After pot is legal: Doctors urge province not to forget marijuana can do harm

New Brunswick doctors say only a Crown corporation with strict monopolycontrol should be allowed to sell recreationalmarijuana in the province.

Whether NB Liquor or some other corporation takes charge of sales, the retail marijuana business should not be subject to profit targets or take place alongside the sale of alcohol or tobacco, the New Brunswick Medical Society says.

"We have to remember there are great potential harms that come from marijuana use," Dr.LynnMurphy-Kaulbeck, the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, said Monday.

The professionalassociation accepts that marijuana will be legalized, but it has made recommendations to the government that suggest the New Brunswick governmenttake a breath as it contemplates the impact on the province.

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The federal Liberals are expected to introduce legislation soon that will make marijuana legal by July 2018.

Provinces will be responsible for some regulatory areas, such as how the drug can be advertised and who can sell it.

Calling marijuana "an inherently harmful substance," the medical society made 14 recommendationsto governmentfor regulating the sale of the drug when it becomes legal. The goal is tominimize harm, particularly to young adults, the group said.

The recommendations cover everything from lawenforcementto distribution and retailing concerns.

Greatest threats to public

One recommendation says the group believes marijuana shouldn't be sold to anyone under25 but knows it may be necessary to adopt 21 as a minimum age to discourage illicit purchases.

"It's harmful to the developing brain whether that's in fetuses or in young adults," Murphy-Kaulbecksaid.

As with tobacco and alochol, she said, it's important to educate young people aboutmarijuana.

"As a parent you go forward and try to teach your kids that even though something's legal, legal doesn't equate [with] safety," she said.

The medical society recommends marijuana and tobacco be sold in plain packaging.

Public health an issue

"Tobacco's is a very harmful substance," she said. "If we're going to move forward with marijuana at 21, tobacco, in my mind, would follow right behind."

Murphy-Kaulbecksaid the province is looking for the potential for profit from legalized marijuana, but she expressed optimism that provincial leaders willconsider the medical society's recommendations.

"I do believe they're looking for guidance ...they care about the public health as well," she said.