Nurses say Ontarians need a $48M cannabis health lesson

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is asking the province for $48 million over five years for a public education campaign to reduce the harm of recreational cannabis use.

Carolyn Pullen, chief of programs and policy with the CNA, told the Ontario standing committee on finance during pre-budget consultations in Ottawa Wednesdaythat nurses should be a vital part of that campaign.

Pullensaid nurses are well-positioned to help develop such a campaign and have enormous opportunity to influence personal health choices.

Under the federal government'sCannabis Act, which hasn't officially become law, possession and consumption of recreational pot wouldbecome legal in Canada in July.

The federal government has committed tokeep cannabis out of the hands of minors and set aside $9.6 million in last year'sbudget for public education about the risks of cannabis use with a focus on young people.

Pullen said the CNA is hoping all provinces contribute so that they can collectively meet the funding levels needed to have an adequate impact on public education.

Getting nurses up to speed

TheCNAis also asking theOntario government for $600,000 to teach nurses about cannabis.

The organization did a survey in 2017 asking nurses about their knowledge of recreational cannabis.

The survey found many have knowledge gaps about cannabis use during pregnancy, health risks associated with the various methods of cannabis consumption, the impact of cannabison the developing brain, the risk of addiction andmental health.

"For them to understand and be able to explain those risks to their clients and their patients is a really important opportunity to seize,"Pullensaid.

"But in order to do that, we have to develop the materials for the public and professionalsand that is going to require significantly more than what we've already seen governments commit."

Overdose prevention

The association also wants Ontario to make nurses part of its overdose prevention strategy by including them in naloxone programs andincreasingthe number of nurses in supervised injection sites.

Pullen said she wants to see nurses across the country empowered to prescribe and distribute naloxone kits.

Nurses are on the front line, she added, and are often the first point of contact for people in the healthcare system.

"They're perfectly positioned to have this harmreduction tool in their toolkit."