Pot smokers in the US can't get off scot free, since many will now have to take it on the chin and pay a steep marijuana penalty -- to sign up with life insurers, that is. Marijuana indulgence, recreational or medicinal, is sharply raising the price of some premiums, with certain issuers making the same risk assumptions for pot smokers as cigarette smokers. The cost of a 20-year, $1 million life insurance policy, for example, can be as much as five times higher for a pot smoker compared with a clean-living nonsmoker, according to one broker. [continues 274 words]
Flyer claims facility has led to spike in drug dealing A pop-up injection site on the edge of the ByWard Market is drawing mixed reviews from Lowertown residents, landlords and business owners. An anonymous flyer circulated this week in the area, and shared widely on social media, claims the "unsanctioned and illegal" site operated by Overdose Prevention Ottawa has led to sharp increases in drug dealing, public intoxication, public disorder and discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia littering the downtown streets. [continues 533 words]
A pop-up injection site on the edge of the ByWard Market is drawing mixed reviews from Lowertown residents, landlords and business owners. An anonymous flyer circulated this week in the area, and shared widely on social media, claims the "unsanctioned and illegal" site operated by Overdose Prevention Ottawa has led to sharp increases in drug dealing, public intoxication, public disorder and discarded needles and other drug paraphernalia littering the downtown streets. However, there is no evidence those claims are true. [continues 544 words]
Ottawa will charge GST on recreational marijuana in addition to the planned excise tax of $1 a gram, threatening to make legal cannabis more expensive than its black-market competition. The federal government's plan to legalize marijuana by July 1 is designed to replace the illegal market with a heavily regulated industry, but experts say the final sales price will be key to its eventual success or failure. Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Frechette warned Wednesday in a blog post that an excise tax would likely push the price of legal marijuana above black-market prices observed in 2015-16. [continues 654 words]
Members of the Mass. State Police performed a sobriety test on a driver in Chicopee in 2011. The state's highest court on Tuesday limited which evidence can be used in court to prosecute drivers suspected of operating under the influence of marijuana, handing a victory to civil rights advocates in a closely-watched case. Under a unanimous ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts police officers can no longer cite their subjective on-scene observations or sobriety tests to conclude in court testimony that a driver was under the influence of marijuana. [continues 729 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A federal anti-drug program has asked Rhode Island - -- and more than two dozen other states where medical marijuana is legal -- to turn over data about patients in the program. The move has alarmed some who question why the federal government, which has at times appeared to be antagonistic towards the drug, is interested in the information. The National Marijuana Initiative, an arm of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which reports to the White House, contacted the Rhode Island Department of Health in August seeking data from 2012 to 2016 on the number of patients in the program, as well as patients' age, gender and a breakdown of the medical conditions under which they qualified. [continues 583 words]
Cannabis retailers waiting to learn fate Like a vignette of small-town life, a laid-back shopkeeper sits at a yellow table beside the unlocked bicycle leaning against the storefront, smiles, puts down his coffee mug and greets a customer by name. "Hey Fred, how ya doing?" Jeremy Jacob said to his visitor Thursday, welcoming his old friend into the shop. Jacob and his wife Andrea Dobbs run a family business in Kitsilano, a bright, airy space where a loud waterfall rushes outside, dozens of cannabis products line the shelves inside, and a Pomeranian named Lego lounges on the ground. [continues 743 words]
Fewer than one in 10 Canadians are buying the federal government's argument that legalizing marijuana will lead to lower consumption levels among young Canadians, a new poll has found. In addition, a majority of Canadians doubt the new system to legally distribute marijuana to adults across Canada will be fully operational by July 1, 2018, which is the Liberal government's deadline to end the 94-year-old prohibition on the drug. The results of The Globe and Mail/Nanos survey highlight the challenges facing the Liberal government in convincing the public on the soundness of its policy, which is a centrepiece of its mandate. [continues 614 words]
The head of the union tapped to represent workers in Ontario cannabis stores says his members will be well-trained and ready to go by next July, the target date for federal legalization of recreational pot. "Oh, we'll be ready for it, don't worry about that," said Warren "Smokey" Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents staff of the provincially owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario. On Friday, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Ontario will allow the sale of recreational marijuana only from government-run standalone outlets - starting next summer with 40 shops and growing to about 150 by 2020 - as well as a government website. The LCBO will operate the stores and website using OPSEU members. [continues 298 words]
