Canada sets up expert panel to review cannabis law

Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced the panel’s members on November 24. “The panel of experts will provide us with an independent, comprehensive and evidence-based review of the Cannabis Act and its economic, social and environmental impacts such as the progress made in crowding out the illicit cannabis market,” said Duclos. “We welcome the members of the panel of experts and look forward to reviewing their findings to help meet the ongoing and evolving needs of Canadians while protecting their health and safety.”

There are five members in total on the panel who will begin work on the report with the aim of “working with the public, governments, indigenous peoples, youth, marginalized and racist communities, cannabis industry representatives and people who have access to cannabis to get in touch for medical purposes” on the current successes and failures of the applicable law.

The first board member is Dr. Oyedeji Ayonrinde, Associate Professor at Queen’s University and Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at Providence Care, which provides mental health care. In the cannabis space, Ayonrinde’s peer-reviewed publications cover “Gestational Cannabis Use, Cannabis and Psychosis, and Safety Issues with Cannabinoid-Based Drugs.”

The second is dr. Patricia J. Conrod, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Addiction at the University of Montreal and Researcher at the Sainte-Justine Mother and Child University Hospital Centre. Conrod is co-leader of several research efforts, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Canadian Cannabis and Psychosis Research Team.

The third is Lynda L. Levesque, a criminal defense attorney and member of Manitoba’s Fisher River Cree Nation. Levesque has served the Calgary and Toronto communities since 2015. “Throughout her legal career, she has maintained a passion for indigenous legal issues and an interest in better ensuring access to justice for marginalized people,” the government said.

The fourth is dr. Peter Selby, associate research director and chief of the Mental Health and Addiction Division in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Selby’s research is often focused on understanding and treating addictive behaviors, which has resulted in him receiving over $100 million in grants from numerous institutes. Overall, he has received more than 145 grants as a Principal or Co-Principal Investigator and has participated in over 150 peer-reviewed publications.

Finally, the panel is chaired by Chairman Morris Rosenberg, an attorney and former Deputy Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of Health, Deputy Secretary of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada, among other government roles. “It is a great pleasure for me to work together with the members of the expert panel. Each member brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that will be critical in conducting a thorough, independent review of cannabis law,” Rosenberg said in a press release.

The Cannabis Act has been in effect since cannabis sales officially began in Canada in 2018 and requires the government to produce a report with recommendations for changes. After the panel has been selected, the report can take shape in two phases. First, the panel will assess the impact of the Cannabis Act through online public engagement and analyze trends and evidence. The second phase involves compiling recommendations to improve or reform the legal framework. The report does not currently have a deadline, but when it is ready it will go before the Canadian Parliament.

According to Carolyn Bennett, Secretary of State for Mental Health and Addiction and Deputy Secretary of Health, this body will help prepare the information necessary for the country to become one of only a few countries to have legalized adult use of cannabis. “Cannabis Act has been instrumental in our efforts to protect youth from access to cannabis, eliminate the illicit market and provide adult consumers with access to a safe supply of cannabis, but there is more work to be done,” Bennett said in one Explanation. “We congratulate the new members of the panel of experts and look forward to their work in assessing our progress towards the goals of the law and guiding our next steps.”