Pubdate: Sun, 04 Oct 2015
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Ben Spurr
Page: A5

EXPERTS CALL HARPER'S POT COMMENTS 'MISLEADING'

'No comparison' between harms of marijuana, tobacco, public health
experts say

Public health experts are slamming Stephen Harper's assertion that
marijuana is "infinitely worse" than tobacco, saying the remark has no
basis in scientific fact.

The Conservative leader made the comment the morning after the final
debate of the election campaign Friday night, during which he
criticized Justin Trudeau's proposal to legalize the drug.

Asked by a reporter on Saturday why he so strongly objected to the
Liberal leader's plan, Harper said there is "overwhelming and growing"
evidence of "the bad, long-term effects" of marijuana use. Noting that
authorities have spent decades trying to discourage tobacco use, he
said "marijuana is infinitely worse, and is something we do not want
to encourage."

But according to Dr. David Hammond, while there are significant health
risks associated with marijuana, there is "no comparison" between the
dangers it poses and the harm caused by tobacco.

Hammond, who is the applied public health chairman at the University
of Waterloo, said that between 30,000 and 40,000 Canadians die every
year from tobacco-related causes such as cancer and heart disease,
while deaths attributed to marijuana are "extremely rare." He called
Harper's assertion that marijuana is worse than cigarettes
"misleading."

Dr. Robert Schwartz said each year tobacco kills more people in Canada
than alcohol, motor vehicles, firearms, illegal drug use and HIV put
together.

Tobacco causes much more damage to physical health, said Schwartz, the
executive director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit at Dalla Lana
School of Public Health. Conservatives have aggressively attacked
Trudeau for his stance on marijuana at least since 2013, when he
admitted to smoking the drug while an MP.

The Liberal leader "wants to make smoking marijuana a normal, everyday
activity," a Conservative spokesman, Stephen Lecce, said in a written
statement.

The Conservatives have emphasized a law-and-order approach to drug
prevention, and in 2011 passed a controversial law that set out
mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offences.

The Liberals say they want to legalize and strictly regulate the sale
of marijuana, arguing that prohibition has allowed criminal gangs to
profit from its sale while failing to prevent young people from
accessing it. NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has promised to decriminalize
marijuana immediately if his party forms the next government.
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