Pubdate: Wed, 14 Dec 2016
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Bruce Cheadle
Page: 5
Referenced: http://mapinc.org/url/spC7LQBu

TASK FORCE GREEN LIGHTS LEGAL POT SALES TO TEENAGERS

OTTAWA - Eighteen-year-olds should be allowed to buy recreational
cannabis when the Liberal government launches a globe-leading social
experiment in legalizing marijuana next year, a federally appointed
task force said Tuesday.

The age limit - and the hazy science of pot-impaired driving - were
among the most contentious aspects during five months of hearings and
research, task force vice-chair Dr. Mark Ware told a news conference
in the parliamentary precinct.

The framework report is recommending storefront and mail-order sales
to people 18 and older, with personal growing limits of four plants
per person and a 30-gram limit on personal possession.

No other major western country - with the exception of Uruguay,
population 3.5 million - has fully legalized and the world will be
watching.

The green light for teenagers helped boost stock prices for marijuana
producers on the Toronto Stock Exchange and produced a sharp exchange
in the House of Commons, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended
his government's policy direction without committing to following all
the task force's 80-plus recommendations when legislation is
introduced next spring.

"Right now kids have easy access to cannabis across this country. We
need to change that," Trudeau said of his government's two
cannabis-related policy priorities.

"Secondly, to remove the source of significant revenue to criminal
organizations and street gangs who benefit for the illicit trade of
cannabis."

The 106-page framework covers everything from advertising and branding
- - effectively banned, similar to tobacco - to penalties for illicit
production and trafficking, all legislated under a proposed new
Cannabis Control Act.

And it says the current medical marijuana regime should remain in
place, at least until the legal recreational market dynamics play out.

The overall direction of the task force was never in doubt as it
toured legalized U.S. states Colorado and Washington.

Its chair, former federal Liberal justice minister Anne McLellan, said
the nine members wouldn't have taken the job if they didn't believe in
ending marijuana prohibition.

"As a matter of public policy," said McLellan, "legalization now is
the time to move away from a system that for decades has been based on
prohibition of cannabis, into a regulated legal market. I think we're
all aware of the challenges and societal problems that the existing
system has created."

The report's 80 recommendations are all geared, one way or another, to
creating "a viable legal market, which will be essential to meet the
government's objective of displacing the entrenched illicit market
that exists in Canada today," said McLellan.

She said the report recommends a "public-health approach to minimize
harm," as well as actions "to educate Canadians ... to increase
awareness and knowledge" about cannabis and its impacts.

Reaction to the report was as varied as the public input the task
force received.

"Age 18 means you can be in high school and legally smoke marijuana,"
Pamela McColl, of the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to
Marijuana Canada, said in an email. "We have lost our way as a country."

Jeffrey Lizotte, CEO of Next Wave brands, which advises the budding
industry, said almost every cannabis-related stock listed on the TSX
rose Tuesday.

"Most expected the age of majority to be between 21 and 25, where
people had recommended," Lizotte said in an interview.

"Luckily they took a more evidence-based approach. They understand
that most consumers are aged 18-25, so if you exclude them from this
market they'll go to the black market."

The Canadian Medical Association issued a statement lauding the
overall approach to "non-medical" marijuana regulation.

But the CMA said the task force missed the mark in recommending a
distinct medical regime, given what it says is the limited clinical
evidence for medicinal cannabis.

Ian Culbert of the Canadian Public Health Association called the
report "an important first step towards establishing a retail
framework that strikes a balance between freedom of choice and health
protection."

Police forces remain somewhat skeptical, with Saskatoon police chief
Clive Weighill typifying the cautious reaction.

Weighill said roadside tests for marijuana may not paint a clear
picture of impairment, and suggested a black market in cheaper-priced
pot will continue.

Current producers of medical marijuana said the task force's hard line
on marketing, packaging and branding still needs some work.

Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth Corp., said the consumer demand for
information should trump the recommendation to list levels of only THC
and CBD on recreational pot.

Linton says limiting package information won't tell consumers "whether
this will make you euphoric or contemplative or sleepy."

"My competitors over the years have largely used innocuous packaging
as well - called zip-lock baggies," he said. "Is that really what
we're trying to do?"

Linton says the world will be watching Canada's efforts as a leader in
managing what is a global black market problem and medical research
opportunity.

"I still think Canada being Canada - and doing this - has not been
fully appreciated," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt