On Aug. 14, 2017, the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association released a report that calls for wide ranging rules and restrictions to be placed on the province’s recreational marijuana market once it becomes legal in 2018.
The nearly 20-page report, titled Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, recommends implementing restrictions on THC levels in marijuana products and a dispensary training requirement. The report also calls for limits to be placed on marijuana advertising in a manner similar to tobacco.
“The risk is that legalization of cannabis may lead to an increase in use among Ontarians,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO of CMHA Ontario, in a press release. “When taken together our recommendations can minimize the harms associated with cannabis use and support a public health approach to this issue.”
In addition to advocating for market restrictions, the report proposed common sense solutions to marijuana regulation, such as establishing a Cannabis Control Board and ensuring reasonable marijuana prices to deter sales on the black market.