Chain sells to recreational users who are over 19 years of age 'Prince of Pot' ready to set up shop in Plateau Canada's self-described "Prince of Pot" is expanding his chain of illegal marijuana dispensaries into Montreal as of Thursday, according to sources. A blogger made the announcement on marijuana advocate Marc Emery's online magazine last week. His wife, Jodie, posted a cryptic tweet on Dec. 8, counting down the days until the dispensary's Montreal debut. Two sources close to Emery have confirmed he intends to open as many as three dispensaries in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood. [continues 546 words]
The Canadian government is giving itself until late 2018 or early 2019 to open up the market for recreational marijuana, based on a road map that will allow everyone over 18 to purchase pot from a variety of producers and retailers or to grow their own. In a report released on Tuesday, a task force chaired by former Liberal minister Anne McLellan provided 80 recommendations to end the prohibition on marijuana that dates back to 1923, using a model similar to the one in place for sales of tobacco and alcohol. [continues 1020 words]
It no longer sells marijuana, but Cannabis Culture reopened Saturday to sell drug paraphernalia with an aim of becoming a community hub for pot smokers. The chain store at 282 George St. N, drew long lineups of recreational and medicinal smokers after opening as a marijuana dispensary in September before being shuttered following a pair of police raids, first on Sept. 15 and then on Sept. 29. The premise behind opening to sell products such as rolling papers, pipes and bongs is to pay the bills, but more importantly, to ensure the community is aware the location is here to stay, new store manager Eamon Cyr said Monday. [continues 205 words]
Cannabis Culture store located in a PoCo strip mall A pot shop franchise with ties to Canada's most famous marijuana activist is open on the edge of downtown Port Coquitlam. And the spokesperson for Cannabis Culture said the company plans to push further into the suburbs given its success in PoCo. Yesterday (Thursday), Jodie Emery - wife of the so-called "Prince of Pot" crusader Marc Emery, leader of the BC Marijuana Party - told The Tri-City News the company wants to expand into other Lower Mainland municipalities so people don't have to drive into Vancouver to buy marijuana. [continues 678 words]
Marc Emery tackles hot pot topics Marc Emery may be the Prince of Pot, but he still harbours serious concerns about a future with legal marijuana. A federal task force on the legalization and regulation of marijuana is expected to report back in November. Legislation is expected in the spring. Arguably one of the most well-known marijuana advocates in the country, Emery says he fears small-time dispensaries and long-time pot advocates will be frozen out once weed is legal. [continues 378 words]
Marc Emery may be the Prince of Pot, but he still harbours serious concerns about a future with legal marijuana. A federal task force on the legalization and regulation of marijuana is expected to report back in November. Legislation is expected in the spring. Arguably one of the most well-known marijuana advocates in the country, Emery says he fears small-time dispensaries and longtime pot advocates will be frozen out once weed is legal. His brand of dispensaries - Cannabis Culture - opened at least three stores in Toronto, selling to anyone aged 19 and over. [continues 367 words]
Toronto Police Services executed three dispensary search warrants Wednesday night. Between the marijuana storefronts, Swed (3440 Lake Shore Blvd W.), Better Living (2791 Lake Shore Blvd W.) and The Corner Store (1128 The Queensway) only $24,000 of marijuana was seized. Six people ranging in age from 19 to 30 are now facing multiple criminal charges, including possession and possession of proceeds of crime. Pot's first franchise goes under. Activists Marc and Jodi Emery have expanded their weed empire, selling Canada's first recreational cannabis franchise in Peterborough late this summer - and just like their three Toronto locations, the pot shop has already run into trouble with the law. The George St. dispensary, which opened on September 9, has been raided twice in less than a month. [continues 578 words]
In the national back-and-forth conversation over how to treat illegal marijuana stores, Peterborough police have weighed in forcefully on the shut-'em-down side. That's not surprising and not a position that should be criticized. When the owner of a local Cannabis Culture pot franchise announced in August that he would open a George St. store we suggested police would be best to let the store operate while monitoring its promise not to sell to minors or to those without a doctor's letter stating they require marijuana for medical purposes. [continues 362 words]
Cannabis Culture founder says two people were arrested Cannabis Culture was raided again and shut down by city police Thursday morning. The marijuana store at 282 George St. N. opened earlier this month and was raided by police within days, on Sept. 15. It was shut down until Tuesday morning, when it reopened at 10 a.m. The store drew lineups until Thursday at about 10:30 a.m. when police arrived. At least four Peterborough Police officers were seen inside the store following the raid. [continues 588 words]
