Reinvest Cannabis Tax into Alberta's Addiction and Mental Health Strategy

Each year, substance misuse costs Albertans $4.4 billion overall, with $1 billion in direct health care costs, $855 million in lost productivity, and $407 million in law enforcement. The NDP government has stated that funding addiction and mental health programs and services is a priority, yet these essential services remain chronically underfunded. Currently, only 6% of health care spending in Alberta goes to addiction and mental health services when the recommended amount is twice that (9-13%).

SAPH recommendations align with the federal government’s 2016 Final Report of the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation finding that tax revenues should fully support prevention efforts in youth, early intervention and treatment, and research.

Cannabis use in Canadian youth is higher than any other drug and many start using it as early as late elementary school. Twenty-three percent of Canadian youth use cannabis on a near-daily basis (6). In total, Canadian youth use cannabis at a rate 2.5 times higher than adults aged 25 and older, and are among the highest users in the world. Young people are disproportionately more likely than those in other age groups to engage in risky patterns of substance use and experience harms from that use.

The time to act is now. Albertans deserve sustainable funding for our chronically underfunded Addiction and Mental Health Strategy.

Student Advocates for Public Health (SAPH) is an advocacy group formed by graduate students from the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. Our mission is to advocate for healthy public policies to prevent illness, injury and premature death.

Please see our website for more information:
https://saphualberta.wordpress.com