Canada Establishes Expert Panel To Review Cannabis Act

Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced panel members on 24 November. As an advancement to replace the illegal cannabis market, Duclos said“We welcome the members of our expert panel and look forward to reviewing their findings to help address ongoing and emerging needs while safeguarding the health and safety of Canadians. .”

5 members in total panel With the goal of “engaging with the general public, governments, indigenous peoples, youth, marginalized and racialized communities, cannabis industry representatives, and those who access cannabis for medical purposes,” regarding current successes and failures, Start working on the report. current law.

First panel member Dr. Oideji Ayonlinde, Associate Professor at Queen’s University and Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director of Providence Care, which provides mental health care. In the realm of cannabis, Ayon Linde’s peer-reviewed publication “Cannabis Use During Pregnancy, Cannabis and Psychosis, and Safety Issues with Cannabinoid-Based Medications”

the second is Dr. Patricia J. Conrod, Full Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction at the University of Montreal and Researcher at the Santo Justin Mother and Child University Hospital Center. Conrod co-leads multiple research efforts, including the Canadian Cannabis and Psychosis Research Team at the Canadian Institutes of Health.

The third is Linda L. Levesque, a criminal attorney and member of Manitoba’s Fisher River Clean Nation. Levesque has been serving the Calgary and Toronto communities since 2015.

the fourth is Dr. Peter Selby, Vice Chair for Research and Director of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Selby’s research, which often focuses on understanding and treating addictive behavior, has earned her more than $100 million in grants from many institutes. In total, as a Principal Investigator or Associate Principal Investigator she has received over 145 grants and participated in over 150 peer-reviewed publications.

Finally, the panel Chairman Morris Rosenberg, Attorney at Law, former Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Undersecretary of Health, Undersecretary of Attorney and Deputy Attorney General of Canada. “We are very pleased to begin working with the members of the Expert Panel. Each member brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, which is essential when conducting a thorough and independent review of cannabis law. .” rosenberg said in a press release.

of cannabis law Since cannabis sales officially began in Canada in 2018, the government has been required to produce a report with recommendations for change. Now that the panel has been selected, the report will begin to take shape in two phases . First, the panel will assess the impact of cannabis law through online public participation and analyze trends and evidence. In the second stage, we compile advice to improve or reform the legislative framework. The report has no current deadline, but will be submitted to the Canadian Parliament when completed.

According to Minister for Mental Health and Addiction and Deputy Health Minister Carolyn Bennett, the panel will help prepare the country with the information it needs to evolve as one of the few countries to legalize cannabis for adult use. “Cannabis laws have contributed to our efforts to prevent youth from accessing cannabis, eliminate illegal markets, and provide adult consumers with access to safe supplies of cannabis, but we will We still have work to do.” Bennett said in a statement“I congratulate the new members of the Expert Panel and look forward to their work in assessing their progress in meeting the legislative goals and in guiding the next steps.”