The Cannabis Culture store in downtown Peterborough plans to reopen for business on Tuesday at 10 a.m. after closing following a city police raid earlier this month. Marijuana advocate and Cannabis Culture stores chain founder Marc Emery said Monday afternoon that the store at 382 George St. N. will reopen Tuesday at 10 a.m. and resume its operating hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The store first opened Sept. 9, openly serving clients 19 and older with marijuana for medicinal and recreational use. [continues 167 words]
Cannabis Culture reopens after raid, while Trent University business student prepares to open another marijuana store Peterborough's marijuana store, Cannabis Culture, reopened Tuesday morning, with city police announcing that the opening has their attention. The shop was closed Sept. 15, days after it opened, when city police raided it and removed its products. Two people, store owner Richard Standen and employee Maranda Gallant, were arrested. Standen, 62, of Wecker Drive in Oshawa, was charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime. [continues 433 words]
The windows at Cannabis Culture on George St. N. were found sprayed with graffiti Tuesday morning, but supporters cleaned it up as a courtesy to the pot shop owner. Cannabis Culture has been closed since a police raid last Thursday. Store owner Richard Standen spent Friday night in jail, and is now out on bail. On Tuesday morning, he rode by in a cab and noticed the graffiti. Someone sprayed the word "Leave" in black paint on both the front and side windows, and also painted a huge red X across the front door. [continues 253 words]
Richard Standen, the owner of the Cannabis Culture at 382 George St. in downtown Peterborough, walked away from court on bail Friday afternoon after being arrested in a city police raid Thursday. Standen didn't say whether he's reopening the store. But he said outside the Ontario Court of Justice on Simcoe Street that he still believes anyone should be able to use pot. "I'm a firm believer - my beliefs don't change," Standen said. Standen was arrested around the noon hour Thursday after city police executed a Controlled Drugs and Substance Act search warrant at the store. [continues 290 words]
'Prince of Pot' says his new dispensary has five-year lease Marc Emery, the marijuana dispensary owner dubbed the "Prince of Pot," says his landlord is trying to evict him from his new Church St. store. On Friday morning Emery was live-streaming and posting videos of police and his landlord's representative gathering outside of his Toronto business, Cannabis Culture. "I think he (the landlord) is definitely responsible for calling the cops," said Emery on a video posted on his Facebook page, taken inside the store as police gathered outside. [continues 409 words]
Drama erupted Friday morning inside and outside the latest Cannabis Culture store to open in Toronto. Around half a dozen Toronto Police officers were on site, according to Marc Emery - the so-called Prince of Pot is a well-known figure in Canada's marijuana industry and advocacy community. The presence of the officers prompted Emery to begin live-streaming on Facebook from inside the empty store, with the doors locked. "There's a siege going on essentially, there are police officers literally surrounding the building," he said, to reporters and camera people he let in at one point. [continues 91 words]
Prince of Pot Marc Emery urges defiant London dispensary to hang tough in showdown with police Be ready to do jail time. That's the message the formerly imprisoned Marc Emery, Canada's most famous marijuana crusader, delivered to a London pot shop that's become the local flashpoint in the shifting ground on Canada's pot laws. The Prince of Pot paid an unexpected visit to Tasty Budd's Friday, throwing his support behind the Wharncliffe Road marijuana dispensary i n what's become its high-profile showdown with city police. [continues 578 words]
Police say they were just enforcing the law when they raided an illegal pot shop days after it opened, but at least two other dispensaries have long operated in London without any crackdowns. Why police moved to shut down Tasty Budd's, when other dispensaries still quietly operate, is one question that emerged in the fallout Thursday, but police weren't providing any immediate answers. Officers descended on Tasty Budd's on Wharncliffe Road Wednesday, seizing more than $13,000 in marijuana products and charging the store's franchisee and an employee with drug-related offences. [continues 578 words]
For several years, cannabis researchers have been zeroing in on the health benefits of a marijuana extract known as cannabidiol, a.k.a. CBD. It's long been believed that CBD does not get people stoned, unlike the plant's psychoactive and better-known extract, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. And it has been argued that this helps patients who might be seeking relief from pain and other conditions but who don't want to get high every time they take their medication. [continues 839 words]
