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.

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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."

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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.

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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).

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Predicting a "mess" of traffic chaos and policing problems when the province opens a cannabis retail store in Windsor, Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac Monday called for the city to have some input on the location.

Her motion, passed by council, involves expressing concerns about increased policing demands and making the province aware the city has a designated entertainment district downtown where there is already a beefed-up police presence.

"I'm expressing concern that I want to make sure it's done right," she said.

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Keewatin-Patricia public school board trustees not up for blowing smoke

Legalized marijuana concerns public school board trustees. With the legalization of marijuana closer to becoming a reality the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is concerned how the new law could impact its students.

During the Dec. 12 monthly board meeting the educational aspect of the topic was brought up, though everyone agreed to wait until the Ministry of Education provides some direction on how to proceed with the issue. Many of the board members expressed concern students might acquire the stimulant "off the streets" since they wouldn't be of legal age to purchase it in stores.

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Narcotics back in the day were more a nuisance than anything else.

Local police would regularly arrest people for possession of marijuana. Sometimes something more exotic like psychedelic mushrooms would materialize.

The situation became more of a concern when cocaine and its derivatives appeared on the scene. Then came methamphetamine and opioids such as Oxycontin and hydromorphone.

Heroin was never an issue locally like it has been in urban areas.

Instead, rural areas like Norfolk and Haldimand skipped straight to more problematic substances such as fentanyl and carfentanil. These powerful synthetic opioids have caused the number of drug overdose deaths in Canada to skyrocket in recent months.

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Bill C-45 is horrible legislation which will not achieve its objectives and should never see the light of day. The Senate will do its job and thoroughly study the Bill, but Canadians will be well-served if it is defeated, writes Alberta Senator Betty Unger.

It's difficult to remember the last time the federal government and the provinces came to an agreement on revenue sharing in a single day. But that's what happened last week when the feds agreed to give the provinces 75 per cent of tax revenue generated by the sale of marijuana.

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Chief's comments come after confirmation that constable died from fentanyl overdose

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders says he's actively looking at drug testing for officers in the wake of a constable's fentanyl overdose death this year.

"I don't want to lose any officers to anything, especially drugs of any kind and if there are things that we can do to reduce that, then I'm very interested in that," Saunders said Tuesday during a year-end interview.

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Medical officer of health expects regulations will evolve

Chatham-Kent's medical officer of health is remaining neutral on a provincially operated cannabis store slated to open next year.

However, Dr. David Colby admits he's intrigued by how it might play out in the communities that were announced as part of the first phase.

"It will be very interesting to see how society reacts to this," he told The Daily News on Thursday.

It was recently announced that Chatham-Kent will have a retail cannabis store by July of next year.

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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.

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'A year of growth … year of finding our feet'

WATERLOO REGION - When police chief Bryan Larkin talks about harm reduction and being more humane with the drug user, he gets pushback.

When he suggests supervised injection sites may be an alternative to help users take their drugs safely and the site will save lives, he gets pushback.

And when he flies the Pride flag at police headquarters, he gets pushback. In each case, he gets criticism from people in the community and sometimes from officers, too.

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Where have all the dirty needles gone? Mayor's efforts have made a difference

This past Thursday, on a wickedly cold afternoon, I combed the same Yonge-Dundas Sts.-area alleyways where dirty needles have proliferated, particularly since the opening of Toronto's first harm-reduction site.

While we saw plenty of drug paraphernalia buried in the snow - orange needle caps, blue gloves, water bottles used as bongs and even remnants of a Naloxone kit - we found no needles.

Perhaps the cold contributed to the fact that patrons of The Works on Victoria St. are not shooting up outside. However, Mayor John Tory's cleanup efforts appear to be working.

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Is Ontario keeping too tight a lid on pot?

Premier Kathleen Wynne faced that question at a town hall meeting Wednesday night in Brampton, where about 250 citizens - some with anger in their voices - grilled her about high local auto-insurance rates, health care, workers' compensation, the Tarion new home warranty system, the rising minimum wage, the recent five-week community college strike and other issues.

"Can we not have the private sector?" one young man asked as the clock ticks down to the legalization of marijuana across Canada on July 1.

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Re Legal pot set to cost $10 a gram, Dec. 12

It is clear that the legalization of marijuana will fail its stated objectives and we are on track for another costly boondoggle that will implicate the health and well-being of Canadian society for many years to come.

The stated objectives are to keep cannabis out of the hands of children and to keep profits out of the hands of organized crime. Legalization will achieve neither. Legalizing something legitimizes it. Children will now see marijuana as a safe legal product denied to them only due to their age.

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TORONTO - Ontario adolescents are drinking, smoking and using cannabis and other recreational drugs at the lowest rates since the late 1970s, suggests a biennial survey of Grade 7 to 12 students by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

But the 2017 survey released Thursday turned up a disturbing finding: almost one per cent of respondents in Grades 9 to 12 reported having taken illicit fentanyl in the previous year, raising a red flag given the opioid's involvement in hundreds of overdose deaths across the country.

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Politicians voice their concerns over 'little information' available, possible impact on community

A number of York Region mayors have come out against proposed marijuana stores in their municipalities.

East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson has joined regional colleagues Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow and Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti in speaking out against the possibility of a marijuana dispensary coming to the municipality.

"My concern at this point is there is so little information about what it would look like. What are rules and regulations?" Hackson said.

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The legalization of marijuana promises to provide governments with a tidy little windfall. That's the dirty secret the country's finance ministers didn't want to talk about when they were cutting up the cash this week. But it's true.

To hear the provinces talk, you'd think legalized cannabis would be nothing but a drain on their revenues. They complain that the legal pot regime will be more costly to police than the current illegal one - - without exactly explaining why.

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With the Ontario government passing legislation Tuesday that paves the way for the government-run sale of recreational marijuana starting in July, the search is on for a ready-to-go store in Windsor.

According to a City of Windsor staff report going to council Monday, the list of requirements for this store, run by an LCBO subsidiary, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp., include a standalone operation, apart from the LCBO's alcohol operations; 2,500 square feet of space at a location that's already properly zoned for retail; a location that's near to a Transit Windsor bus route; an existing space instead of new construction; and a location that's not located close to schools, addiction treatment centres, mental-health facilities and emergency shelters.

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Brantford on list of 14 cities announced by the province

Brantford is getting a government-run marijuana store after all.

The city is on a list of 15 cities announced Tuesday by the government.

The stores will sell marijuana for recreational use.

Officials confirmed Tuesday that the city has been identified for the location of at least one cannabis retail store by next July, the same month the federal government plans to legalize cannabis. Brantford was not on a list announced in November of 14 cities chosen to host pot shops.

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