Legal marijuana, yes, but not in front of the kids: Poll Canadians are comfortable with legal pot but would still be reluctant to consume it in front of their families like they might alcohol, a new Nanos Research poll shows. The survey also found that almost seven out of 10 Canadians agree or somewhat agree that there are medical benefits to marijuana. Jay Rosenthal, President of Business of Cannabis - which commissioned the poll and provides news and analysis of the sector in Canada - said the most surprising finding to him was the high level of public support or acknowledgement that the product has medicinal benefits. [continues 497 words]
Will weed be the new booze? Will a culture so tied to alcohol switch allegiance once recreational cannabis is readily and legally available? A recent study out of the University of Connecticut looked at alcohol sales in jurisdictions with medical marijuana, and found the two substances to be substitutes, with monthly booze sales falling 13%. A 2016 Deloitte study predicted some alcohol consumers will migrate to legal recreational marijuana. Dan Malleck, associate professor in Health Sciences at Brock University, said the U.S. study looked at medical marijuana, and the findings suggest that people are switching if they're using alcohol to self-medicate for conditions like stress. [continues 337 words]
Weed rules still hazy: Councillor There are still many concerns to address as the provincial government moves forward this week with its anticipated marijuana legislation, Councillor Cesar Palacio says. Palacio, chairman of the Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) Committee, said that one such issue is the question of who will oversee and enforce the growing of pot plants on private property and the possible exposure of children to this product. The federal government has set a limit of four marijuana plants per household. [continues 380 words]
Ontario pot will be "competitively priced" to discourage black market sales, Finance Minister Charles Sousa says. When asked about reports that other jurisdictions in Canada are looking at a retail sales price of about $10 a gram, Sousa refused to dismiss the figure. "The intent is to have some uniformity over these prices across Canada as well as trying to maintain the price point with regards to the medicinal marijuana that's there now, and to ensure that it's not overly expensive because of the underground economy that now exists," Sousa said Wednesday. "So we have to be sensitive to that and we're working with the federal government in terms of what markups are going to be there and what uniformity and harmonization we can establish to ensure that we keep a price point that keeps away the black market." [continues 92 words]
Mayor: No rush to OK lounges A Toronto committee has endorsed the provincial government's plan for recreational marijuana despite pleas from the pot industry to support private dispensaries and cannabis lounges within the city limits. Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker said the city has a very limited role in this matter as jurisdiction falls to the federal and provincial governments. "You're talking to the wrong guy," De Baeremaeker said to the many stakeholder and user representatives who complained Monday about the provincial plan to sell pot through LCBO-affiliated stores and to limit consumption to private property. [continues 333 words]
Cannabis lounge owner wants city to licence businesses like her Provincial rules limiting recreational pot use to private property aren't going to work in the City of Toronto where people are more likely to rent or live close to each other, a cannabis lounge owner says. Abi Roach, a director of the Cannabis Friendly Business Association (CFBA) and owner of Hotbox, plans to ask a city committee Monday to licence cannabis lounges. The Ontario government recently unveiled its new regulations for recreational marijuana, expected to be legalized next year, that include sales only through LCBO-affiliated stores and strict limits on where the product can be consumed. [continues 361 words]
Liberals unveil long-awaited legislation to regulate marijuana in Ontario Three senior Ontario cabinet stalwarts assured the public Friday that their plan to roll out storefront and online government pot stores will not compromise community safety or health. Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins defended a new recreational pot monopoly to be run by the same folks that oversee alcohol sales - the LCBO. At the same time, the government is putting "illegal" pot dispensaries, which have popped up throughout the city offering a variety of marijuana products, "on notice" that there will be a crackdown, Naqvi said. [continues 344 words]
Toronto has sent an open invitation to every drug addict in the province to congregate in one of the three neighbourhoods slated to host safe injection sites, Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti says. The experience in Vancouver has been one of drug dealers openly selling their products and users freebasing in the streets around injection clinics, he said. "There were more people on the streets using drugs than in what they call safe injection sites," Mammoliti said, predicting public outrage within a year of Toronto's safe injection sites opening this fall. [continues 285 words]
Toronto's first official interim safe injection site is set to open as early as Monday in the Yonge-Dundas Sts. area. The site is a precursor to three permanent Toronto sites and is being fast-tracked following a rise in drug overdose deaths throughout the region. Health Canada said Sunday in a news release that Toronto's application for an interim injection site was approved after passing required inspections. Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, explains what clients and the public can expect. [continues 527 words]
Toronto's first safe drug site set to open Toronto's first official interim safe injection site is set to open as early as Monday in the Yonge-Dundas Sts. area. The site is a precursor to three permanent Toronto sites, and is being fast-tracked following a rise in drug overdose deaths throughout the region. Health Canada said Sunday in a news release that Toronto's application for an interim injection site was approved after passing required inspections. Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, explains what clients and the public can expect. [continues 525 words]