Market needs legal structure, official says OTTAWA - Police are warning it could be "impossible" for law enforcement to get trained up in time for legal marijuana in July 2018. Testifying at a House of Commons health committee Tuesday, police leaders expressed concerns about the Liberal government's impending deadline to create a legal weed market. Organizations will need to know the new laws and regulations backwards and forwards before they can prepare their officers for duty, they said. Mike Serr, deputy chief constable and chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police drug advisory committee, said the government should consider extending its deadline. "We ask that established legislative framework be put in place prior to legalization that will provide law enforcement with clear direction and assistance regarding funding and training," he said. [continues 495 words]
IF Canada's experience with legal recreational marijuana parallels what is taking place in U.S. states, we have much to anticipate in terms of entrepreneurial ferment, job creation, wealth expansion and boosted tax receipts. Legal recreational marijuana has been law in Colorado for three and a half years, and a little more than three years in Washington. Oregon staggered its rollout of recreational marijuana between 2015 and last year, Alaska and Nevada's programs are up and running and soon to follow are Massachusetts, Maine and the cannabis behemoth known as California. [continues 638 words]
A Cambridge man is resorting to partial nudity to get his bong and medical marijuana back from local police. Wearing nothing but socks, running shoes and a pair of brightly coloured briefs, 31-year-old Jeffrey Shaver has been protesting sporadically outside the Kitchener courthouse and various police stations in the region for two weeks while smoking a bong. Beside the man are usually two signs, reading "Return My Bong" and "Return My Marijuana." Shaver said he is a registered medical marijuana user, but was arrested by Waterloo regional police in October for possessing marijuana. [continues 281 words]
Not long ago, a supporter of mine visiting from California dropped by my Capitol office. A retired military officer and staunch conservative, he and I spent much of our conversation discussing the Republican agenda. Finally, I drew a breath and asked him about an issue I feared might divide us: the liberalization of our marijuana laws, specifically medical marijuana reform, on which for years I had been leading the charge. What did he think about that controversial position? "Dana," he replied, "there are some things about me you don't know." He told me about his three sons, all of whom enlisted after 9/11. [continues 730 words]
Attendees of the annual marijuana "Freedom Rally" on Boston Common laughed during last year's event. For more stories on the marijuana industry, sign up for our newsletter, This Week in Weed. The administration of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh is expected to green-light the 28th annual marijuana "Freedom Rally" on Boston Common in September, a year after organizers of the smoky, weekend-long bash had to sue the city to get a permit. This year's incarnation of the long-running celebration of cannabis culture, which draws thousands of marijuana enthusiasts, is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. It will be the first to take place since voters legalized recreational use of the drug last November. [continues 453 words]
Urged to declare an emergency, province promises "significant resources and supports" The opioid drug crisis flaring up in Southwestern Ontario is becoming so bad across the province, hundreds of doctors, nurses and others are pushing Queen's Park to declare an emergency. In an open letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne Monday, the health workers say limited resources and poor data are preventing them from responding properly to a disturbing, sustained increase in overdoses. "The consequences have been clear: lives lost, families destroyed and harm reduction and health care worker burnout," they write. [continues 794 words]
Chatter was spreading online and through the Downtown Eastside on Sunday and Monday, a rumour about cops busting an unlicensed pop-up cannabis dispensary. The dispensary in question is different from the roughly 60 unlicensed pot shops running in Vancouver, many of which are slick commercial operations. The High Hopes Foundation, a small booth that opened this summer in the Downtown Eastside, is run by the people behind the Overdose Prevention Society and works toward the same goal of saving lives as an escalating overdose crisis rocks the city and province. [continues 681 words]
High Hopes cannabis dispensary an 'outside-the-box' solution supported by first responders Chatter was spreading online and through the Downtown Eastside on Sunday and Monday, a rumour about cops busting an unlicensed pop-up cannabis dispensary. The dispensary in question is different from the roughly 60 unlicensed pot shops running in Vancouver, many of which are slick commercial operations. The High Hopes Foundation, a small booth which opened this summer in the Downtown Eastside, is run by the people behind the Overdose Prevention Society and works toward the same goal of saving lives as an escalating overdose crisis rocks the city and province. [continues 681 words]
