Clearer Delineation Between Medicinal and Recreational Use Needed, Premier Says Talk about a joint effort. There are bureaucrats from a dozen provincial departments working on an exhaustive cannabis strategy that will examine the impact of legalized recreational marijuana. As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government prepares to change federal laws next year, officials at Queen's Park are looking at everything from the effects on health and road safety to justice issues and fiscal implications. Public servants from the Ministries of Health, Education, Finance, Transportation, the Attorney General, Community Safety and Correctional Services, Municipal Affairs, Children and Youth Services, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Community and Social Services, the Treasury Board secretariat, and the cabinet office are involved in the effort. [continues 450 words]
Bill Blair, the federal government's lead on legalizing marijuana, has been quietly meeting with advocates for the illegal pot shops springing up across the country, hearing their arguments for how regulating the sector could help eliminate the black market. Mr. Blair blasted dispensary operators at a recent conference as reckless profiteers "who don't care about the law, who don't care about regulations, don't care about kids, they don't care about communities, they don't care about health of Canadians." But days later, the Liberal MP and former Toronto Police chief held a series of informal "behind the scenes" talks at the party's convention in Winnipeg, according to Rosy Mondin, a Vancouver lawyer who recently co-founded the non-profit Cannabis Trade Alliance of Canada, which represents legal and illegal marijuana business owners. [continues 686 words]
It would appear no amount of weed is too small for the federal government to prosecute as it works toward legalizing the drug for recreational use. Brandon Richards was pulled over after leaving the parking lot of a Guelph strip club shortly after 1 a.m. in October 2014 for a sobriety check. He passed, but the officer said he detected the odour of marijuana. The big discovery: 1.15 g of pot. A street value of about $10. Richards was charged with simple possession, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the federal agency that handles drug crimes, chose to take the matter to court, where Richards was found guilty and ordered to pay a $100 fine in April 2015. [continues 387 words]
It has always seemed absurd to me. It's just a legal dependency being substituted for an illegal addiction. Eureka! Last week I reported it was impossible to write this column. I had asked readers to respond to how I believe 42,000 addicts on methadone should be treated. Then my computer developed terminal cancer and I thought all your responses had been lost. Fortunately, the "Geek Squad" resurrected them. From a Times Colonist reader, "Your suggestion that sending addicts to northern Canada to chop wood caught my eye. I was impressed by your research. The addicts I have known have no interest in getting off methadone and improving themselves. I say, enough of this nonsense. Why not have them chop wood? We all do some form of work to eat." [continues 593 words]
Group seeks to address fears as proposal to go to council The group that is proposing to create a supervised injection site in Sandy Hill said it will have security on site to address fears about an increase in drug-related crime - something Ottawa police chief Charles Bordeleau said is a significant concern. The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre is gearing up to formally ask the federal government for an exemption to allow such a site to exist, but has to win the support of city leaders first. [continues 233 words]
Eureka! Recently I reported it was impossible to write this column. I had asked readers to respond to how I believe 42,000 addicts on methadone should be treated. Then my computer developed terminal cancer and I thought all your responses had been lost. Fortunately, the "Geek Squad" resurrected them. From a Times Colonist reader, "Your suggestion that sending addicts to northern Canada to chop wood caught my eye. I was impressed by your research. The addicts I have known have no interest in getting off methadone and improving themselves. I say, enough of this nonsense. Why not have them chop wood? We all do some form of work to eat." [continues 593 words]
Stroll Yonge-Dundas Square near my place night or day and you'll confront the hidden horror of legalized pot. Phheww. Not for nothing do they call it "skunk." As our medieval marijuana laws lift, libertarians like me rejoice. Common sense finally wins out. A victimless "crime" is off the books. No harm, no foul. No foul? Take a whiff. My pal Al, passing Roy Thomson Hall en route from a Jays game, wrinkled his nose and remarked: "It's everywhere. My son really hates that smell. What's he going to do when it's legal?" [continues 511 words]
Detroit - Several medical marijuana caregivers and patients have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging the Michigan State Police crime lab intentionally misrepresented test results that expose thousands of people to possible felony charges. The civil rights lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Detroit, alleges the state police acted in concert with the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) and other law-enforcement agencies, including the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. The lawsuit was triggered by an alleged ongoing policy by the state to produce inaccurate test results that show marijuana seized during criminal investigations contained the synthetic cannabinoid Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is responsible for marijuana's psychoactive effects. THC has little or no psychoactive effect when a marijuana plant is converted to an oil or edible, according to the lawsuit. [continues 350 words]
Ensuring recreational marijuana sales are restricted to the LCBO is a key priority for Ontario as the legalization of weed looms, says Premier Kathleen Wynne. Speaking to reporters Tuesday at Queen's Park, Wynne lamented that "we're in a grey area right now," which has enabled more than 100 illegal weed stores to open in Toronto in recent weeks. "We literally don't have that legal framework from the federal government. I feel very strongly that there needs to be control and regulation of marijuana," said the premier, who added that it is up to the city to tackle the "dispensaries." [continues 190 words]
Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang is not correct when he says that no one is complaining about the heavy-handed marijuana dispensary closure enforcement. Tens of thousands of responsible adult consumers are happily supporting the many dispensaries in Vancouver and that is why so many storefronts opened. It's simple supply and demand economics. The dispensaries are peacefully engaging in consensual transactions between adults, with a product that is consumed by millions of people and employing thousands of people. Vancouver should cease their costly, aggressive, unwarranted bylaw enforcement, and reach out to local cannabis experts and business owners to create an improved model of fair and just regulations. We must not let conservative fear-based, reefer-madness policies shut down 90 per cent of local businesses that are peaceful, successful and popular. Dispensaries do no harm and they have widespread support because the public wants open access to cannabis. Jodie Emery, Owner, Cannabis Culture, Vancouver [end]
