Heather D'Alessio remembers drug education in high school that consisted mainly of dire warnings about the consequences of using any of them. She was smoking pot by Grade 9, so she disregarded the advice. "Most of the time, they would give us these fact sheets on cannabis. Then we'd all take it out to the corner and get high and laugh at it because we thought it was stupid." Who uses cannabis? Governments and public health advocates are now launching new education campaigns to warn young people about the health risks of marijuana, which will soon be legal across Canada. [continues 1132 words]
Cannabis Culture, a former pot shop on Bank Street, lost a court bid to have its eviction overturned. Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin ruled the landlord was justified in terminating the lease because the dispensary was operating in contravention of both its rental lease and federal law. The landlord posted an eviction notice on the door of the illegal dispensary in December and called a bailiff to change the locks. Cannabis Culture appealed to the Superior Court of Justice to reinstate the lease so it could continue to operate. [continues 367 words]
Ontario's attorney general has warned that illegal marijuana dispensaries will be closed across the province, but potpreneurs in Ottawa don't seem to be getting the message. At least 19 pot shops are still operating in the city, with a couple opening in the past few weeks. At one of the new stores, Cannada's Culture on Baseline Road, plans are afoot to open a lounge, too, where consumers could smoke or vape weed. One of the rooms inside is reserved for the lounge, but it's unclear when it will open, said Leanne Wilson. She was working behind a desk in the lobby, screening a steady stream of customers to make sure they were 19 and followed the security rules before entering the locked room where the cannabis is stored. "Cellphones in pocket, ( ball) caps on backwards, please," she called out. [continues 335 words]
Most charged in raids were 'budtenders', along with some managers and owners An Ottawa judge has discharged drug-trafficking charges against a young clerk who worked at a marijuana dispensary but said she didn't realize the business was illegal. The woman was only 21, had no criminal record, has accepted responsibility and expressed remorse, and is at low risk of reoffending, Justice Norman Boxall said in his sentencing decision. Selena Holder-Zirbser is one of about 44 people who have been charged in police raids on illegal shops in Ottawa. She says she took the $12-an-hour job because she needed to pay her rent. [continues 732 words]
The fight by a popular Bank Street marijuana dispensary to stay in business has taken an intriguing twist. Cannabis Culture closed in December after the frustrated landlord evicted his tenants, who were selling marijuana obtained from the black market. Now the operators of Cannabis Culture have filed a court application demanding their lease be honoured so they can get back to operating their illegal business. The lawsuit might be an indication that some dispensaries are digging in for a fight with authorities as the country gets closer to the legalization of recreational marijuana, expected this summer. The province has vowed to shut down the dispensaries as it prepares to open legal pot shops run by a subsidiary of the LCBO. [continues 645 words]
Quilt of marijuana laws emerging across Canada as provinces refine the details Ottawa lawyer Trina Fraser says someone should invent an app called "Am I Breaking the Law?" to help Canadians navigate the confusion when recreational marijuana becomes legal. Pot smokers could type in their age, location, the amount and type of marijuana they possess, where they bought it and where they plan to consume it, then press a button to find out if they are in danger of being collared by police. [continues 1425 words]
Ontario's proposal to allow people to consume marijuana in hotel rooms opens the door to a boom in cannabis tourism, says lawyer Matt Mauer. Mauer heads the cannabis law group at Minden Gross in Toronto and says he knows businesspeople who are interested in opening cannabis-friendly hotels and resorts. Mauer says he was surprised by the province's proposal to loosen up the ban on consuming cannabis anywhere other than private homes. The government has also asked for public comments on whether to allow cannabis lounges. [continues 760 words]
Watson voices concern about promoting smoking and putting workers at risk Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he won't support creation of cannabis lounges in the city, an idea being floated by the provincial government as the country heads toward legalizing recreational pot. "As the former Minister of Health Promotion, Mayor Watson does not want to make it easier for people to smoke any substance, including cannabis, in lounges," said a statement from Watson's office. "This would also put the health of workers at risk by inhaling second-hand smoke." [continues 616 words]
City asks LCBO to keep cannabis out of disadvantaged districts As the LCBO scouts the city for places to open cannabis stores, City of Ottawa planners have asked the agency to avoid neighbourhoods that are "experiencing socio-economic stress." Staff declined to elaborate on which neighbourhoods should be off-limits. But the request raises the question of whether residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods should be protected - or excluded, depending on your point of view - from having a legal cannabis store. The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, a subsidiary of the LCBO, is asking municipalities for advice as it selects sites for the 40 shops it plans to open when the federal government legalizes recreational marijuana. That's expected in July. [continues 827 words]
Province publishes legislation for public input Ontario is considering licensing lounges where people can consume marijuana when the drug becomes legal across Canada, according to regulations published by the province for public comment. The province also wants the public to weigh in on the idea of apartment and condo owners being allowed to designate areas outside where residents could smoke or vape. The proposals modify the province's plan to ban marijuana use in all public places, essentially restricting people to consuming it at home. Critics have pointed out problems with that approach. Children could potentially be exposed to second-hand smoke and vapour in their homes. And apartment and condo dwellers who live in no-smoking buildings would have no place to consume cannabis. [continues 363 words]
