MONTREAL-In the rush to marijuana legalization, cities across the country are harnessing their limited powers to delay the opening of retail pot stores, dictate where they can operate or ban them outright-at least temporarily. There was uproar from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Toronto District School Board after finding out the city's first retail cannabis store would open just 450 metres from a school, in a strip mall where students often eat lunch. But it's the scenario many local politicians are fighting to prevent. [continues 982 words]
Provincial legislation calls for government-run stores, zero tolerance for DUIs MONTREAL- The rollout of legislation governing the legal marijuana regime in Quebec was likely a downer for pot enthusiasts in a province widely known for its European sensibilities and liberal mores. To call it a buzzkill would set bloodshot eyes rolling, but the Quebec government unveiled plans to create what is likely to be one of the most restrictive regimes so far in the country. In introducing the legislation to reporters, even Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois admitted that the province was dragged out of the prohibition era much too quickly by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. [continues 593 words]
Western regions may pass sales off to private retailers to try to thwart black market MONTREAL- A national split is emerging on marijuana legalization that pits Ontario and eastern provinces opting for total control over pot sales against private retail regimes emerging in the West. The regional divide reflects a clash of opinions about whether it is more important to put black-market pot producers out of business or heed public-health warnings when access to the drug becomes legal on July 1, 2018. [continues 510 words]
As pot legalization looms, Indigenous communities are weighing benefits, risks MONTREAL- Is it a cash crop to lift struggling First Nations out of poverty, or a vice posing a particular risk for a vulnerable population? As Canada forges ahead with the legalization of marijuana, slated for July 2018, Indigenous people are split about what to do on their territory. A number of First Nations have signed investment deals with marijuana producers, lured by the promise of profits and other benefits. Others have slammed on the brakes until they can draw up their own rules for growing and selling what is, for a few more months, an illegal drug. [continues 894 words]
Medical marijuana helped former soldier deal with anger and land civilian job It took six deaths on Easter Sunday, 2007, for Noah Starr's life to unravel. It would take five years, thousands of pills, lost relationships and the discovery of medical marijuana before he won back some semblance of control. "People call marijuana a gateway drug and it absolutely is. It's been the gateway to my recovery," said the former Canadian Armed Forces combat engineer from Fredericton, N.B. [continues 819 words]
The liquor-store model is not only way to sell pot should Ottawa legalize it MONTREAL- It's still a long way off, but the federal government's promise to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Canada has sparked a torrid debate about how and where to sell it. Convenience stores across the country already sell government-regulated lottery tickets, cigarettes and, in some provinces, beer and wine. But since the end of alcohol prohibition laws in the 1920s, liquor stores have been that clear, well-lighted place Canadians have come to rely on for their purchases of alcohol. [continues 702 words]
But education minister defends high school principal's actions MONTREAL - Quebec's education minister is under fire for defending high school officials who strip-searched a 15-year-old female student they suspected of selling drugs - an incident that has shocked some but appears to be well within the bounds of Canadian law. Yves Bolduc said the province's schools have guidelines setting out how and when education officials can bypass police and order students to submit their clothing to a rigorous search. [continues 669 words]
Harper Government Froze New Sites Even Though Own Poll Showed Backing For Them OTTAWA -- The Harper government went against advice contained in its own internal opinion polling when it put a freeze on the creation of any new drug-injection sites for hard-core addicts, CanWest News Service has learned. Just days before Health Minister Tony Clement's Sept. 1 announcement that the government would stop, for an indefinite period of time, considering applications to open injection sites modelled on the existing one in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top bureaucratic advisers received a poll they had commissioned showing six in 10 Canadians support the program. [continues 536 words]
56% of Canadians in Favour of More Injection Facilities The Harper government went against advice contained in its own internal opinion polling when it put a freeze on the creation of any new drug-injection sites for hard-core addicts. Just days before Health Minister Tony Clement's Sept. 1 announcement that the government would stop, for an indefinite period of time, considering applications to open injection sites modelled on the existing one in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top bureaucratic advisers received a poll they had commissioned showing six in 10 Canadians support the program. [continues 430 words]
The Harper government went against advice contained in its own internal opinion polling when it put a freeze on the creation of any new drug-injection sites for hard-core addicts, CanWest News Service has learned. Just days before Health Minister Tony Clement's Sept. 1 announcement that the government would stop, for an indefinite period of time, considering applications to open injection sites modelled on the existing one in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top bureaucratic advisers received a poll they had commissioned showing six in 10 Canadians support the program. [continues 227 words]
The Harper government went against advice contained in its own internal opinion polling when it put a freeze on the creation of any new drug-injection sites for hard-core addicts, CanWest News Service has learned. Only days before Health Minister Tony Clement's Sept. 1 announcement that the government would stop, for an indefinite period of time, considering applications to open injection sites modelled on the existing one in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top bureaucratic advisers received a poll they had commissioned showing six in 10 Canadians support the program. [continues 250 words]
