A Corporate Research Associates (CRA) survey last week probably sent chills down the spines of finance ministers and premiers in Atlantic Canada. After they left Ottawa earlier in the week with a lucrative tax-sharing deal on the sale of legalized marijuana, their visions of windfall revenues were quickly dashed with a reality check. The CRA survey suggests that 20 per cent of Atlantic Canadians plan to buy pot once it becomes legal July 1. It's about the same percentage that uses pot today - illegally. [continues 408 words]
Mayor Valerie Plante said she had a 'very good' first meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the two discussing pot legalization and her Pink Line vision. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante declared she had a "very good" first meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday - an opportunity she used to discuss the imminent legalization of marijuana as well as public transit. Speaking to reporters at city hall afterward, Plante said she was reassured by Trudeau's remarks on the legalization of marijuana, scheduled for July 1. [continues 223 words]
OTTAWA - A new Health Canada survey shows that Canadians are hazy on the risks of driving high. Only half of respondents who had consumed cannabis in the past year felt that marijuana use affects driving, according to the Canadian Cannabis Survey, released Tuesday, compared with 75 per cent of all respondents. Another 24 per cent said it depends, while 19 per cent said cannabis doesn't affect driving. Of those who had used marijuana in the last 12 months, 39 per cent said they had driven within two hours of consuming cannabis at some point in their lives. Forty per cent of those said they had done it in the previous 30 days, and 15 per cent said they had driven after using cannabis in combination with alcohol. Only two per cent reported an interaction with police related to driving under the influence. [continues 403 words]
During his election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana if we chose him as our leader. That day is near, and marijuana might be legalized on Canada Day 2018. Such a decision should not be taken lightly. Our country is not ready for this change. To clarify, I don't want to come across as cynical. I know that medical marijuana has its place in treating patients with chronic or terminal illness. I also don't agree with throwing people in jail for carrying small amounts for personal use. I see this as a waste of time, money and resources. At the same time, however, I don't think that the legalization of marijuana is what our country needs. And I certainly don't think it will make our country healthier, happier or safer. The decision to legalize marijuana has implications for health, society and our youth. [continues 467 words]
McDonald believes production facility should be located in rural area St. Anthony Mayor Desmond McDonald believes the province's marijuana production facility should be located in a rural area. He also sees opportunities for business with the province's plan to legalize marijuana. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced on Dec. 8 that it has signed a deal to lock in a supply of cannabis and cannabis products from Canadian company Canopy Growth, ahead of the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in July 2018. [continues 311 words]
Everyone knows what use of marijuana does. Ability to focus changes for worst, ability to multi task changes for worst, performance and speed of work changes for worst. Willpower diminished and so on. So as a small-business owner (restaurant), now I will have to pay more for minimum wage, and actually might get less work done with someone with dumb grin on his face and a large appetite. How about the medical profession, medical labs and professions, where accuracy and attention to detail is crucial? And if someone decides to fire that particular employee, I can already imagine the labour board taking sides with that employee and filling lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Thanks, Justin. Mike Soch (Why would you assume employees are going to get high for work? Do they currently get hammered?) [end]
Governments raise a lot of revenue by taxing alcohol and tobacco. Now they are turning their sights on cannabis. A lot of young people think that using marijuana is a good thing. But, like any drug, cannabis can lead to addiction and ruin a person's life, all because our greedy government wants the tax money. Alan Morris Brantford [end]
Billions of dollars have been spent by Canadian governments dissuading young people from taking up tobacco use, and it is finally having a positive effect. Therefore, now making an even more dangerous and addictive drug, legal, certainly will require public education aimed at parents and young children. With studies in the U.K., U.S.A. and by the Canadian Medical Association all conclusively showing young people using cannabis run a greatly enhanced risk of suffering psychosis and other mental issues later in life, education should have preceded legalization. Larry Comeau, Ottawa [end]
Re: "Irksome issues around cannabis legalization," Licia Corbella, Opinion, Dec. 16. Canadians need to be surveyed on far more marijuana harms than just the risk of driving marijuana impaired. Health Canada has identified conditions for which the use of marijuana is strictly contraindicated. Our country's health watchdog advises men to avoid the use of marijuana if they want to start a family. How many Canadians understand the science that links marijuana to a heightened probability of testicular cancer, sterility and damage to DNA? How many Canadians are aware of the scientific evidence that suggests marijuana can negatively impact pre- and post-natal development? Such warnings, provided from Health Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use, are not the rantings of reefer madness, but rather, statements by highly regarded institutions. Pamela McColl, Vancouver [end]