Steven Hoffman, a veteran corporate executive and consultant, was named the chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, the newly created agency that will usher in an era of legal marijuana use. The appointment Thursday by state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg makes Hoffman, a 63-year-old Lincoln resident, the state's top marijuana regulator. He will hire the commission's executive director and other staff, and oversee the writing of new rules to govern marijuana cultivators, processors, and both medical and recreational dispensaries. [continues 372 words]
The article on the health effects of marijuana is interesting and necessary but completely misses the point. The medical marijuana industry is going way beyond current scientific evidence. Marijuana does not make you healthy. It makes you high. Smoking marijuana can cause both lung damage and anxiety attacks, completely aside from pesticide contamination. Legalization is a reasonable public health measure, and closer attention to product safety is a reasonable goal. However, marijuana is not a health product. It should never be sold in pharmacies and it should come with a warning label similar to tobacco. The Cochrane organization's review of the published scientific data shows that aside from helping with symptoms of nausea, there is no good evidence to recommend marijuana for any health condition. A more recent review in the Annals of Internal Medicine confirms this. A well-designed legal framework will help with quality control, but it won't make marijuana good for you. Marc Greidanus, emergency physician, Chilliwack, B.C. [end]
An arm of the White House's anti-drug office has asked Massachusetts and several other states where medical marijuana is legal to turn over information about their registered patients, triggering a debate over privacy rights and whether state officials should cooperate with a federal administration that appears hostile to the drug. Dale Quigley, deputy coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative, or NMI, has asked Massachusetts health officials for demographic data on the age, gender, and medical condition of the state's approximately 40,000 registered medical marijuana patients. Quigley is a former police officer in Colorado with a long history of speaking out against legalization. [continues 952 words]
Marijuana dispensaries owe more than $1 million in unpaid tickets The value of unpaid tickets issued to Vancouver's rogue pot shops is high and only getting higher, recently passing the $1 million mark. While Vancouver continues to crack down on scofflaw dispensaries, the latest numbers show they're having limited success: as of this week, 64 dispensaries were operating without a licence compared to 31 working within the city's licensing system, while the city had issued 2,024 tickets to dispensaries with 406 tickets (or 20 per cent) paid. [continues 618 words]
IN his struggles to come up with a regime to control the sale of recreational marijuana, Premier Brian Pallister may have found a powerful ally. Shoppers Drug Mart. Despite a looming July 1, 2018 deadline to have a system in place, the province has been very reluctant to talk about how it would like to handle the production, distribution and sales of recreational pot. Last month, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson issued an expression of interest to find potential partners and solutions to handle all aspects of legalized marijuana. [continues 869 words]
Sensitive patient data supplied to a Vancouver cannabis dispensary has been either mishandled or - according to the shop's owner - stolen, a situation that again highlights the confusion over the regulation of retail pot. Most people in weed-friendly Vancouver, it seems, don't have a problem with dispensaries. A Nanos poll of Vancouverites last year found only 14 per cent supported banning medical dispensaries. But the city's decision to take the lead in Canada by licensing a still-illegal industry has contributed to a regulatory haze where many in Vancouver - including cannabis users and non-consumers alike, and even those involved in the weed business - have expressed confusion about the state of affairs while Canadians await expected federal legislation to legalize nonmedicinal marijuana. [continues 581 words]
I am concerned the federal government plans to legalize cannabis for recreational use by July 2018 when there is so much well researched information available about its harmful effects and when so many health associations have expressed grave concern. The only plausible reason I can see is that it is viewed as a source of revenue, yet The Free Press reported in Weighing the pot-ential impact (July 29) that the "marijuana boss for the city of Denver" stated 100 per cent of revenue there went toward regulation, education, enforcement and public health. [continues 73 words]
News that an Ottawa group is moving to start an opioid-substitution program - a form of supervised injection project - for city addicts is being applauded by another harm-reduction group that says it wants to follow suit. Meanwhile, city police and the local city councillor say they need to find out more about the new program before commenting on it. Ottawa Inner City Health is a not-for-profit that receives some provincial funding. It told the Citizen this week it wants to have a managed-opioid program running at the Shepherds of Good Hope in the ByWard Market by September. [continues 510 words]
