In his latest outburst a few days ago, he ventured even further into political right field: “There’s just overwhelming and growing scientific and medical evidence about the bad, long-term effects of marijuana. We’ve spent a couple of generations trying to reduce the usage of tobacco in Canada with a lot of success. Tobacco is a product that does a lot of damage. Marijuana is infinitely worse and it’s something that we do not want to encourage.” [Emphasis added].
The Canadian Medical Association has adopted a very conservative approach towards cannabis, but this approach is increasingly challenged by direct evidence. Recent announcements from Vancouver, from the Centre for Excellent in HIV/AIDS, have cited new evidence which shows cannabis can be helpful in dealing with the neuropathic pain and other problems associated with this disease. Other evidence suggests effectiveness of cannabis in dealing with nausea, with other kinds of pain besides neuropathic (nerve-mediated), and with anxiety – particularly anxiety experienced by veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Case reports suggest effectiveness against some forms of epilepsy, and there is indirect evidence of effectiveness against certain kinds of cancers.