There should be zero tolerance for pot use by drivers or their passengers, a new report by the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario branch recommends. The report, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, also says that all marijuana revenue should go to fund mental health and addiction services, and that the minimum age to purchase the product should be 19 years old. "The risk is that legalization of cannabis may lead to an increase in use among Ontarians," Camille Quenneville, CEO of CMHA Ontario, said in a statement Monday. "When taken together, our recommendations can minimize the harms associated with cannabis use and support a public health approach to this issue." [continues 331 words]
There should be zero tolerance for pot use by drivers or their passengers, a new report by the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario branch recommends. The report, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, also says that all marijuana revenue should go to fund mental health and addiction services, and that the minimum age to purchase the product should be 19 years old. "The risk is that legalization of cannabis may lead to an increase in use among Ontarians," Camille Quenneville, CEO of CMHA Ontario, said in a statement Monday. "When taken together, our recommendations can minimize the harms associated with cannabis use and support a public health approach to this issue." [continues 369 words]
Opioid crisis 'like genocide' Recovery advocate Annie McCullough is calling for Canada to declare a national state of emergency in the opioid crisis as the death toll continues to climb, including three fatalities in Durham Region Friday. McCullough, a co-founder of Faces and Voices of Recovery Canada, said that what Toronto and the GTA is experiencing now - a surge in fentanyl-related overdoses in Toronto - has been an epidemic in Vancouver over the past two years. "What's going on with fentanyl almost feels like a conspiracy because people know now that it's killing people and they're not stopping distributing it, whoever these people are that are doing it," McCullough said. "It's almost like they have a death wish for people; it feels like genocide." [continues 442 words]
Recreational marijuana should be treated like tobacco in public places and alcohol in motor vehicles, the City of Toronto health board recommends. In a wide-ranging report that will go to Toronto Council, board members asked that non-medical cannabis be sold by a provincial-controlled agency - but not with alcohol - and that the minimum age for purchase be set at 19. Pot use should be banned where regular tobacco smoking is not permitted, and - like drinking alcohol - prohibited in vehicles, the board decided. [continues 321 words]
Smugglers will quickly switch from butts to pot, group says Ontario's massive contraband tobacco industry can and will easily switch to the manufacture of contraband marijuana when the product becomes legal, the head of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association predicts. With no apparent political will to shut down illegal cigarette factories on Ontario reserves, and the likelihood of high taxes on pot, the drug is poised to join the distribution system already in place to move contraband tobacco, OCSA CEO Dave Bryans said Friday. [continues 275 words]
Recreational marijuana users who worked hard to elect Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feel "cheated" by his support of a police crackdown on storefront dispensaries, a cannabis industry spokesperson says. Abi Roach, a director with the Cannabis Friendly Business Association, said marijuana consumers helped the federal Liberals gain a majority government based on an expectation that he would allow small businesses to sell weed legally to recreational users. Trudeau has promised to introduce legislation designed to legalize pot in the spring. The crackdown that has occurred under Trudeau has been stricter than under any previous government, including that of former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, she said. [continues 196 words]
Measures set to reduce pot-impaired driving Canadians suspected of driving while high could be required to submit to a roadside saliva test that identifies the use of marijuana, cocaine and opioids. An oral fluid test is one of the suggestions from a discussion paper released on June 30 by the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation. "We'll scream blue bloody murder if it's not in place before legalization," MADD Canada CEO Andrew Murie said. While the task force is looking at the oral fluid test - a roadside saliva swab - for the detection of marijuana use, the test can also reveal the presence of other drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, opioids and amphetamine. [continues 339 words]
Canadians suspected of driving while high could be required to submit to a roadside saliva test that identifies the use of marijuana, cocaine and opioids. An oral fluid test is one of the suggestions from a discussion paper released on June 30 by the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation. "We'll scream blue bloody murder if it's not in place before legalization," MADD Canada CEO Andrew Murie said. "Because we already have a problem," he added. "It's well acknowledged we have a problem with young people, so we really need this to be in place before legalization." [continues 547 words]
Object would be to discourage use by young people The federal government's task force on marijuana should look to restrictions for cigarettes when considering how legal pot should be packaged, the Canadian Cancer Society's Rob Cunningham says. The federal government has restricted who and what can appear on tobacco packaging. Currently, the feds are considering following the lead of places like Australia which mandate plain tobacco packs with just the company name in white print and a health warning on an unattractive background colour. [continues 166 words]