NEW YORK (AP) - AlphaBay, the now-shuttered online marketplace that authorities say traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods, wasn't all that different from any other e-commerce site, court documents show. Not only did it work hard to match buyers and sellers and to stamp out fraud, it offered dispute-resolution services when things went awry and kept a public-relations manager to promote the site to new users. This screen grab provided by the U.S. Department of Justice shows a hidden website that has been seized as part of a law enforcement operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and European law enforcement agencies acting through Europol. On Thursday, July 20, 2017, authorities announced that two of the world's most notorious "darknet" marketplaces, AlphaBay and Hansa, have been knocked out in a one-two punch that officials say yielded a trove of new intelligence about drugs and weapons merchants that operate from hidden corners of the internet. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP) [continues 504 words]
100 First Nations amenable to tax breaks, he says OTTAWA * Former Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine says his pitch to produce medical marijuana on reserves is getting lots of attention from Indigenous communities hoping to get into a potentially lucrative industry. About 100 First Nations communities and business interests are keen on the enterprise, he told the National Post this week, though some stigma remains around cannabis and its production. Fontaine's own company Ishkonigan launched a partnership in December with licensed weed producer Cronos Group, and will break ground on a flagship operation in Armstrong, B.C. later this summer. Ishkonigan has a 51 per cent share of the venture, which is expected to be operational in about eight months. [continues 618 words]
Massachusetts companies cannot fire employees who have a prescription for medical marijuana simply because they use the drug, the state's highest court ruled Monday, rejecting arguments from employers that they could summarily enforce strict no-drug policies against such patients. Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants said a California sales and marketing firm discriminated against an employee in its Foxborough office who uses marijuana to treat Crohn's disease when it fired her for flunking a drug test without first trying to reach an accommodation with her. [continues 723 words]
The compact mass spectrometer shows precisely what's in marijuana. The compact, high-tech chemical sensors made by the Boston startup 908 Devices are used by emergency responders to scan for toxins after industrial accidents, and by researchers in the pharmaceutical and energy industries to profile the composition of drugs and petroleum products. Now, the firm has unveiled a new sensor intended to give it a foothold in a less conventional but fast-growing industry: commercial marijuana. The sensor, dubbed the G908, is a countertop "push-button" mass spectrometer designed to identify cannabis compounds. Its designers say the device approaches the accuracy of traditional "gold standard" lab equipment but is far smaller, faster, cheaper, and easier to use. [continues 635 words]
Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem. The Institute of Medicine estimates chronic pain affects 100 million Americans at an estimated annual cost of $600 billion. But the rampant use of opioids to treat chronic pain stands out as the least-defensible and most-harmful of our maltreatments. Many U.S. physicians remain resistant to this, though I would argue other options should be considered. More than 14,000 Americans died in 2014 from unintentional overdose of prescription opioids, making this the leading cause of death among younger individuals in many states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Countless others continue to take opioids not because they have meaningful pain and functional improvement, but because they enjoy feeling numbed, or simply have not been presented with more appropriate and helpful therapeutic options. [continues 692 words]
The medical marijuana industry officially has its guidelines with the passage of a bill out of the Florida Legislature on the last day of a three-day special session. The votes were 29-6 in the Senate and 103-9 in the House. The few no votes were mostly Democrats who wanted fewer restrictions in the bill, but also a few Republicans who remain against the idea of medical marijuana on principle. Gov. Rick Scott said he "absolutely" will sign the bill. That means big changes for patients, caregivers, doctors and growers, compared with the far more limited medical marijuana law passed by the Legislature in 2014, which resulted in seven grower/dispensers in the state. [continues 906 words]
Independence Day is a celebration of freedom. But on this July Fourth, for the first time in more than a century, our freedoms in Massachusetts include the ability to legally buy, possess, and use marijuana. These privileges took effect in December, after voters approved a ballot question on recreational pot use. And that measure remains the law of the land, despite state legislators' ongoing debate over a rewrite of the rules. But it's worth remembering that this freedom is heavily qualified. So, after consulting with law enforcement experts and studying guidance issued by state officials, here are some recreational marijuana do's and don'ts. [continues 786 words]
Re: Province should control marijuana sales (June 19) Do we need to own a permit to purchase alcohol annually? No. Is there plain packaging for alcohol? No. Does the government only sell two types of alcohol? No. Does the government track everyone who purchases alcohol? No. Do we have a government task force to monitor who has legal alcohol in their homes? No. Does the MLL sell any intoxicating substances other than alcohol? No. Did the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health determine alcohol is one of the greatest public health threats in Canada in 2013? Yes. Alcohol accounts for eight per cent of all deaths for people under 70 years old currently and has a burden of $14.6 billion on our health-care and law enforcement services, according to a 2013 study, Strategies to Reduce Alcohol-Related Harms and Costs in Canada: A Comparison of Provincial Policies. [continues 243 words]
