Legalization of marijuana in Canada linked to rise in health problems

The legalization of marijuana in Canada five years ago has generated social benefits but has also caused an increase in poverty problems. healthsuch as the sharp increase in cases of psychosis, according to an article published this Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

The article points out that although legalization has led to a substantial reduction in arrests related to cannabis use, it has also generated a considerable increase in admissions to emergency services for the use of the drug.

In Ontario and Alberta, two of the country’s most populous provinces, hospitals have seen an increase in twenty% of youth admissions for marijuana-related disorders and intoxications.

The article is signed by three researchers, Benedikt Fischer, Didier Jutras-Aswad and Wayne Hall, who work for mental health centers and universities in Canada and Australia.

A study cited by its authors notes that in Ontario, monthly rates of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which causes intense bouts of vomiting in marijuana users, have increased 13-fold since the drug’s legalization.

The same study indicates that visits to the emergency room for episodes of psychosis caused by cannabis use have doubled. Another study said that cases of hospitalizations of children between 0 and 9 years old intoxicated by edible products containing marijuana have tripled.

In parallel, the number of consumers obtaining marijuana legally has increased steadily since legalization. Currently, two-thirds of Canadian consumers purchase marijuana from legal sources.

Canada legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults in October 2018. At the time, the Government reasoned that legalization would avoid the social cost of criminalizing consumption and end a source of financing for criminal organizations.