Pubdate: Mon, 21 Dec 2015
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/letters
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Keith Leslie
Page: D2

WYNNE WANTS CLEAR POT RULES

Legislation: Ontario Premier wants to be `socially responsible' as 
federal government moves to legalize weed

TORONTO - Ontario is looking for federal government guidance on
regulating clinics that sell medical marijuana and on how pot should
be sold for recreational use once it's legalized.

The federal Liberals promised in this month's throne speech to
"legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana" to keep it out
of the hands of children while also denying criminals the financial
profits. The new government plans to remove possession of small
amounts of marijuana from the Criminal Code and create new laws to
more severely punish those who provide it to minors or drive while
under its influence. Premier Kathleen Wynne says there hasn't been
enough discussion about the distinctions between medicinal and
recreationalmarijuana, which is one reason she suggested Ontario's
government-run liquor stores would be well-suited to retailing
legalized pot.

"The reason I put forward the LCBO as the possible distribution
network is that I want to make it clear that I see the need for a
socially responsible approach to this," Wynne told The Canadian Press
in a year-end interview.

"I think that this needs to be a controlled substance - and I don't
use that in a technical way - but there need to be controls on it, and
so I will be looking to the federal government to work with us to
determine what those controls need to be."

There are dozens of clinics or dispensaries springing up in cities
across Canada that sell medicinal marijuana - mainly in Ontario,
Alberta and British Columbia - and there are referral-only clinics
staffed with doctors who assess patients but don't sell pot. They give
patients a prescription to take to a licensed marijuana producer.

Canada needs national standards and regulations for the marijuana
clinics, said Wynne.

"Not all marijuana is going to be medicinal, so we've got to make
distinctions between a clinic that is providing medicinal marijuana
and what the recreational distribution is going to be," she said. "I
just don't think we're there yet."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to create a task force with
representatives from the three levels of government and, with input
from experts in public health, substance abuse and policing, to help
design a new system of marijuana sales and distribution. Trudeau
stressed the importance of listening to municipal partners, provinces
and the medical marijuana industry, as well as drawing on best
practices from around the world.

"We are going to get this right in a way that suits Canadians broadly,
and specifically in their communities."

Trudeau also said any tax revenues from legal marijuana should go
towards addiction treatment, mental health support and education
programs - not general revenues.

"It was never about a moneymaker," he said.

Wynne isn't the only one looking for a socially responsible way to
retail marijuana. The British Columbia Government and Service
Employees' Union and the B.C. Private Liquor Store Association joined
forces to call for legal marijuana to be sold through their existing
retail system, which includes about 200 private and 200 government-run
stores. BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said the union did not take a
position on whether it supports the plan to legalize marijuana, "but
we do believe that when this happens, it ought to be sold in the most
socially responsible way possible, in an age-controlled environment
with the strongest track record of checking identification."

Expectations are changing fast in Ontario, which only last week
updated its liquor laws to allow the sale of six-packs of beer in
selected grocery stores. Minutes after Wynne made the announcement,
she was asked why grocers couldn't also sell pot.

"I don't know what the federal government is going to bring forward,
but we will work with them to make sure there are parameters of social
responsibility around marijuana."

Ontario had to back off plans to ban the use of electronic cigarettes
and vaping everywhere that smoking tobacco is prohibited, which it
planned to implement Jan. 1, after medical marijuana users noted they
would be exempted from the regulation.

"We know that we're going need to bring in regulation and possibly
legislation to make sure that all the rules that apply to smoking
cigarettes, tobacco, will apply to smoking marijuana, whether it's
medicinal or otherwise," said Wynne.
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MAP posted-by: Matt