A U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday to smuggling backpacks he believed contained drugs across the border. Appearing in a federal courtroom in San Diego, Noe Lopez pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of cocaine. He faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years for each of the two counts and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. Lopez, a 10-year Border Patrol veteran who worked out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Dec. 14 as a result of a two-month undercover sting. [continues 213 words]
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, but this hasn't solved our problems. There were a record 33,000 opioid deaths in the U.S. in 2015. Our homicide rate is seven times the average of 21 Western developed nations, plus Japan. Politicians are making jail the answer to addressing issues dealing with drug addiction, mental illness and violent crime. Yet jail doesn't seem to properly address these issues and often worsens the problems associated with them. [continues 54 words]
High Times, the magazine that has chronicled the transformation of marijuana use from an underground vice to a major American business, said on Thursday that it had been acquired by a group of investors that includes Damian Marley, son of the reggae star Bob Marley. The group, led by Adam Levin, the founder of the investment firm Oreva Capital, bought a controlling interest at a price that values the magazine at $70 million, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. In a news release, the new ownership group said it planned to expand the publication's audience and its events business. [continues 426 words]
As much as the House of Commons is often viewed as an adversarial environment there are also those times, albeit rare, when there is unanimous support for the passage of a Bill. In the last Parliament I was fortunate to have unanimous support for the passage of my Bill to remove a prohibition era Federal restriction preventing the personal movement of wine across provincial borders. Later the government would expand on this bill to also include beer and spirits. Recently in the House of Commons another private member's bill has received unanimous support and has also passed through the Senate and recently received Royal Assent. [continues 355 words]
Re: Future damages - May 25 I don't smoke marijuana. That's right; I don't and I don't plan on starting. Yet letter writer after letter writer feels that once marijuana becomes legal, anyone and everyone is going to light up. Let me ask those writers, do you plan on taking up weed? Do you think it being illegal stops youth from smoking it now? Maybe it's a tax grab, but so what, we already pay sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. People need to get a grip. Dan Boucher Waterloo [end]
A clear majority of Canadians want the federal government to issue pardons to fellow citizens who have a criminal record for marijuana possession, a new poll has found. The survey stands to buttress the call of marijuana activists, lawyers and politicians who argue that the old criminal records will be a legal anomaly once marijuana is legalized for recreational use by all adults. The federal government tabled legislation last month that aimed to legalize marijuana by the middle of next year. Despite widespread pressure, the government has refused to call on law enforcement to stop charging marijuana users with simple possession while the legislation goes through Parliament, or to promise an amnesty for past convictions after the adoption of the new law. [continues 536 words]
A majority of Canadians oppose the federal government's plan to give greater powers to police officers to obtain breath samples from drivers in roadside tests, a new poll has found. As part of its legislative package last month to legalize marijuana, the government also tabled a bill to update impaired driving laws. Bill C-46 would drop the requirement for police to have a reasonable suspicion a driver has been drinking before demanding a breath sample. For example, officers would no longer need to smell alcohol on the driver's breath or receive an admission that a driver had been drinking. [continues 531 words]
Oilpatch CEOs fear their costs will rise when the federal government passes legislation to legalize recreational marijuana. The issue of drug use is closely watched in the industry, where workers tend to be young and hazards include long commutes to and from remote drilling sites, wells that produce poisonous or explosive gas, and exposure to heavy machinery. Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work. Precision Drilling CEO Kevin Neveu, whose Calgary-based firm operates in Canada and the United States, says his opposition to legalization is supported by his company's experiences in Colorado after that state legalized the drug in 2014. He said costs there have increased for employees who need drug counselling, or for those who fail drug tests and must be sent home under Precision's "zero tolerance" drug and alcohol policy. And it's more difficult to find new recruits, who can pass pre-employment drug tests, he said. [continues 243 words]
