Pubdate: Fri, 21 Nov 2014
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.thewhig.com/letters
Website: http://www.thewhig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
Author: Giuseppe Valiante
Page: 11

ADS BASED ON SCIENCE: MINISTER

OTTAWA: Liberal MP tells health committee the Tories are 'scaring 
people to death'

OTTAWA - The Conservative government is "going around scaring people 
to death" with "panicky" and politically motivated anti-marijuana 
commercials, Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Commons health committee Thursday.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose replied the TV ads are based on science 
and aren't partisan.

The multimillion-dollar campaign includes a TV spot that shows a 
human brain made out of glass tubes with thick smoke flowing through 
them. "(Marijuana) can damage a teen for life," the narrator says.

Fry, a health committee member, said the Conservatives aren't 
interested in telling Canadians about the benefits of marijuana. She 
said the government should be encouraging research and clinical 
trials on the drug, echoing her party leader's call for a less 
restrictive climate around marijuana in Canada.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has called for the legalization of 
marijuana. He argues government taxation and regulation would curtail 
and restrict its availability to children. Ambrose said the campaign 
was created precisely to combat the drug's use by children - not to 
further the Tories' anti-marijuana policy. She said Health Canada and 
other members of the Canadian medical community told her an education 
campaign was necessary to raise awareness about the potential harmful 
effects of marijuana on a developing brain.

"I cannot believe the reaction from people who say (the commercials) 
are from a partisan point of view," Ambrose told the committee. 
"Parents are struggling with kids who are clearly impacted physically 
and psychologically (by marijuana). We will continue on with (the ads)."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom