I was intrigued and appalled by CMAJ's recent editorial on marijuana.1 A disclaimer in the journal states that “all editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association” but no authors were identified for the editorial.
There is no scientific evidence to support the statement that recreational marijuana smoking has minimal negative health effects. Rather, the permissive attitude toward recreational drug use in our society is closely connected with the complex factors that lead to addiction.
It is irresponsible to say that the risk of addiction related to marijuana use is “very weak (and perhaps nonexistent).”1 Perhaps the authors need a lesson in pharmacology and physiology. Marijuana is an addictive hallucinogen.
There may be merit in the proposal that drug possession, which is symptomatic of addiction, be decriminalized. However, decriminalization and medicalization are not the same thing, let alone decriminalization and legalization. Unfortunately, a CMAJ editorial like this one only adds smoke to the debate rather than clearing it. The call on the justice minister to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use sounds like a personal plea rather than a policy suggestion.
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