Big business, pot advocates and recreational tokers may be eagerly counting the days until cannabis is legalized, but James MacKillop is feeling a little uneasy.
MacKillop is director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, a collaborative project between McMaster University and Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
MacKillop is director of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research, a collaborative project between McMaster University and Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/cannabis/opinion/2018/08/27/sure-pot-is-soon-to-be-legal-but-that-doesnt-mean-it-isnt-harmful/james_mackillop_2.jpg)
He’s concerned that the general public will see the Oct. 17 legalization as a stamp of approval signalling that marijuana is harmless and without risk.
That’s definitely not the case, says MacKillop, noting one of the priorities of the research centre is to promote an evidence-based understanding of cannabis to combat myths and misinformation, a lot of it spread on the internet.
“Generally, I think the tone of the discourse on the internet tends to be much more favourable to cannabis than balanced in terms of risks associated. That’s where a lot of my concerns lie in terms of the impending legalization.”
That’s definitely not the case, says MacKillop, noting one of the priorities of the research centre is to promote an evidence-based understanding of cannabis to combat myths and misinformation, a lot of it spread on the internet.
“Generally, I think the tone of the discourse on the internet tends to be much more favourable to cannabis than balanced in terms of risks associated. That’s where a lot of my concerns lie in terms of the impending legalization.”
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“The reality is there are certainly risks and, although hopefully there will be benefits from legalization, they’ll largely be because of the increased capacity to regulate a legal product over an illegal product, not because the drug itself will change by virtue of the law changing.”
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Let’s park the commercial hoopla and look at the risks associated with getting stoned on weed.
Read more:
An aching thumb sent me to the cannabis counter. It was one part 1970s LCBO and one part Holt Renfrew
Half of pediatricians surveyed say their young patients have used cannabis for medical reasons
Let’s park the commercial hoopla and look at the risks associated with getting stoned on weed.
Briefly, cannabis is a psychoactive drug that affects the mind and behaviour and produces side effects for both medical and recreational users.
In terms of acute effects, it intoxicates, impairs motor abilities and reaction time, sedates some people and, at high doses, can induce delirium and psychotic symptoms.
In terms of acute effects, it intoxicates, impairs motor abilities and reaction time, sedates some people and, at high doses, can induce delirium and psychotic symptoms.
Article Continued Below
According to MacKillop, a psychiatry and neurosciences professor, evidence suggests chronic use can also have negative cognitive consequences, including memory and attention impairment.
Some people may also develop what experts call “cannabis use disorder.”
In other words, an addiction.
“That doesn’t happen to a large percentage of people or even the majority of people who use cannabis, but it is a legitimate aspect of risk and a minority of people who use it can become addicted to it.”
As with tobacco and alcohol, risks scale with the amount consumed.
On to some of the myths. Consider medical marijuana, which has been legal in Canada since 2001.
MacKillop says part of the reason for the research centre’s existence is that the use of medical cannabis — there are now about 300,000 authorized users in Canada — has outpaced the evidence for its medical applications.
Although cannabis is used to treat a wide variety of different medical conditions, he says there is only consistent evidence to support its use in a small number of cases.
So far, evidence suggests cannabis can reduce pain, nausea and muscle spasticity.
On the other hand, though people report using it to treat, among other conditions, anxiety, depression, autism and schizophrenia, its efficacy for those conditions is unproven.
The simple fact is cannabis hasn’t run the gauntlet of traditional testing that would normally lead to its designation as a prescription medicine, says MacKillop.
As it is, doctors don’t prescribe cannabis, they merely authorize its use.
Meanwhile, as legalization looms, marketing is booming.
Take, for example, the promotion of Sativa and Indica, different strains of cannabis often reverently described as having their own unique profiles and effects.
MacKillop all but scoffs at the idea. “The reality is there’s very little scientific basis for any of these differences in the perceived psychoactive effect.”
MacKillop believes there are good reasons for legalizing marijuana, including quality control. But as it becomes readily available, he also believes more than ever we need to think critically about using it. He notes people often say it’s no worse than tobacco or alcohol.
“Well, that’s true. But alcohol and tobacco both are addictive drugs that have a significant risk and are indeed associated with a lot of public health harms in our society.
“I think the parallel is very true both in terms of the benefits, hopefully, of regulating them and also the potential risks that come with these substances.”
MacKillop doesn’t say it, but I will: Legalization may not mean marijuana is harmless but government sanctioning certainly does mean it’s now considered another one of life’s acceptable vices or, if you prefer, one of its dubious consolations.
Andrew Dreschel’s commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com @AndrewDreschel
Some people may also develop what experts call “cannabis use disorder.”
In other words, an addiction.
“That doesn’t happen to a large percentage of people or even the majority of people who use cannabis, but it is a legitimate aspect of risk and a minority of people who use it can become addicted to it.”
As with tobacco and alcohol, risks scale with the amount consumed.
On to some of the myths. Consider medical marijuana, which has been legal in Canada since 2001.
MacKillop says part of the reason for the research centre’s existence is that the use of medical cannabis — there are now about 300,000 authorized users in Canada — has outpaced the evidence for its medical applications.
Although cannabis is used to treat a wide variety of different medical conditions, he says there is only consistent evidence to support its use in a small number of cases.
So far, evidence suggests cannabis can reduce pain, nausea and muscle spasticity.
On the other hand, though people report using it to treat, among other conditions, anxiety, depression, autism and schizophrenia, its efficacy for those conditions is unproven.
The simple fact is cannabis hasn’t run the gauntlet of traditional testing that would normally lead to its designation as a prescription medicine, says MacKillop.
As it is, doctors don’t prescribe cannabis, they merely authorize its use.
Meanwhile, as legalization looms, marketing is booming.
Take, for example, the promotion of Sativa and Indica, different strains of cannabis often reverently described as having their own unique profiles and effects.
MacKillop all but scoffs at the idea. “The reality is there’s very little scientific basis for any of these differences in the perceived psychoactive effect.”
MacKillop believes there are good reasons for legalizing marijuana, including quality control. But as it becomes readily available, he also believes more than ever we need to think critically about using it. He notes people often say it’s no worse than tobacco or alcohol.
“Well, that’s true. But alcohol and tobacco both are addictive drugs that have a significant risk and are indeed associated with a lot of public health harms in our society.
“I think the parallel is very true both in terms of the benefits, hopefully, of regulating them and also the potential risks that come with these substances.”
MacKillop doesn’t say it, but I will: Legalization may not mean marijuana is harmless but government sanctioning certainly does mean it’s now considered another one of life’s acceptable vices or, if you prefer, one of its dubious consolations.
Andrew Dreschel’s commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com @AndrewDreschel
By Andrew DreschelThe Hamilton Spectator
Mon., Aug. 27, 2018
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