also the founder of Bloc Pot, a provincial political party from Quebec that is in favour of the legalization of marijuana, and the Marijuana Party, at the federal level.

Health committee  Thank you.

Health committee  If it pleases the committee, may my colleague present before me?