In an interview with The Citizen last April during the 2017 provincial election, NDP leader John Horgan admitted that government and politicians are behind public sentiment when it comes to marijuana. Knowing it and saying it is one thing but Horgan, now the premier, still seems reluctant to act on it, based on the additional details on a provincial pot policy the NDP government announced Monday that will take effect once marijuana is legalized later this year. "Some may think that this work will end in July when non-medical cannabis is legalized by the federal government," Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said. "But the truth is our government will be dealing with this significant change in policy for years to come." [continues 652 words]
OTTAWA - Even as Justin Trudeau prepares to deliver on his promise to legalize recreational marijuana, Liberal MPs are pushing the government to eliminate criminal penalties for simple possession and consumption of all illicit drugs. The prime minister has so far drawn the line at pot legalization, but he's now being pressured to go much further in a resolution developed by the national Liberal caucus for consideration at the federal party's national policy convention in April in Halifax. It is one of 39 resolutions that the party opened up for online discussion Tuesday. [continues 551 words]
Marijuana, cannabis, pot, whatever you want to call it, it will become legal in Canada sometime this year following the U.S. where pot is legal in several states. I do not smoke pot or anything else. Two glasses of wine and I am asleep. I do get high though watching the Patriots and the Red Sox win. I am also asthmatic and any kind of smoke bothers me. There is a lot of kerfuffle going on and this is my take on this hot topic. [continues 554 words]
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris said the provincial government has made a good first step on regulating recreational marijuana use, but the issue is complex and a lot of work remains to be done. On Tuesday, the NDP government unveiled plans which will set the minimum age for marijuana use at 19, see recreational marijuana distributed through the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch and pledged to develop a retail model with both public and private sellers (see related story). "I'm glad to see they've arranged for a point for the distribution," Morris said. "There needs to be strict controls who whoever grows it. They need to control the quality... and the THC content of the drug. Public health is one of the big concerns we had." [continues 636 words]
Re: "Smoking pot hard on health." The reason that "disparate points of view on the whole issue" exist is simply because those in the prohibitionist camp seem to be highly selective about what they choose to acknowledge as fact. Tobacco use provides the No. 1 source of preventable deaths in Canada and no one in the span of recorded history has ever died just from smoking cannabis. At the same time, studies that indicate that the use of cannabis slows or even stops the growth of tumors are completely ignored. [continues 189 words]
On a flight home last week, I was having a conversation about the introduction of Bill C-45 or the "Cannabis Act." The person I was talking to is working with local governments to sort out the multitude of bylaws and regulations which will be necessitated by the legislation. Different municipalities are taking varying approaches and have disparate points of view on the whole issue. After all, not everyone is in favour of legalizing marijuana nor sure what exactly that means. [continues 719 words]
Canadian municipalities aren't the only ones trying to figure out how they're going to respond when marijuana becomes legal across Canada next summer. A recent Maclean's story shows universities across the country are also struggling with how to adapt. UNBC is no different. "Senior administration is giving this issue thought and some of our operational units are discussing it as well," UNBC provost and vice-president, academic, Dan Ryan said in a written statement. "UNBC is developing a response but we will have to consult with various people/ units around the university, including the Board of Governors, and make sure the response is framed appropriately and that we're going in the right direction." [continues 418 words]
VANCOUVER - Canada's political leaders must take bold action by joining forces to decriminalize illicit drugs and save lives in the midst of an unprecedented overdose crisis, a leading drug-policy expert says. Donald MacPherson of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's stance on legalizing marijuana to protect youth and stop the flow of profits to organized crime must also apply to drugs that have killed thousands of Canadians. "That's very sad that he can't see the logic that he's using so loudly on cannabis to shift that logic to a far more serious problem," MacPherson said Wednesday. [continues 582 words]
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is proposing to levy a federal excise tax on recreational marijuana once it becomes legal next July, with the provinces and territories receiving half the revenue. Under a federal proposal put to premiers during a first ministers meeting Tuesday, each gram of pot would be subject to an excise tax of $1 on sales up to $10 and a 10 per cent tax on sales of more than $10. However, premiers argued that provinces will foot the lion's share of the cost of regulating and enforcing the new regime and should, therefore, get the lion's share of the revenue. [continues 714 words]
They say B.C.'s pot laws have taken so long to sort out because May's provincial election delayed the process. Either that, or our guys were hot-boxing a van behind the legislature and simply forgot to get it done. In any case, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth left more questions than answers Monday when, rather than unveiling the regulations many expected, he merely announced a public consultation process. Ontario might already have its pot plans in place, but here in the birthplace of B.C. Bud, we prefer a more relaxed approach: We'll gather information from stakeholders and the public, or maybe listen to a little Allman Brothers, until Nov. 1. [continues 559 words]