Cannabis users still believe restrictions unjust compared to alcohol's controls Despite legalization on the horizon, organizers of the annual Vancouver 4/20 cannabis rally say there's little reason to end their battle to free the weed. Last week, the federal government tabled long-awaited legislation to legalize recreational cannabis, promising a "strict legal framework" for the production, sale, distribution and possession of pot starting July 2018. But after decades of protesting to legalize it, B.C. cannabis advocates argue the framework proposed will give rise to yet more dissent. [continues 553 words]
"Isn't it cute?" said Molly Peckler, holding a delicate gold-chain necklace adorned with a cannabis-leaf charm away from her neck. "It's a perfect representation of my approach to cannabis." With sunlight pouring in through a sliding-glass door in the apartment she shares with her husband, Marc Peckler, a software salesman, Ms. Peckler explained how she believed a shared love of cannabis could be the spark in a relationship. "Cannabis is almost an analogy for being authentic," said Ms. Peckler, 32, the founder of Highly Devoted in Los Angeles, an online matchmaker that connects cannabis-using singles. "If this is a part of your life, then you should be open and honest about that, especially if you're trying to start a romantic relationship with someone." [continues 885 words]
Last week, the Liberal government introduced the much anticipated marijuana legalization bill, technically known as Bill C-45, The Cannabis Act. First let me state that the Liberals clearly campaigned on legalizing marijuana and I have heard from several citizens who indicated this was one of the primary reasons they voted Liberal in the last election. I mention this point as I believe the Liberal government does have a democratic mandate to move forward with this legislation. From a quick overview, this bill takes a similar approach I used with my wine bill that removes federal barriers, but still allows provinces to enact and adopt their own rules and regulations with respect to marijuana legislation. [continues 555 words]
4/20 rally organizers vow to maintain their fight to free the weed Despite legalization on the horizon, organizers of the annual Vancouver 4/20 cannabis rally say there's little reason to end their battle to free the weed. Last week, the federal government tabled long-awaited legislation to legalize recreational cannabis, promising a "strict legal framework" for the production, sale, distribution and possession of pot starting July 2018. But after decades of protesting to legalize it, B.C. cannabis advocates argue the framework proposed will give rise to more dissent. [continues 541 words]
Covering every detail in legislation would give the system little flexibility to adapt, and may set it up for failure The Liberal government's cannabis legislation has drawn condemnation and praise. Whether they approve or not, many observers criticize the lack of details on essential aspects of legalization. Legislative lapses include details on where cannabis will be sold, packaging, advertising and how it will be taxed. While such gaps may appear to be weaknesses, they actually demonstrate the legislation's strength. [continues 695 words]
Association says homegrown 'cottage industry' will help local economy and create jobs With the federal government taking a major step Thursday towards cannabis legalization, the outlook for B.C.'s flourishing retail pot industry remains hazy. The federal Liberals introduced bills to regulate recreational marijuana in Canada (with legalization expected to come into force by July 2018). But the legislation leaves several key elements of the plan especially around the distribution and sale of the product - up to provincial and territorial governments to figure out. [continues 584 words]
Stating that 94 years of prohibition were an "abject failure," the federal government has tabled long- awaited legislation to legalize marijuana for adult Canadians at the same time as toughening up the Criminal Code to crack down on dealers targeting minors and those getting behind the wheel while high. The historic legislation would lift the prohibition on the recreational use of cannabis that goes back to 1923, positioning Canada as a leading country on the relaxation of illicit-drug laws. If adopted as planned by the summer of 2018, Canada will become the first G7 country - and the second in the world after Uruguay - in which cannabis use is legal across the land. [continues 1074 words]
Ottawa will have to launch a series of negotiations as soon as it tables its long-awaited bill to legalize marijuana on Thursday, needing to strike deals with the Senate, the provinces and the U.S. government in its bid to lift the 94-year-old prohibition on the drug. For starters, the Liberals will need to adopt a raft of legislative changes in the House of Commons, where they have a solid majority, but also through an independent Senate that is increasingly asserting its desire to study and amend government bills. [continues 660 words]
Senior official says the federal government will announce a push to allow smaller marijuana producers to enter the market The federal government is getting ready to drastically speed up its licensing process to increase the numbers of companies that are authorized to produce marijuana for the recreational market that will open up in the first half of 2018, sources said. A senior federal official said that in addition to tabling legislation to legalize marijuana on Thursday, the federal government will announce a push to authorize new producers of marijuana. At this point, there are 42 companies that have the necessary authorizations from Health Canada to produce marijuana for medical purposes across the country. [continues 593 words]