Most Canadians Back Safe Injection Sites, Yet Ottawa Said No To New Applications OTTAWA -- The Harper government went against advice contained in its own internal opinion polling when it put a freeze on the creation of any new drug-injection sites for hard-core addicts, CanWest News Service has learned. Just days before Health Minister Tony Clement's Sept. 1 announcement that the government would stop, for an indefinite period of time, considering applications to open injection sites modelled on the existing one in Vancouver, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's top bureaucratic advisers received a poll they had commissioned showing six in 10 Canadians support the program. [continues 419 words]
The father of a disabled boy brought to a Conservative news conference to criticize the Liberals' child-care plan, and to defend a parent's right to choose what is best for his or her child, boasted on a newspaper website of having found a legal loophole that lets him sell marijuana to the sick -- something that contravenes the law. Mark-Alan Whittle, who appeared yesterday beside Tory MP Rona Ambrose, bills himself the chief executive of Logan's Pony Club -- a business named after his son, Logan, 9, who has cerebral palsy -- which he said was set up last summer for the sole purpose of selling marijuana. [continues 292 words]
Young Son Disabled: Medicinal Marijuana Proposal Has a Flaw, Health Canada Says OTTAWA - The father of a disabled boy brought to a Conservative party news conference to criticize the Liberals' child-care plan, and to defend a parent's right to choose what is best for their child, boasted on a newspaper Web site of having found a legal loophole that lets him sell marijuana to the sick -- something that contravenes the law. Mark-Alan Whittle, who appeared yesterday beside Tory MP Rona Ambrose, bills himself the chief executive of Logan's Pony Club -- a business named after his son, Logan, 9, who suffers from cerebral palsy -- which he said was set up last summer for the sole purpose of selling marijuana. [continues 705 words]
Conservative leader Stephen Harper has vowed to crack down on drugs by imposing stiffer penalties, halting the decriminalization of marijuana and throwing doubt on Vancouver's safe injection site experiment. "We as a government will not use taxpayers' money to fund drug use," Harper said in Burnaby Saturday. "That is not the strategy we will pursue." Clay Adams, director of communications with Vancouver Coastal Health, refused to speculate on whether the site, called Insite, would be closed but said he wasn't surprised by the statement. "What we're seeing here is a not-surprising position from [the Conservative] party that favours more of an enforcement approach to illegal drug use and of course the injection site is based on a harm-reduction approach," Adams said. [continues 378 words]
Harper Vows Tougher Laws, Says He Won't Decriminalize Pot Conservative leader Stephen Harper released his party's plan to crack down on drug crimes yesterday while crossing swords with New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton over trade issues. On a day when Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin did not campaign, the Conservatives promised to impose mandatory minimum sentences; eliminate conditional sentences such as house arrest; bring in tougher fines for drug traffickers and producers; scrap plans made by the Liberal party to decriminalize marijuana and introduce a national drug strategy targeted at Canadian youth. [continues 887 words]
Early election call killed eight bills aimed at strengthening law enforcement, Liberals shoot back Allan Woods and James Gordon CanWest News Service with files from The Canadian Press Conservative Leader Stephen Harper released on Saturday his party's plan to crack down on drug crimes while crossing swords with New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton over trade issues. On a day when Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin did not campaign, the Conservatives promised to: - - Impose mandatory minimum sentences. - - Eliminate conditional sentences such as house arrest. [continues 682 words]
Premiers Offer Praise; Critics Skeptical About Benefits Of Gov't Move OTTAWA -- The latest shot in Canada's war on drugs is a "throw-away political gesture" that will do little to curb the spread of methamphetamine across the country, policy experts, academics and opposition politicians said Thursday. Instead, critics believe the government's decision to increase maximum penalties for producers, users and smugglers of the drug from 10 years to life imprisonment appears designed to draw marginally tougher sentences from a reluctant judicial system, and bring Canada's handling of drug crimes into line with the expectations of the United States government. [continues 384 words]
OTTAWA -- The latest shot in Canada's war on drugs is a "throw-away political gesture" that will do little to curb the spread of methamphetamine across the country, policy experts, academics and opposition politicians said Thursday. Instead, critics believe the government's decision to increase maximum penalties for producers, users and smugglers of the drug from 10 years to life imprisonment appears designed to draw marginally tougher sentences from a reluctant judicial system, and bring Canada's handling of drug crimes into line with the expectations of the United States government. [continues 722 words]
Some say new sentencing rules are about politics, not controlling the spread and use of drugs in Canada. The latest shot in Canada's war on drugs is a "throw-away political gesture" that will do little to curb the spread of methamphetamine across the country, policy experts, academics and opposition politicians said yesterday. Instead, critics believe the government's decision to increase maximum penalties for producers, users and smugglers of the drug from 10 years to life imprisonment appears designed to draw marginally tougher sentences from a reluctant judicial system, and bring Canada's handling of drug crimes into line with the expectations of the U.S. government. [continues 677 words]