The thousands of Canadians who buy their cannabis from illegal dispensaries still have no assurance their products are safe from contaminants or as potent as advertised, even though Ottawa is changing its rules on the testing of medical marijuana. Changes announced on Thursday that take effect on Aug. 24 will allow registered home growers to take their products for testing at a handful of laboratories that are accredited by Health Canada. Under the new system, patients whose doctors authorize them to grow medical marijuana will be able to pay for tests to find out how much of the psychoactive compound THC is in their crop and ensure it is free of harmful pesticides and contaminants such as mould or bacteria. [continues 669 words]
Ottawa says it's dangerous. Dispensaries say it's safe. The Globe subjected unregulated weed to a battery of tests to find the truth Inside a sterile facility, the lab technician holds up a petri dish to show the intricate pattern of bacteria that are quickly multiplying. "Looks like something is already growing," she says, surprised by how much has amassed in less than a day and a half. In any other context, the dish would be a sight to behold, with an attractive swirl of shapes that resembles an oil painting. But the bacteria growing inside are Citrobacter freundii, a human pathogen that can lead to serious infections, particularly in the elderly and weak. [continues 6688 words]
Vancouver Activist Defies Marijuana Bylaws They are ubiquitous, still. Marijuana dispensaries, ranging in style from pristine to slightly scary to plain sad, continue to offer illicit products in Vancouver, despite an expensive effort by city officials to limit their number with rules and enforcement provisions unique in Canada. The pot shop bylaws, which came into effect this year, are supposed to stop cannabis impresarios from operating with typical impunity, dealing products near schools and community centres, and at all hours. Dispensaries began to proliferate in Vancouver about four years ago, when police quit trying to enforce federal prohibitions on retail marijuana sales. By 2015, no fewer than 100 illegal dispensaries were in business. [continues 571 words]
Two of the most well-known cannabis activists in the country were in town today to help a local dispensary in their fight to remain open. Marc and Jodie Emery each took the stage at Spirit Square this afternoon to profess their appreciation for what WeeMedical is undergoing right now - which they say is nothing short of police harassment - and to celebrate cannabis in all its forms. Joel Wilson, operator of WeeMedical, who organized what was called the "Rally for Reasonable Access," says the point of the event was mainly to educate, but he also wanted to make it known that, despite being raided by the RCMP numerous times since opening up shop three months ago - most recently on June 30 - they're not going anywhere. [continues 964 words]
The "Prince and Princess of Pot" will be in Campbell River to attend an information session July 20 in support of local marijuana dispensary Wee Medical and the issue of "reasonable access" to medical marijuana. The event will be attended by legalization activists Jodie and Marc Emery and comes on the heels of a second raid of the local marijuana dispensary. On June 30, the Campbell River Street Crime Unit executed a second search warrant at a business front in the 800 block of 13th Ave. In a press release, Campbell River RCMP said an investigation led by the Street Crime Unit revealed that the storefront continues to allegedly sell marijuana, marijuana extract and marijuana edibles to the public. [continues 413 words]
A festival celebrating marijuana will take place this weekend just east of Orillia, but details about the event remain somewhat hazy. Called Budstock 2016, the three-day event presented by Cannabispreneurs Production International (CPI) Promotions promises a range of activities along with live performances at a private farm location in Ramara Township. "It's a private show," said CPI founder Trevor Herbz, who declined to confirm whether that's his real last name or just a clever play on the pointy, leafed plant at the centre of the event that begins Friday and is free to CPI members. [continues 310 words]
Re "Marc Emery re-opens pot shop one day after raid" (June 25): Let's stop blaming the deadheads for trying to be enterprising by growing and selling their own weed. They don't think straight at the best of times. Justin Trudeau needs to wear this one, he let the genie out of the bottle, then does nothing to bring closure. Now we have anarchy on the streets. Let's quit taking selfies and deal with this issue now, since it was so damn important on the campaign trail. Quit downloading the burden onto local governments and police who are left to enforce a mess their federal leadership dropped on their lap. Alain Fournier Brampton ('Anarchy on the streets' is overstating it. Other than that, agreed) [end]
The Prince of Pot is calling for marijuana dispensaries to be governed under the same rules as food and plant businesses. Marc Emery flew to Toronto for the reopening of his Cannabis Culture franchise location on Queen St. W. Friday morning - a day after Toronto Police raided the business. "We don't believe it should have any more regulations than cucumbers or coffee or flowers," Emery said. "Every single Canadian who has a passion for marijuana should be entitled to go into business and serve the public and serve the demand." [continues 263 words]
