Sparks fly as Quebec Liberals denounce 'fake' consultation on cannabis
Sparks fly as Quebec Liberals denounce 'fake' consultation on cannabis
Neurologist and health and social services minister Lionel Carmant argues that it is false to say that the products sold by the SQDC are "without danger."
Presse Canadienne
Updated: February 13, 2019
A legislative committee hearing on raising the legal age to consume cannabis in Quebec to 21 from 18 got off to a stormy start Tuesday, with one Liberal MNA questioning the very legitimacy of the exercise.
“What we’re beginning today is a phoney exercise, a sideshow, the gagging of groups that want to speak,” said Liberal health critic André Fortin in his opening remarks. “This consultation is fake … an exercise public relations.”
However Lionel Carmant, minister for health and social services, accused the Liberals of having delayed the hearings, adding that he was open to “taking into consideration any means proposed to us which could … keep our young people away from THC.”
Parti Québécois MNA Sylvain Gaudreault complained of a lack of consistency on the part of the Legault government, asking why the minimum age for cannabis consumption should be higher than for alcohol. Québec Solidaire MNA Sol Zanetti dismissed the proposed legislation as “childish,” saying that young people “have a brain” and are capable of making a considered decision.
Carmant, however, told the committee that only two per cent of the clientele of the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) are between 18 and 20, while 10 per cent are 18 to 24. He also disputed the argument that by raising the minimum age, the government would be sending younger users to make their purchases on the black market.
A neurologist by training, Carmant also argued that it is false to say that the products sold by the SQDC are “without danger” when some of them contain a THC concentration of more than 20 per cent, a level he said could increase the risk of psychosis and could lead to schizophrenia. The minister said legislators had “the duty” to delay as long as possible the minimum age for the consumption of cannabis.
The hearing also heard from a representative of the Portage rehabilitation network, who told the committee that it deals annually with about 500 clients aged 14-18.
Portage vice-president Marc Berwald said he supported the government’s proposed legislation, noting that “we are confronted daily by the devastating impacts of the abuse of cannabis.”
However, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec argued the minimum age should be maintained at 18.
The hearings continue on Wednesday.
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