Fed-up landlord cracks down Ontario's threat of huge fines or jail time for landlords who rent to illegal pot shops has spurred at least one in Ottawa to take quick action, in the latest chapter of Canada's move to legalize and regulate weed. Police arrived at the popular Cannabis Culture dispensary on Bank Street on Thursday morning with a bailiff, who changed the locks and posted a notice on the door saying the lease was being terminated. Five people working inside were released without charge, according to staff who gathered outside. [continues 1438 words]
Judge blasts Ottawa cops for arresting 'budtenders' while pot shops flourish An Ottawa judge has blasted the police force for failing to shut down the city's illegal marijuana dispensaries. Justice Norman Boxall said Friday he cannot understand why it's so difficult to close shops that operate openly on major streets. "I just don't understand how the police cannot shut down a dispensary where the person has a big sign up, as I drive down Rideau St', that says 'marijuana dispensary.' They brag about it on the Internet that they are selling it. [continues 557 words]
An Ottawa judge has blasted the police force for failing to shut down the city's illegal marijuana dispensaries. Justice Norman Boxall said Friday he can't understand why it's so difficult to close shops that operate openly on major streets. "I just don't understand how the police cannot shut down a dispensary where the person has a big sign up, as I drive down Rideau Street, that says 'marijuana dispensary.' They brag about it on the internet that they are selling it. [continues 431 words]
Is the word marijuana racist? It's a long-standing debate in the cannabis world, but the question is now slipping into the mainstream as the drug is on the edge of becomingly legal for recreational use. Many people aren't aware of the history of the term marijuana, which is linked to campaigns in the U.S. in the 1930s to demonize the plant by associating it with Mexican immigrants. Halifax Coun. Shawn Cleary recently created controversy when he declared he would no longer use the word. "Let's do what we can to not perpetuate racism," he said on Twitter. [continues 502 words]
The name of the government agency that will sell pot to Ontario has been revealed: the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But neither does LCBO, the name of the provincial liquor monolith that sells us whiskey and wine. That acronym is so well known in Ontario that today no one bothers to spell it out. Will the acronym for the new marijuana agency - OCRC - become just as familiar? It has a certain slurry symmetry. It could lend itself to a nickname. How about "Ock-Rock," suggests Trina Fraser, an Ottawa lawyer who specializes in cannabis business law. [continues 633 words]
The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Gloucester has apologized after emails were accidentally sent to 24 patients that revealed the names and addresses of all the store's customers. "Some people were obviously upset, for good reason," said Charlie Cloutier, owner of Greenworks Medicinal on Canotek Road. Staff phoned all the people who received the email to apologize and ask them to delete it, he said. The email contained the names and addresses of about 250 people who are registered customers at Greenworks. [continues 348 words]
Ottawa police have staged another raid on an illegal marijuana dispensary, charging two people at the CannaGreen on Armstrong Street across from the Parkdale Market with drug trafficking. "We continue to stress that there is no 'grey area' when it comes to storefront marijuana dispensaries," said a statement from Staff Sgt. Rick Carey. "They are and will continue to be illegal operations." The raid conducted Friday appears to be part of a renewed effort by police to close down the city's illegal pot shops. On Oct. 3 police raided Cannabis Culture on Bank St., Dr. Greenthumb on Montreal Road and several outdoor grow-ops, arresting eight people. Both shops re-opened. [continues 115 words]
Plan for legalized sales included warning that rogue shops would be shut down Last month Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi declared war on the province's illegal pot shops, and this week Ottawa police ramped up efforts to shut down the illegal businesses. Police swooped down on the busy Cannabis Culture store on Bank Street, the Dr. Greenthumb on Montreal Road and "several" outdoor grow ops on Tuesday, arresting eight people. "The provincial government has made it clear that independent storefronts will not be part of a legal framework in Ontario," said Staff Sgt. Rick Carey of the Ottawa police drug unit in a news release. "These storefronts are now and will continue to be illegal operations and property owners need to be aware that they could face serious repercussions for allowing them to continue to operate." [continues 731 words]
Employees jeer drug squad, SWAT team Police raided one of the city's busiest pot shops on Tuesday, hauling away five clerks in handcuffs while a handful of demonstrators jeered. It's the second time the Cannabis Culture dispensary on Bank Street near Gladstone Avenue has been raided. The illegal shop closed for a day last March after police arrested five clerks for drug trafficking and hauled away the dried weed, cannabis concentrates and oils on sale. On Tuesday, drug squad officers in balaclavas, the SWAT team and uniformed officers arrived at the shop not long after it opened at 10 a.m. [continues 379 words]
If Ontarians, 18, can buy pot in Quebec, they'll need to find a place to smoke it Ottawa 18-year-olds have for years gleefully evaded Ontario's age requirement of 19 to buy alcohol by making a short trip across the Ottawa River to drink legally in Quebec. Now that provincial age discrepancy appears likely to be replicated for pot smokers, too, with reports the Quebec government intends to set the legal age for buying marijuana at 18. Ontario has already announced an age of 19 to buy or possess pot when it's legalized by the federal government. That's also Ontario's legal drinking age. [continues 574 words]