Marc Emery Re-Opens Pot Shop One Day After Raid The Prince of Pot is calling for marijuana dispensaries to be governed under the same rules as food and plant businesses. Marc Emery flew to Toronto for the reopening of his Cannabis Culture franchise location on Queen St. W. Friday morning - a day after Toronto Police raided the business. "We don't believe it should have any more regulations than cucumbers or coffee or flowers," Emery said. "Every single Canadian who has a passion for marijuana should be entitled to go into business and serve the public and serve the demand." [continues 261 words]
The Prince of Pot is calling for marijuana dispensaries to be governed under the same rules as food and plant businesses. Marc Emery flew to Toronto for the reopening of his Cannabis Culture franchise location on Queen St. W. Friday morning - a day after Toronto Police raided the business. "We don't believe it should have any more regulations than cucumbers or coffee or flowers," Emery said. "Every single Canadian who has a passion for marijuana should be entitled to go into business and serve the public and serve the demand." [continues 264 words]
The hits keep coming for Toronto's pot shops. Cops raided four marijuana dispensaries on Thursday - the blitz comes almost one month after Toronto Police raided dozens of shops across the city. And Chief Mark Saunders delivered a blunt warning to any Hogtown bud businesses still operating when asked about these latest raids. "It's an ongoing investigation. I've never minced my words," Saunders said. "This is a result of what I said. If you have a dispensary open, your chances of going to court and being charged are very high, so I highly recommend that you stop." [continues 278 words]
Cannabis Culture Refuses To Be Bullied By Police Raids Pot advocates remain defiant after last week's police raids of weed shops with one Toronto dispensary even vowing to sell marijuana for recreational purposes. Cannabis Culture, 801 Queen St. W., flung open its doors on Friday - one day after police targeted 43 medical marijuana dispensaries in Toronto. "We do not want to force people to be sick or to fake illness or to pay a doctor for permission to access cannabis," said Jodie Emery, a spokesman for the Cannabis Culture brand. [continues 347 words]
Pot Dispensaries Still Selling Marijuana Pot advocates remain defiant after last week's police raids of weed shops with one Toronto dispensary even vowing to sell marijuana for recreational purposes. Cannabis Culture, 801 Queen St. W., flung open its doors on Friday - one day after police targeted 43 medical marijuana dispensaries in Toronto. "We do not want to force people to be sick or to fake illness or to pay a doctor for permission to access cannabis," said Jodie Emery, a spokesman for the Cannabis Culture brand. [continues 335 words]
Chief says many not clearly marked with contents in brownies TORONTO - "Genuine" health concerns and "significant" community complaints prompted a string of police raids on unregulated marijuana dispensaries across Toronto, the city's police chief explained Friday after being criticized by a number of residents for the action. Police Chief Mark Saunders emphasized that operation "Project Claudia" would not prevent anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana from accessing the drug. "I want to be very clear about our intentions," he said at a news conference that drew a mix of journalists and marijuana activists. [continues 507 words]
Police 'poorly handled' the event, PR expert says It was meant as a calm follow-up, to showcase drug seizures and justify the raids on pot dispensaries, complete with smashed door glass, of the day before. Instead, Friday's police news conference turned to turmoil as marijuana advocates hurled questions at Chief Mark Saunders while he laid out the figures of "Project Claudia." Officers hit 43 unlicensed marijuana dispensaries across the city Thursday. They slapped criminal charges on 90 dispensary owners and employees and confiscated more than 270 kilograms of pot. Among the spoils were $160,000 in cash, 127 kilograms of oils and spreads, and 142 kilograms of pot-infused cookies. [continues 615 words]
Marijuana advocates decry move as overkill TORONTO * The crackdown on pot dispensaries shows no signs of slowing - - not after Toronto police raided 43 of them in a single lunchtime swoop this week. Police issued a staggering set of charges in Thursday's citywide bust: 186 for possession for the purpose of trafficking and 71 for selling marijuana illegally. They also seized 924 kilograms of marijuana in all its forms, from dried weed, resin and hash to edibles, bars, oils and pills. They took $160,000 in cash. [continues 627 words]