Canadians suspected of driving while high could be required to submit to a roadside saliva test that identifies the use of marijuana, cocaine and opioids. An oral fluid test is one of the suggestions from a discussion paper released on June 30 by the Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation. "We'll scream blue bloody murder if it's not in place before legalization," MADD Canada CEO Andrew Murie said. "Because we already have a problem," he added. "It's well acknowledged we have a problem with young people, so we really need this to be in place before legalization." [continues 548 words]
Says general population won't take it up once it's legalized Stoned Nation? A Toronto psychologist who treats depression, anxiety and addiction says he doesn't expect the general population to take up marijuana with great enthusiasm once legalized. Even as police in Toronto swooped down on marijuana dispensaries this week, the countdown clock is ticking towards next year when it is expected the drug will no longer be considered an illegal substance. Dr. Richard Amaral said he expects some interest will be fired up in the early days after legalization. [continues 429 words]
Former pot smokers have gone on to great things - like Mayor of Toronto. A very youthful John Tory acknowledged in his school newspaper in 1976 that he "used the stuff to some extent" in high school and first year of university. As first reported by the Toronto Sun, Tory wrote that it would be more unusual if someone had never tried it. "At the time, I really saw nothing wrong with it, although on certain occasions in certain circumstances I was somewhat paranoid of the badge swooping down and carting me away," he wrote. [continues 202 words]
Second look at public pot smoking It turns out the Ontario government hadn't inhaled yet on its plan to allow medical marijuana vaping in public spaces. Associate Health Minister Dipika Damerla said Thursday the government is taking a second look at the proposed exemption to new e-cigarette rules that would allow anyone with a prescription for medical cannabis to use the product in restaurants, parks and movie theatres - just about anywhere - unless the property owner objected. "We've heard some concerns and some feedback on this regulation," Damerla said. "We're going to ... take a hard look and see what's the best way to make sure that this is the best interest of Ontarians." [continues 239 words]
Medical marijuana users will be exempt from a Jan. 1 law that will ban the use of e-cigarettes anywhere tobacco smoking is prohibited. Ontario Associate Health Minister Dipika Damerla said those who have been authorized to use pot for treatment of a health condition will be allowed to vape in places that normally do not allow smoking. "The medical marijuana exemption is obviously very limited - it's for people who have a doctor's prescription," Damerla said Wednesday. "But equally important to understand that as an employer or a restaurant owner, you can say that there's no vaping, smoking medical marijuana here." [continues 98 words]
Ontario is not ready to talk about selling pot in liquor stores, Finance Minister Charles Sousa says. "It would be premature to discuss what will happen with the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana," Sousa said Monday. Warren "Smokey" Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) - which represents LCBO employees - told the Toronto Sun Friday that the most socially responsible place to sell legal bud would be through the government-owned liquor retail chain. "If legalization happens, marijuana must be a controlled substance, and no one has more experience retailing controlled substances than the workers at the LCBO," Thomas said in a statement Monday. "The LCBO has a solid track record of responsibly selling alcohol and would bring the same service standard to marijuana." [continues 171 words]
Union cites 'social responsibility' TORONTO - Government-owned liquor stores would be the best choice to sell legal pot in Ontario, the union representing LCBO staff says. "If it is legalized, the LCBO should sell it for social responsibility," Warren "Smokey" Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said in an e-mail Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to legalize marijuana, and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger has recommended it be sold in government-owned liquor stores. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa hasn't addressed the possibility of selling marijuana in LCBO stores, but earlier said legalization will be a "national conversation." [continues 304 words]
'We Are Absolutely Philosophically Committed to It,' Says PM Despite another legal setback, the Conservatives remain committed to mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug traffickers and other serious criminals, Stephen Harper says. The Ontario Superior Court struck down a mandatory six-month minimum sentence for growing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, a decision Harper said his government would study. "We think it is important that those who traffic drugs, who destroy lives, face sufficient penalty under the law," Harper said Tuesday. "A mandatory minimum is a mandatory prison sentence for certain types of crime - drug trafficking, murder, other acts of violence. We think there are situations where it is inconceivable that a court would deliver a verdict that does not involve a penalty of time in prison." [continues 232 words]
'We are absolutely philosophically committed to it,' says PM Despite another legal setback, the Conservatives remain committed to mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug traffickers and other serious criminals, Stephen Harper says. The Ontario Superior Court struck down a mandatory six-month minimum sentence for growing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, a decision Harper said his government would study. "We think it is important that those who traffic drugs, who destroy lives, face sufficient penalty under the law," Harper said Tuesday. "A mandatory minimum is a mandatory prison sentence for certain types of crime - drug trafficking, murder, other acts of violence. We think there are situations where it is inconceivable that a court would deliver a verdict that does not involve a penalty of time in prison." [continues 231 words]
