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In spite of legal prohibition, Canada has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world. In Ontario, more than one in 10 adults and nearly one in four high school students used cannabis in the past year. In doing so, they become exposed to the health risks of cannabis and the risks of becoming criminalized by the act of procuring or possessing the substance. In addition, they are in danger of being introduced to other, more dangerous illicit drugs.

It seems obvious that our current approach is not reducing access to cannabis or the harms associated with its use. Young Canadians and other vulnerable groups bear a disproportionate burden of these risks, with adolescents, individuals with mental illness, and those with a pattern of heavy use being most susceptible to the negative impact of cannabis.

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The question: “Does cannabis cause harm?” has a simple answer. Yes. The more important question assumes a public health approach: “What legal context most effectively mitigates the harm?” Bringing best evidence to inform an answer, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) recently released a cannabis policy framework. It recommends legalization – with strict regulation – as the optimal choice.