New funds to bring total investment in public education, awareness and surveillance to $46M
October 31, 2017 Ottawa, ON Government of Canada
The Government of Canada introduced legislation to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict access to cannabis to keep it out of the hands of Canadian youth and the profits from criminals and organized crime. With this in mind, the Government intends to make significant investments in public education to inform Canadians, particularly youth and young adults, about the health and safety risks of cannabis.
Today the Government announced a new investment of $36.4M over the next five years for a cannabis education and awareness campaign. The funding will be used to inform Canadians, including youth and other priority populations such as Indigenous peoples, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and Canadians with a history of mental illness, of the health and safety risks of cannabis use and drug-impaired driving.
This new investment is in addition to the initial $9.6M over five years for a comprehensive public education and awareness campaign and surveillance activities announced in Budget 2017.
Public education and awareness efforts will include factual and evidence-based information on the health and safety risks of cannabis use and drug-impaired driving. The campaign will build on ongoing social media efforts, advertising and interactive events to engage youth on the facts. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Government will expand its public education campaign to include information on the new laws, so Canadians will know what to expect in July 2018.
