CMA wants Health Canada, not industry, to design marijuana labelling

Product labels are a key factor of educating consumers, especially young people, about the risks of pot, according to  (CMA), media reports said.

Health Canada -- responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health and ensures accessibility of high-quality health services and works to reduce health risks -- had been applying different levels of scrutiny to prescription drugs.

Consumers of recreational marijuana had been stressing the need to be protected from misleading health claims and want a single set of regulations in place for both the medical and recreational marijuana industry, media reports said.

"Ensuring that health products are safe and effective must be a key component of any regulations on cannabis," said  Dr. Laurent Marcoux, the president  of CMA,,on Monday.

"This is why we believe rigorous scientific evidence is needed to support claims of health benefits and to identify potential risks and adverse reactions."

CMA, a voluntary group that represents most of the country's physicians, had been urging Ottawa to apply the same standards to marijuana as it does to prescription medication and prohibit health claims that are not backed by research.

Recreational marijuana is expected to be legalized by federal government this summer.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

Image: Marijuana: CMA Facebook page.