It has been more than two years since Canada became the first G20 country to legalize recreational cannabis and cannabis products. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) is supporting research on non-therapeutic cannabis and the impacts of its legalization on public health and safety across the country. Through financial support from Health Canada, CCSA is funding 19 projects on subjects ranging from cannabis legalization and mental health to a comparison of legal versus illicit cannabis sales.

CBC GoPublic broadcasted on 2021/01/17 a story about a bipolar man's experience in a Toronto hospital. I link it to here because I believe stigma and discrimination is a huge area that mental health community must put more effort in. Stigma is rooted in discrimination. Only our society truly eliminate discrimination against mental disability, the stigma will not effectively go away.

The link to CBC's story:

Ontario's Auditor General released her 2020 Annual Report and concludes that the Ministry and the Ontario Telemedicine Network "do not have effective systems and procedures in place to meet Ontarian's needs in a cost-effective manner." She comments that since the province responded hastily to the demands of COVID-19, Ontario is without a long-term strategy for virtual care expansion.

This new policy brief explores the potential impact of COVID-19 on mental health and suicide rates, provides insight into which potential risk and protective factors to monitor, and highlights the existing opportunities to influence these trends.

CBC recently aired an episode of a show called ‘You Can’t Ask That’.  This episode has people living with schizophrenia answering questions about their experiences. Click here to watch the CBC Gem video and share with your networks.

https://www.theglobeandmail.co...lou-kristy-draws-on/

Laura Stone,Queen's Park Reporter July 6 2020

BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 30, 2020: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) announced the release of their Addiction Standard Set today.

Seven out of 10 Ontarians believe the province is headed for a “serious mental health crisis” following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to results from the first of three polls conducted on behalf of Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division.

In addition, more than three quarters of respondents said that more mental health supports will be necessary to help society, according to the new poll results released today.

The Angus Reid Institute, a Canadian non-profit research firm, recently completed a survey of 650 kids age 10 – 17 in Canada about their experiences and attitudes under Covid-19 restrictions. The results indicate that many kids are bored, miss friends, and are not liking and feeling motivated by schooling at home. In addition, a substantial portion are worried about missing schooling and about family members becoming sick.

The COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making or COVID-END is a recently formed partnership led by the McMaster University Health Forum and the Ottawa Hospital Centre for Implementation Research. It's aim is to help reduce duplication and improve coordination in COVID-19 knowledge translation and exchange efforts and provide a source for high quality evidence on COVID-19.