There may be as much as a billion dollars in tax revenue at stake as Canada readies for legalized marijuana next summer.

The cut for cities? So far, zero. Municipalities may be left in the cold when it comes to sharing in the cash from legalized pot sales, with the federal government proposing a 10 per cent excise tax - or $1 per gram, whichever is higher - to be split evenly between the provinces and the feds.

Little has been said about how many, if any, tax dollars will flow to cities bearing the burden of costs associated with policing, licensing and enforcement of marijuana sales after July 1.

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$1 per gram plan revealed, but premier says provinces will carry an unfair burden

OTTAWA- The federal government formally rolled out details Friday of its tax plan for legalized marijuana, proposing a combined federal-provincial excise tax capped at 10 per cent, or $1 per gram, with the revenue haul split equally with provinces.

In documents that urge a "co-ordinated approach" between federal and provincial/territorial governments, Ottawa implicitly acknowledged that provinces could move to set excise taxes higher, but said that would fail to keep black market producers out.

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Re: Kitchener among first cities to get LCBO-run pot shop? - Nov. 4

Why promote cannabis in Ontario? What has happened to the no-smoking publicity that we have been bombarded with over the past several decades; the hazards of smoking related to cancer, lung disease etc.? Legislation has been passed to hide cigarettes in stores and put frightening pictures on cigarette packages. No smoking in public places laws have been passed.

Now our government is encouraging young and old people to smoke marijuana, cannabis or weed. We're going to open stores to sell this stuff. Of course it will be controlled by our government. Who's going to profit from this business venture?

Haven't we experienced the death of a loved one or friend who was afflicted with cancer? Put a stop to this stupidity. Do some research. Google the hazards of cannabis. Speak up. Talk to your children.

Ron Wagner

Elmira

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Mayor Dan Mathieson said it was to be expected that Stratford wasn't included in the first wave of municipalities chosen by the province to have government-run marijuana outlets by next year.

But more information will be needed from upper levels of governments, he added, to determine the real impacts the rollout of the proposed legislation will have in the city and whether not being included in the first wave was a positive or negative development.

The province announced last week the first cities where the province will open stand-alone LCBO-like stores that will be authorized to sell pot.

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A workshop to help employers get ready for coming changes in Canada's marijuana laws is being offered Nov. 21 in Sarnia.

The half-day Cannabis and the Workplace session, set to begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Lambton College Residence and Event Centre, is being organized by the Sarnia Lambton Workplace Wellness steering committee.

The cost is $49 per person, and participants must register in advance online at bit.do/ cannabis workplace.

"We've heard from employers that they're concerned about the coming legalization of cannabis," said committee chairperson Martina Jackson, a health promoter for Lambton public health.

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SIMCOE - A marijuana patch wound up costing Norfolk County $76,100 during last summer's toxic gas well emergency in Silver Hill.

Staff from the Ministry of the Environment stumbled across the marijuana while setting up air-quality monitoring equipment on North Walsingham Road 10.

Because of the marijuana, MOE determined that the site was potentially dangerous. MOE monitoring equipment and technicians were removed to a location on the edge of the "hot zone." They could not be convinced to find a location closer to the offending gas wells.

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Re: "Feds want to tax weed at $1 per gram plus GST," Nov. 10.

When Justin Trudeau first floated his plan to legalize marijuana, he claimed this was the best way to keep it away from young people, who are at great risk, by cutting out blackmarket sales.

Now, with his plan to reap revenue through heavy taxes, Trudeau is ensuring organized crime groups will become involved in illicit sales of the drug.

High taxes on cigarettes have had the same illicit sales results.

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Wayne Thomson hopes his fellow city councillors will support a resolution he plans to bring forward at a Nov. 28 meeting calling on the province to set up a pot shop in Niagara Falls.

"That would increase our visitation substantially, create all kinds of jobs, and really be an economic opportunity for us," said the veteran politician and chairman of Niagara Falls Tourism.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which will run new marijuana stores through a subsidiary, recently announced the first 14 cities where legal pot shops will be located when recreational marijuana becomes legal next July.

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Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice, and the public health consequences of legalized marijuana.

Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle. I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians may become more inclined to self-medicate with this drug.

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Canada's response to the opioid crisis has been fragmented and marginally effective at best. We deserve a better approach, and the answers are out there. Other countries are effectively dealing with the issue and Canada should be more open to learning from them. There are several key steps we can take to ensure Canadians with addiction can lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.

First, we need to recognize this is actually a crisis. Do you remember SARS and how it impacted every Canadian with a focused response from our public health teams? Forty-four Canadians died from SARS. How about AIDS at its peak in 1995? We all were aware of the crisis and as Canadians we worked together diligently to help. That year about 1,400 people died from AIDS. Compare this to over 2,400 Canadians dying from opioid overdoses in 2016 and the number likely to double in 2017.

