Chatham-Kent's Medical Officer of Health is urging people to be educated about marijuana before it becomes legal this July.
From a health standpoint, Doctor David Colby says eating it is better than smoking it but adds that edible pot won't be legally available in Ontario until 2019. Doctor Colby says people must separate medical use from recreational use and break down cannabis into its two main components, cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Colby says CBD has anti-seizure properties and is a calming and anti-nausea agent for chemotherapy patients.
"Cannabidiol has no abuse potential whatsoever and it seems to be helpful for a lot of conditions. It's being looked at as a possible agent in child autism disorders for example," he says.
Colby points out that other jurisdictions with legal marijuana have not seen increased usage of pot and traffic fatalities have not gone up because pot is legal.
Chatham-Kent's Public Health Unit will be making a cannabis presentation to municipal council in the near future now that legislation is in place.
Colby says there are benefits and negative effects to marijuana depending on how it's used, its dose, and for what reason.
"Research has been stifled by its illegality in association with the black market. I suspect that there are going to be more indications for this, which is completely separate from the getting high, recreational aspect," Colby says.
He says using pot with less THC is preferred for therapy because it causes less of a high and less anxiety.
"Preparations that have a higher cannabidiol to THC ratio are preferred over high THC ratio products because of the propensity to cause anxiety," says Colby.