no. this is reefer madness.

the way that the provincial government is throwing around this data is completely irresponsible, and not at all representative of what the research actually states. they're making it seem like any exposure to the drug at all will cause brain damage, which is similar to the way that the flawed research that created that misconception was used in the first place.

do you know what they did to claim that marijuana kills brain cells? that "this is your brain on drugs"? what they did was take a monkey and place it in a hot box at concentrations that created brain damage due to oxygen depletion. then, they blamed that on the pot. it was discredited as soon as it was published, but anti-drug agencies ran with it for decades. it is the "science" behind the fried egg commercials. i'm not shitting you - look it up. it was oxygen depletion the whole fucking time.

the research that they're citing to claim that marijuana causes development issues is based on high exposure over periods of months. it's not that it's wrong - as a long time user, i do not doubt it at all - but it's hardly useful to draw public policy out of it. if you drink a mickey of vodka three times a day for a year straight, you're going to end up with brain damage, too. that doesn't mean we should increase the age limit, or run scary commercials that anybody with internet access can debunk; it means that we need to use vodka far more responsibly than that, and teach our kids how to do so, as well.

in fact, the same research they're citing for brain damage from prolonged heavy use (the most extreme results possible) actually also states that moderate to mild use has no effects on young people at all. it is the latter information that the public policy should be based around, as it is more representative of how young people use it - moderately, and usually on weekends.

that's not to say that people don't "smoke themselves stupid". it happens. but, the policy should not be based around these extreme exceptions - and, doing so misses the point of legalization.

these ads will be ridiculed. they should be. they're wrong. and, don't be surprised if it costs the government the election, in the end.

and, this is strike three for kathleen wynne caving to right-wing special interests in a cynical ploy for votes and having it kill her in the end; she needs to step down before she does long term damage to the party, if she hasn't already.

https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2017/07/28/ontario-prepping-reefer-awareness-campaign-on-the-dangers-of-marijuana-as-legalization-date-approaches.html