Pubdate: Mon, 05 Oct 2015
Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.therecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225
Author: Ben Spurr
Page: A1

EXPERT DISPUTES HARPER'S CLAIMS ON POT SMOKING

A University of Waterloo researcher is 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 
Canadians from using tobacco, 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 - especially when smoked by 
young people or pregnant women - there is "no comparison" between the 
dangers it poses and the harm caused by tobacco.

Hammond, who is the applied public health chair at the University of 
Waterloo, said that between 30,000 and 40,000 Canadians die every 
year from tobacco-related causes like 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 has much more damage to physical health," said Schwartz, who 
is the executive director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit at 
Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

He considers Harper's statement to be concerning.

"I'm hoping that others in the political arena will use the 
scientific evidence to call him on it," he said. 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," alleged Conservative spokesperson Stephen Lecce 
in a written statement. "We believe that marijuana is an illegal drug 
with dangerous and lasting health effects, especially on our youth. 
We will continue to discourage Canadians from using marijuana at every step."

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 illicit 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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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom