Canada: DPO recommends a legal age of 25 for the purchase of cannabis

The Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is recommending that the legal age for accessing cannabis be set at 25, according to a document sent to Working group on cannabis legalization in Canada.

The document also includes 33 recommendations to minimize harm, establish safe means of producing and distributing cannabis, maintain medical access to cannabis, and ensure public safety.

The legal age for accessing cannabis was one of the most discussed points among the 28 health agencies that worked together and shared their ideas on the subject, according to Gillian Connelly, one of the local health officials.

«We want to make sure we reduce access for young people,» Connelly explains. «One of the things research clearly shows is that early cannabis use can have detrimental effects on brain development, and the brain develops until age 25.».

The OPH suggests that this minimum legal age for cannabis access be the same everywhere in Canada and that it be «coupled with vigorous enforcement and severe penalties to be effective.».

There is no consensus on the minimum age.

The minimum age of 25 years is in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Medical Association, but not all health agencies agree, according to Connelly.

Some agencies believe it is unrealistic to have different minimum ages for access to alcohol and cannabis, and difficult to control. OPH therefore preferred to send a strong message based on scientific research at this stage of the process.

«We'll have a second look,' Connelly said, »and if the federal government comes with a different recommendation in the spring, we'll adjust.«.

Bruce Linton, the founder of Tweed, one of the country's largest medical cannabis producers, explains that there could be negative consequences to setting such a high age. «Any market that is not legally accessible is a potential market for others,» says Linton.

«Because believing that people who would like to buy this product will not try to obtain it is not really in line with what is happening today.’ According to him, the legal age for cannabis access should be the same as for alcohol.

The other recommendations of the document include:

• the prohibition of advertising, marketing, or partnerships, and the use of plain packaging. Canada is, moreover, considering this for tobacco as well.
• the adoption of a state-controlled and owned system for distribution
• the prohibition of cannabis consumption in the workplace, as well as in indoor and outdoor public places
• the regulation of the base price according to the THC level
• the use of special packaging for edibles, to prevent easy access by children to a package that would open too easily

The OPH also recommends that a portion of cannabis revenues go towards research, to help fill the many scientific gaps that exist concerning cannabis, as well as support investment in education and prevention, particularly for adolescents and individuals with «family histories of mental illness.».

The complete document can to be here.