Even though Trudeau has promised that cannabis legalization will happen, the federal government has seen fit to use tax dollars to fund a four city tour in order to warn youngsters about the dangers of using cannabis.
The federally funded Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse kicks off the tour in Halifax with three experts on the panel.
The director of research and policy for the centre, Dr. Amy Porath-Waller, says the purpose of this tour is to get a dialogue going on how to protect individuals who are under the age of 25. Dr. Waller says there is research that shows that the risks are higher for young people because their brains are still developing.
This of course runs counter to a brand new study out of the UK that shows cannabis use in teens has no direct impact on IQ or mental development. Perhaps she should keep up with the latest research before using taxpayer’s money to go out and spread falsities to the public. Never mind the ever-growing list of people who are successfully using cannabis and cannabis oil to treat very serious conditions such as epilepsy, cancer, Crohn’s disease, PTSD and more. No, those things aren’t important, it’s more important to use taxes to pay for a fear mongering campaign aimed at young people.
Let’s just suppose that instead of cannabis, free speech and/or freedom of religion had been outlawed under Stephen Harper, and Trudeau came in with the promise to legalize those things. Surely people would be happy with the newly acquired freedom, but would they be happy to hear those essential freedoms would be “regulated and restricted” too? Would they then be appreciative of a federal tour that warns people about the dangers of free speech and freedom of religion?
Dr. Waller says the purpose of the panels is to engage doctors, teachers, guidance councilors, and parents since they deal with young people often. Next month the remainder of the panel presentations will be held in Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Hopefully people in attendance will push back on the false narrative promoted by the government-funded research centre.
To be fair, the costs for this tour are probably a drop in the bucket as far as the federal budget goes, but it doesn’t change the fact that this tour is an absolute waste of money. If any parent, teacher, or anyone wants to learn more about the risks of cannabis or anything else for that matter, there is a wonderful tool called the internet people can use to help them learn more.
A tour like this makes Trudeau’s legalization talk seem pretty weak, so we will see if this kind of behaviour continues from the federal government.