With legalization of cannabis for recreational use expected this summer, regional councillors have serious concerns about the consequences for Peel.

“The region has a key role in protecting health and safety,” said Peel medical officer of health Jessica Hopkins during a presentation to regional council on Thursday (April 5). “This is really a complex issue.”

Canada is legalizing cannabis because the current prohibitive approach is not working, explained Hopkins.

Hopkins explained Canadian youth are among top cannabis users in the developed world and cannabis is the most commonly-used drug in Peel. People between the ages of 19 and 29 are the biggest users (23 per cent) with 11 per cent of men using cannabis, compared to five per cent of women.

Approximately eight per cent of residents aged 12 years and older have used cannabis at least once in the past 12 months, she added, and 16 per cent of students in Grades 7 to 12 have used cannabis in the past 12 months.

Because the final cannabis legislation has not passed through the Senate yet, Hopkins said there are still a number of unknowns regarding what final federal and provincial legislation and regulations will look like, as well as what required programs and services will need to be implemented. There are also questions about how programs will be funded.

“Enforcement is not entirely clear at this point,” Hopkins added. And there are a number of questions about areas that may be legal in the future, such as edible cannabis products and smoking lounges.

The public health approach to cannabis will be the same as alcohol and tobacco and when the legislation is passed, and Hopkins said both Brampton and Mississauga are expected to have retail outlets.

“I am totally opposed to this,” said Mississauga Coun. Carolyn Parrish. “You have no idea.”

The legislative framework proposed by the federal and provincial governments defines the production, distribution, sale, possession, use and personal cultivation of recreational cannabis.