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Mayor Chris Friel says he isn't surprised that Brantford is not among the first Ontario cities selected to have legal marijuana stores by next July.

"All of the cities on the list have had problems with illegal dispensaries," Friel said Monday.

"I could have told you which cities would be on the list before it was released by the LCBO," he said,

"The provincial government wants to target those communities and it's also looking to maximize profit."

Last February, Brantford police twice raided a Cannabis Culture outlet on Colborne Street West. But the mayor said, unlike some other municipalities, Brantford hasn't had problems with illegal dispensaries because the city acted to ban them.

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MOONBEAM - The town has snuffed out a request to amend its business licensing bylaw in order to accommodate a medical marijuana dispensary within the municipality.

Robert Neron, a long-time user and advocate of medical marijuana, made a presentation to town council Monday night, with the hopes of opening a marijuana dispensary in Moonbeam by the spring of 2018.

Mayor Gilles Audet told The Daily Press there were several reasons behind council's decision to deny the request.

The general feeling around the council table, Audet explained, was that Neron should be directing his request to a higher authority of government.

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There are still some big questions and concerns to figure out before July 1

The end of Prohibition gave birth to the LCBO nearly a century ago.

Now the legalization of marijuana is giving rise to the OCRC: Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation.

That's about as awkward an acronym - if not anachronism - as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. While today's LCBO has become a brand in its own right, it's fair to say the OCRC will never become a household word.

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Time is running out for Ontario's marijuana plan

Ontario's planning for distribution of recreational marijuana is being done by the seat of the government's pants, says Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.

On Friday the Ontario government announced the first 14 communities where LBCO marijuana outlets would be located. Their target is for 40 outlets to open by July 2018 to mach the federal government's date for legalization of recreational marijuana.

As of July 2019 80 stores will be open and in 2020 there will be 150 across the province.

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Lone province pot pusher is the Ont. gov't!

The fix is in and it's only a matter of time until the city's marijuana dispensaries are forced out of business by the new pusher in town - the Ontario government.

New legislation announced Nov. 1 by the province, as it prepares to open 150 marijuana stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, includes massive fines and serious jail time for selling weed illegally once the federal government legalizes cannabis in 2018.

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Vendors hope to inform and educate

THOUSANDS of people streamed into Winnipeg's first-ever HempFest Cannabis Expo this weekend to listen to presentations by industry leaders and check out exhibits set up by cannabis and hemp businesses from around the country.

More than 60 businesses tabled the expo, which was held Saturday and Sunday at the RBC Convention Centre. Organizers estimated that about 15 per cent of the businesses were Manitoba-based.

"It's to give a platform for businesses to connect with people who are hungry for information. Maybe they're interested in medical cannabis and they don't know where to go or what to ask," event organizer Sacha Hockenhull said.

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Local LCBO employees who belong to OPSEU are excited and anxious for Kingston to get its own government-run marjiuana store.

"In my 13 years I never thought this would happen, but I'm excited," Teresa Graham, president of OPSEU Local 497, said. Graham spoke with the Whig-Standard Sunday morning, before her first shift as a fulltime employee with the LCBO.

"All we've been told is that there is one coming to Kingston, it's going to be a standalone store, not in the LCBO, run by OPSEU members."

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Years ago, when Justin Trudeau stepped onto a platform in a Vancouver park and proclaimed through a cloud of sweet-smelling haze that a federal Liberal government would legalize marijuana, there was much excitement within the cannabis community.

With last week's announcement by Trudeau's provincial Liberal cousins, the realities of draconian regulation in Ontario have resulted in the crushing disappointment of those long-forgotten high hopes.

For recreational users, smoking will only be permitted in private residences. Puffing at work, on university campuses, on patios, sidewalks or parks, will all remain prohibited.

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Opposition support unclear after Liberal attorney general tables bill on marijuana sales

It remains hazy whether the opposition parties at Queen's Park will back the provincial Liberal government's legislation for recreational marijuana.

Attorney General Yasir Naqvi last Wednesday tabled the Cannabis Act, the blueprint for how and where marijuana will be sold in Ontario after the federal government legalizes it July 1.

Naqvi's bill creates the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (OCRC), an LCBO subsidiary that will control online sales and operate 40 stand-alone weed shops as of next summer. That number will rise to 150 by 2020.

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Small pot shops know their days are numbered

The fix is in and it's only a matter of time until the city's marijuana dispensaries are forced out of business by the new pusher in town - the Ontario government.

New legislation unveiled last week - as the province prepares to open 150 marijuana stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario - includes hefty fines and jail time for selling weed illegally once the federal government legalizes cannabis in July, 2018.

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