Province to target high drivers Ontario drivers who get behind the wheel stoned would pay a high price under provincial legislation introduced Tuesday. Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca has amended the government's distracted driving bill to include new penalties for drug-impaired drivers. As in drunk driving, motorists under the influence of drugs would be subject to escalating roadside suspensions, mandatory education or treatment, an ignition interlock condition and a sevenday vehicle impoundment. "Ontario's one of only three jurisdictions in Canada that currently has no sanctions whatsoever for somebody who is driving under the influence of drugs," Del Duca said. [continues 376 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 196 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia TORONTO - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 242 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
Calls Grow to Keep Drug Items Out of Convenience Stores The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
Parents and caregivers who expose kids to drug manufacturing and trafficking should be treated as child abusers, proposed legislation says. Tory MPP Garfield Dunlop will introduce a private member's bill Monday that would amend the Child and Family Services Act to add "drug endangered" as a category of children in need of protection. "If we truly care about our children, we should do everything possible to prevent their exposure to the many dangers and health risk associated with making illegal drugs," Dunlop said. "They also deserve better than growing up in a grow op or having their meals cooked in a crystal meth kitchen." [continues 361 words]
MPP Wants Law To Shut Criminal Dens It's hard to love thy neighbour when you live next door to a crack house. There are no fences high enough to block the noise, garbage and danger of a drug hangout, brothel or gambling den. When a house or apartment becomes a home for criminal activities, it can take months for a team of police officers, city staff and politicians to shut down the enterprise. It can be back in business the next day--in the same location or a block away--and the whole process begins anew. [continues 904 words]
Cloudy Issue When It Comes To Human Rights A human rights settlement between a medical marijuana user and the owner of a Burlington sports pub has left behind a cloud of controversy. Afroze Edwards of the Ontario Human Rights Commission said people who partake of marijuana for medical reasons have a right to reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. Steve Gibson took a Burlington pub and restaurant owner to the human rights tribunal after he was banned from smoking medical marijuana in front of the establishment. The commission said that he should be treated like any other smoker. [continues 608 words]
Lawyers See Failure To Prosecute As Troubling The failed prosecution of the Toronto Police drug squad corruption charges has raised questions about the impartiality of the Crown and has had a "chilling effect" on police complaints, Ontario criminal lawyers say. Edward Sapiano, one of the original nine lawyers who blew the whistle on police wrongdoing, said there is a broad perception that laying a complaint against a cop is a waste of time. "Am I suggesting the attorney general deliberately threw this case? Let me point out that the law, that we are all subject to, allows that one can infer a person intends the natural consequences of their actions," Sapiano said. [continues 328 words]
TORONTO -- Ontario's court backlog jumped 9% over four years to a staggering 97,000 criminal charges, attorney general ministry figures obtained by the Sunday Sun reveal. "It's clear that the criminal justice system is in crisis; it is on the cusp of collapse," NDP MPP Peter Kormos said. "And this reinforces the need for a public inquiry into the recent staying of charges against Toronto police officers so we can understand exactly what's happening in the ministry of the attorney general and in the criminal courts." [continues 418 words]
Ontarians renting apartments and buying homes should be able to access a registry that would tell them if the property was once a marijuana grow operation, Conservative Leader John Tory says. "When the police this year have uncovered so far 450 grow-ops ... that suggests that this is a huge problem and, of course, it's spread right across the province," he said yesterday. "It's in apartments as well as private homes -- it's a plague, it's an epidemic." [continues 70 words]
John Tory Admits Smoking Up In Youth, Even Favouring Lenience Conservative Leader John Tory used marijuana as a high school and university student, once favoured lighter sentences for pot traffickers and even drove while "stoned." The revelations are contained in a 30-year-old newspaper column that Tory wrote as a law student for Obiter Dicta, the official student newspaper of Osgoode Hall Law School. A copy of the article was provided to the Sun by a Liberal source. Tory, 52, said in an interview yesterday that he was writing honestly about his experiences with weed, but he hasn't used it since those early days. [continues 472 words]
TORONTO -- Ontario's Conservative leader used pot as a high school and university student, once favoured lighter sentences for pot traffickers and even drove while "stoned." The revelations are contained in a 30-year-old newspaper column John Tory wrote as a law student for Obiter Dicta, the student paper of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. A copy of the article was provided to Sun Media by a Liberal source. Tory, 52, said yesterday that he was writing honestly about his experiences with weed, but he hasn't used it since those days. [continues 318 words]
TORONTO -- Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory used marijuana as a high school and university student, once favoured lighter sentences for pot traffickers and even drove while "stoned." The revelations are contained in a 30-year-old newspaper column Tory wrote as a law student for Obiter Dicta, the official student newspaper of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. A copy of the article was provided to Sun Media by a Liberal source. Tory, 52, said in an interview yesterday he was writing honestly about his experiences with weed, but he hasn't used it since those early days. [continues 371 words]