The fledgling B.C. NDP government has decided how it will deal with the looming legalization of marijuana: continue talking it to death. Dispensary owners, illegal producers, consumers, patients, parents - Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth explained Monday that everyone's opinion is being sought because "one size does not fit all" and "we need to get it right." Until four o'clock on the Day of the Dead, Nov. 1, Farnworth says anyone can participate in a new province-wide conversation on pot - the minimum age, personal possession limits, public consumption, drug-impaired driving, personal cultivation, distribution, retail models It's all on the table. "We want to hear from as many people as possible about how we can best protect our kids, keep our roads safe and lock criminals out of the non-medical cannabis industry," he told a packed meeting room at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in downtown Vancouver. "Public engagement is crucial." [continues 480 words]
What police have called an "illegal storefront business" continues to operate but minus a key aspect. The City of Prince George granted WeeMedical a business licence on Sept. 13, two days after the chain agreed with a court order prohibiting it from dispensing marijuana. The Third Avenue downtown store was the subject of an RCMP raid in early August. Police seized a "considerable amount" of marijuana and cannabis-infused food as well as other items in support of charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Two people were also arrested and later released on promises to appear in court on Oct. 11. [continues 249 words]
According to Dr. Michael O'Malley and Dr. Kiri Simms (via CBC), marijuana-induced psychosis has increased in the last 10 years. I do not dispute their claims. THC in pot sold on the street contributes to the problem. In fact, as with any illegal street-sold drug, the more potent the active ingredient, the better for sales. Yet, it's highly unlikely that the seller is concerned about the amount of THC in the pot he sells on the street, except for repeat sales. [continues 312 words]
VANCOUVER - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has closed the door on decriminalizing illicit drugs to combat a national overdose crisis but British Columbia's addictions minister says unprecedented deaths are a "wake-up call" to reconsider that stance. Trudeau said decriminalization is not the approach Canada will take to deal with deadly overdoses often involving the opioid fentanyl. "We are making headway on this and indeed the crisis continues and indeed spreads across the country but we are not looking at legalizing any other drugs than marijuana for the time being," Trudeau told a news conference Thursday at the end of a caucus meeting in Kelowna. [continues 267 words]
Matthew M. Elrod from Victoria writes to the Prince George Citizen claiming there is no evidence that cannabis increases the rates of psychosis. I suggest that he (and any readers of The Citizen who may want to hear some clear evidence about marijuana induced psychosis) listen to the recent CBC Victoria broadcast on this very subject. In this interview Dr. Kiri Simms, an emergency room psychiatrist, gives an eloquent account of the increasing marijuana induced psychosis that she sees on a daily basis. [continues 102 words]
The editor of this paper made a drastic mistake in playing down the risks of the use of marijuana and driving in his recent editorial. Using marijuana and getting behind the wheel of a car increases your changes of a collision, and of possibly killing yourself, your passengers or others. Here is the reckless statement made by the editor of the Prince George Citizen which should be retracted with an apology. "As anyone first on the scene of a horrific accident knows, speeding kills. So does fentanyl and crystal meth and the people willing to produce and sell it. Pot, on the other hand, just makes people mellow and snacky." [continues 195 words]
Dr. Michael O'Malley asserted that "incidence of psychosis has already been documented by some of the states in the U.S., who rushed to legalization of marijuana." ("Pot stance off-base," Letters, Aug. 16). There is no evidence that cannabis usage rates have gone up in the U.S. states that have legalized cannabis, much less that rates of psychosis have increased. There is some evidence that cannabis strains that are high in THC but low in the anti-psychotic cannabinoid CBD, as well as some important terpenes, may trigger psychosis in minors so predisposed. Unfortunately, black market cultivators and dealers prefer such strains and they do not require proof of age. [continues 124 words]
I am disappointed and alarmed at the lack of balance in the editor's recent editorial on marijuana in the Citizen. He ignores the science that has clearly documented the neurotoxic effects of marijuana in the developing brain of the teenager. Having worked here in Prince George as a family doctor for 31 years and since then for nine years as a G.P. psychiatrist I see the destruction that this drug is responsible for when it sparks psychoses in some individuals. The incidence of this condition will rise with legalization of this drug. This rise in the incidence of psychosis has already been documented by some of the states in the U.S., who rushed to legalization of marijuana. [continues 62 words]
In light of two recent arrests involving what Prince George RCMP are referring to as an "illegal storefront business," members of a provincial marijuana advocacy group are not about to give up. "Prince George has a fair population and lots of people who do physical work and require pain relief," said MayJoan Liu, director of the WeeMedical Society. "We are all people. Everyone has aches and pains. Why should someone have to travel all the way to Vancouver to find pain relief?" [continues 458 words]
Part one of two RCMP are still making pot arrests, in Prince George, in 2017, less than a year before marijuana becomes legal in Canada. It'd be funny if it wasn't so silly. Police are so backward on pot that their press releases still spell it as "marihuana," which is how it's spelled in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the basis for the latest local charges. Maybe they should pronounce it the way they spell it? Now that might be funny. [continues 850 words]