Province releases first decisions on cannabis regulation after public engagement After receiving input from 48,951 British Columbians and submissions from 141 local and Indigenous governments and other interested stakeholders, the provincial government made some decisions on the anticipated legalization of non-medical cannabis in July 2018. On Dec. 5, the NDP government announced the following policy decisions: Minimum age The Province will set the minimum age to possess, purchase and consume cannabis at 19 years old. A minimum age of 19 is consistent with B.C.'s minimum age for alcohol and tobacco and with the age of majority in B.C. [continues 671 words]
Re: "Public health supports legalization of marijuana," Dec. 16. The problem with having one's head in the sand is that you can't open your eyes! It is concerning that our local public health unit supports the legal sale of marijuana to those over the age of 18 years of age, yet at the same time it acknowledges that regular marijuana use for those under the age of 25 years will reduce the cognitive functioning of their still-developing brain. Quite the contradiction. It is almost as if the health unit is of the mindset that once marijuana use becomes legal, fewer of our young adults with indulge. [continues 169 words]
Most Albertans support the provincial government's proposed regulations for legalized marijuana, according to a new Insights West poll. Almost two-thirds of respondents to the online poll agree with the decision to prevent pot stores from selling alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals, while 77 per cent favour setting 18 as the legal age for buying marijuana. While 60 per cent of Albertans support legalization, up five percentage points since a national poll done in October 2016, the poll found a split along party lines. [continues 310 words]
The recent announcement by the provincial government that marijuana use will be restricted to private residences to help limit its impact on communities and public health ignores the rights of children to protection from second-hand smoke in their homes. Marijuana smoke is a recognized carcinogen and as with exposure to tobacco smoke, can cause serious health risks for those involved. Nearly one-third of deaths from tobacco second-hand smoke exposure are children, many of whom are infants. Pamela McColl, Vancouver [end]
The federal Liberal Trudeau government has been exposed as to why marijuana is being legalized, so called. The feds and provinces have been busy "cutting up the cash" to pay for the new healthcare and policing expenses which will be generated by the "weed." Why generate the need for new expenses by the indiscriminate use of marijuana? Governments have gone mad. Garth E. Staples, Charlottetown [end]
Statistics Canada has tackled a tricky but important question: how much marijuana have Canadians been consuming in the years leading up to 2018's intended legalization of the stuff? This is the kind of thing that hard scientists and engineers call a "Fermi problem," named in honour of the Italian-American nuclear pioneer Enrico Fermi. Our data on the collective consumption of marijuana are pretty sparse. We don't have an easy way to infer the total volume of consumption for the whole country. But as a practical matter we need some estimate, even if we think consumption will double, or halve, when pot is legalized. Investors are gambling on the existence of a marijuana market, measured in dollars, and on some figure for total national demand, measured in tonnes. [continues 782 words]
Fines, probation for Marc and Jodie Emery TORONTO * Prominent pot activists Jodie and Marc Emery have been fined and placed on probation after pleading guilty to a number of drug- related charges in a Toronto court. Marc Emery, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot," pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking marijuana and possession of proceeds of crime more than $5,000. Jodie Emery pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000. [continues 491 words]
CAMBRIDGE - An innovative new peer-based pilot project will be launched in Cambridge early next year with the aim of curbing improper needle disposal in the community. The project is a partnership between Region of Waterloo Public Health, which will provide funding, Sanguen Health Centre and the City of Cambridge. Along with removing needles through patrols and education, it will offer employment and skill development to people who have experienced substance abuse; they will be hired as the peer workers. "There is no harm in trying other methods to connect people and get them on board," said Violet Umanetz, Sanguen's outreach manager. "The peers do so well working in the community." [continues 538 words]
Canada is on pace to lose more than 4,000 people to opioid-related deaths this year - with about one-third of them in British Columbia, according to new figures from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The grim update was in a national report the federal government released on Monday. The report described the country's opioid crisis as "serious and growing," devastating families and communities nationwide. "Tragically, the data released today indicate that the crisis continues to worsen, despite the efforts from all levels of government and partners to reverse the trend," chief public health officer Theresa Tam and Nova Scotia chief medical officer of health Robert Strang, co-chairs of Canada's special advisory committee on opioids, said in a statement. [continues 517 words]
In the wake of a deadly opioid drug crisis that's killed hundreds in Ontario, London health officials are fast-tracking a pop-up, - -overdose-prevention site they want to have up and running by January. The stripped-down version of a supervised consumption site will give drug users a safer environment to inject. The location of the site, or the total number if there is more than one, hasn't been pinned down. But the plan is to have at least one as early as possible in 2018. [continues 747 words]
Officers fear SIU probe if they can't revive opioid OD victims with naloxone WINDSOR - The fear of officers getting into a legal jam for trying to save someone from an overdose has made the Windsor police service hesitant to embrace a medication that fights the effects of opioids. Police officials are not rushing to use naloxone, despite the province's offer to pay for it, because officers who try and fail to revive someone from an overdose would face an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). [continues 235 words]