Records show the cabinet is allocating more than a million dollars for its statutory review of legal marijuana. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the final report for this review is expected to be released in 2024.“It is important to review our framework and have a panel of experts to give us advice,” the Department of Health wrote in a submission to the Senate National Finance committee. “We are continuing our work and we plan to direct our actions to move forward with the panel.”The Cannabis Act Legislative Review is a legal obligation. When Parliament voted to legalize recreational cannabis in 2018, it mandated the cabinet investigate its impact within five years.“The anticipated incremental costs associated with the panel’s work on the legislative review of the Cannabis Act are estimated to be $1.03 million,” said the health department. No deadline was fixed for a final report.In their preliminary report on October 10, the Expert Panel acknowledged that legalization did not achieve its intended goal of eliminating illegal drug dealing.“Many public safety stakeholders were concerned about the continued involvement of organized crime and criminal networks in illicit cannabis production and sale,” said the Legislative Review of the Cannabis Act: What We Heard Report. “This includes through unauthorized retail stores.”The Expert Panel also recognized legalization had led to a "rising trend" in marijuana usage, with rates reaching up to 40% among young adults.“Among this age group, 10% report daily or almost daily use,” it said.The report mentioned that schoolchildren as young as 14 seemed to have relatively easy access to marijuana.“Concerns were raised prior to the implementation of the Act about the effect that legalization would have on the public perception of cannabis,” wrote the Expert Panel. “The most recent data available indicate about half of respondents, 51%, felt regular cannabis smoking was either somewhat or completely socially acceptable.”The five-member Expert Panel includes former Trudeau Foundation CEO Morris Rosenberg, Professor Oyedeji Ayonrinde of Queen’s University’s Department of Psychiatry, Professor Patricia Conrod of the University of Montreal’s Department of Psychiatry, Professor Peter Selby of the University of Toronto’s Department of Family Medicine and criminal lawyer Lynda Levesque of Toronto.Additional federal research indicated university and college students were three times more likely to use cannabis compared to tobacco.“Problematic substance use poses a risk to the health and safety of post-secondary students across Canada,” said a 2021 Postsecondary Education Alcohol and Drug Use Survey by the Public Health Agency. The survey found 33% of university and college students used marijuana monthly and 8% smoked cannabis daily. Only 2% were daily cigarette smokers.