Toronto's police chief defends actions, timing amid protests TORONTO - "Genuine" health concerns and "significant" community complaints prompted a string of police raids on unregulated marijuana dispensaries across Toronto, the city's police chief explained Friday after being criticized by a number of residents for the action. Police Chief Mark Saunders emphasized that the operation - dubbed Project Claudia - would not prevent anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana from accessing the drug. "I want to be very clear about our intentions," Saunders said at a news conference that drew a mix of journalists and marijuana activists. "Project Claudia is not an attack on the lawful production, distribution or purchasing of marijuana for medical purposes. It's the health concern. It is a genuine heath concern, because there is no regulatory process behind it." [continues 536 words]
Thursday's crackdown of 43 Toronto dispensaries is seen as heavy-handed, and some say they'll reopen Despite warnings from Toronto police and city officials that more charges could follow this week's massive pot-dispensary crackdown, some in the marijuana movement vowed that many busted storefronts would simply reopen - and be joined by new ones. Chris Cardozo, whose dispensary in Kensington Market, Toronto Holistic Cannabinoids, was among the 43 raided on Thursday across the city, said he would keep selling his products as long as he could. [continues 955 words]
Prince Of Pot On Mayor's Crackdown Canada's "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery says Mayor John Tory will pay a political price for pushing for a citywide crackdown on marijuana dispensaries. The Toronto Sun spoke with Emery Thursday hours after police raided dozens of dispensaries, seizing weed and shuttering many of the establishments. Here's what he had to say about the crackdown, the dispensaries themselves and Mayor Tory's political future: What is your reaction to this crackdown? "It's unfathomable because marijuana is a very safe substance. These dispensaries meet the demand of citizens who are there voting with their dollars and their feet to buy. There's no harm going on, there's no coercion." [continues 240 words]
For all it's cost him in money and liberty, Canada's voluble "prince of pot," Marc Emery, is still not about to hide his principles - or the light off the joints he sparks - under a bushel. In fact these days, as the federal government prepares to liberalize marijuana laws, are hugely gratifying for the country's best-known pot crusader and have him evangelizing at the same hectic pace. For most of Emery's quarter-century of activism, during which he saw the inside of 34 prisons, jails and institutions, it "looked like progress was moving awful slow for the price one has to pay," he told the Star in a recent interview. [continues 807 words]
Prince of Pot reports on the state of cannabis culture around the world - and why 2016 is a big year for bud - in the lead-up to this weekend's Toronto Global Marijuana March In Canada we're pretty spoiled when it comes to marijuana availability and price. Although we're likely to be the first nation to legalize every aspect of cannabis availability, we're part of a worldwide trend to legitimize and legalize cannabis. Costa Rica legalized medical marijuana on May 1 to go along with efforts already in bloom in that country to industrialize hemp production. [continues 647 words]
Mayor Lisa Helps is unhappy with the opening of a cannabis lounge in Victoria. However, its owner said the new business provides a much-needed service. Helps said she's "not OK" with The Green Ceiling, which provides a public place for pot puffing. She said the city is devising regulations that might put the kibosh on the enterprise, which opened its doors on April 18. The Green Ceiling is the first of its kind in the city, said Ashley Abraham, the 28-year-old owner. While it doesn't sell cannabis, the "vapour lounge" offers a coffee shop-style atmosphere for people wanting to smoke weed publicly. [continues 560 words]
Optimism mixed with thick clouds of pot smoke in downtown Vancouver last year as tens of thousands of people gathered for the annual "4-20" marijuana legalization rally under a massive banner featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's face on a rolling paper. But this year, the event's chief organizer, Jodie Emery, says that "inaction" by the newly elected federal Liberals makes the protest "more necessary than ever." "Last summer, I was joking I'm going to be out of work as an activist because we don't have debates anymore, there's no one fighting to keep it illegal," said Ms. Emery, who is the wife of "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery. "But fast forward to today and the mood is different." [continues 367 words]
Jodie Emery Says The Fight To Legalize Weed Is Heating Up Pot advocates in Vancouver have renewed fire in their bellies as the annual 4/20 protest moves to a new site Tuesday amid battles with the city and federal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's lack of progress on promised legalization and the City of Vancouver's aggressive regulatory crackdown on marijuana dispensaries (up to 100 businesses could face closure as of next week) means there's plenty to protest about at Sunset Beach, according to organizer Jodie Emery. [continues 456 words]
There's a whiff of change in the air, so to speak, says Grace McGregor. The board chair and Area C director for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) was speaking about the complex medical marijuana issue often splashed across the country in media headlines. The subject hit home last week when Brian Taylor, a Grand Forks councillor and long time medical cannabis activist, provided insight to the medical marijuana juggernaut in a presentation to regional directors during the Feb. 25 board meeting in Trail. [continues 997 words]
The debate that erupted this week over the relocation of the annual 420 protest has led me to this conclusion: Please, please make marijuana legal as quickly as possible so these people go away. Imagine, no need to gather by the thousands to demonstrate and demand their Jah-given right to get as baked as they please in public. No controversy over licences, permits, locations or smoking on beaches. Everyone can just stay home, order some extra pizza and scroll through Netflix. You may not even watch anything; just scroll. [continues 767 words]
The Kootenay chapter of Women Grow held an educational evening to 'connect, educate, and inspire the next generation of cannabis industry leaders' The Kootenay chapter of Women Grow, a cannabis advocacy organization already established in Vancouver and Toronto, hosted a well-attended educational evening at the Hume Hotel last week, aiming to "connect, educate,inspire and empower the next generation of cannabis industry leaders." "The war on drugs is ridiculous," keynote speaker Jim Leslie of the Kootenays Medicine Tree dispensary in Nelson told the crowd, which consisted of approximately 150 people. A ten-year veteran of Canada Border Services, he was on the frontlines of drug enforcement and was disillusioned by his time there. [continues 911 words]
Just 26 companies in Canada are licensed to grow or sell pot, and Health Canada is carefully controlling who can and cannot enter this changing landscape Is marijuana the next billion-dollar industry in Canada? If you ask people who work at medical-marijuana companies like Tweed and Hydropothecary - which have invested millions of dollars to comply with Health Canada's strict rules governing medical marijuana - the answer is, "we sure hope so." Last month, on Nov. 13, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould a mandate letter asking her to work with the public safety and health ministers to "create a federal-provincial-territorial process that will lead to the legalization and regulation of marijuana." [continues 2324 words]
Federal Liberal Pledge to Make Marijuana Legal Sparks Distribution Ideas TORONTO - Premier Kathleen Wynne says it would "make a lot of sense" for Ontario's government-run liquor stores to sell marijuana if the federal Liberals make good on their promise to legalize pot. The new federal government's throne speech this month included a pledge to "legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana," following up on a pledge by Justin Trudeau's Liberals. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which has 650 stores and a virtual monopoly on alcohol sales, has the experience and expertise to sell legalized marijuana in a responsible way, Wynne said Monday. [continues 390 words]
As B.C.'s largest union and the province's liquor stores join to pitch a plan to sell legal pot in booze outlets, critics warn it'll lead to a marijuana monopoly The ballots were barely counted on federal election night when British Columbia's largest union began planning its pitch to sell legal marijuana in liquor stores. "On Oct. 19, after the election results, that's when we first started having informal conversations about it with our senior staff," said Stephanie Smith, president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union. [continues 807 words]
Throne speech vow first urged in 1972 OTTAWA - It has taken more than 40 years, but the government of Canada is finally formally committing to legalizing marijuana. Gov. Gen. David Johnston delivered the governing priorities of Justin Trudeau's Liberals in the speech from the throne Friday, including a pledge to "legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana." The Liberals promised to legalize pot more than a year ago, prompting a months-long barrage of Conservative attack ads in multiple languages that asserted the move would make marijuana readily available to children through sales at corner stores. [continues 459 words]
The Vancouver Sun's Tiffany Crawford looks at five priorities in B.C. that Justin Trudeau has promised to tackle as prime minister: 1. MARIJUANA The Liberals have promised to legalize marijuana for recreational use, arguing that too many young Canadians end up with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug. Trudeau has not said how soon legalization will happen because first the government will need to figure out how to tax and regulate weed. He said it could take a year or two before it is made legal. Legalization has been a hot election topic in Vancouver, home to Prince of Pot and legalization activist Marc Emery, who spent five years in a U.S. prison for selling marijuana seeds on the Internet. This year's annual 4/20 legalization rally drew an estimated 20,000 people to downtown Vancouver. [continues 126 words]
