There's a reason provincial governments in this country are freaking out about having to meet next summer's deadline for legalizing pot: They're finding it a complete and utter nightmare. There's so much to consider. Who can grow it? How will it be retailed and marketed? What level of taxation will be applied? How will new laws associated with a million and one different aspects of legalization be enforced? Who covers those costs? What happens when someone's dog dies after eating a neighbour's marijuana plant? And that barely scratches the surface. "The scope of it is unbelievable," B.C. Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth said in a recent interview. [continues 664 words]
When tucking into your holiday feast this weekend, spare a thought for those unable to enjoy such comforts. First responders come to mind, especially in Metro Vancouver, which is in the grip of an epidemic of drug overdoses. According to the most recent statistics, 755 people have died so far in 2016, a 70-per-cent increase over this time last year. If you are shocked by this news, you are excused. For some reason, this public-health calamity has failed to galvanize the country's attention, certainly not like the great SARS panic of 2003 did. It was top of the news - and the federal government's political agenda - for months. [continues 633 words]
There are lessons for Canada in Washington State, which got a quick reality check about the market for recreational weed About a year ago, I visited Seattle to see how pot legalization was going. Not well, as it turned out. A few years earlier, Washington State became one of the first U.S. jurisdictions to vote in favour of legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana for recreational use. In 2014, the system designed to manage the commercialization process was operational - and it didn't take long for some early grumbling to become a nascent revolt. [continues 643 words]
There were few subjects the former federal Conservative government despised more than pot. It knew where the majority of Canadians stood on the issue - in favour of legalization - but it also knew that the party's core supporters would have no part of that. There may have been no better illustration of the struggles the Tories had with the matter than the system it created for the licensing and distribution of medical marijuana, the same one that was discredited and toppled by a Federal Court judge Wednesday. [continues 629 words]
Medicinal marijuana dispensaries have been hiding in plain view in Vancouver for years now. Places like the Green Panda and The Healing Tree have operated in downtown locations with the full knowledge of the city and police who have chosen to look the other way. To imagine that federal authorities have not also been aware of the proliferation of these establishments defies belief. They are everywhere. But Ottawa, too, has had bigger fish to fry, and consequently, was happy to put its hands over its eyes and ignore the situation. That is until the city announced it was going to start regulating the businesses to stanch their rapid growth while making some cash from licensing. [continues 668 words]
Although it's been two years since Washington State legalized marijuana, the process involved in creating a retail industry for it has not been without its growing pains. Gary Mason weeds through the problems facing strain-potency testing In a fresh white lab coat, his name embroidered atop a chest pocket, Cameron Miller looks and sounds every bit the chemist that he is. When he begins talking about the wonders of terpenes - the organic compounds that give plants their distinct odour - he could be a sommelier discussing the power and influence that tannins have on wine. [continues 1369 words]
Taxes are too high, competition from medical marijuana is too great, and the bureaucracy is overwhelmed by the volume of applications. As Gary Mason reports, the new regulated system is giving rise to a robust black market Amber McGowan surveys the clutch of customers milling around the three counters in her tiny marijuana retail outlet and nods approvingly - pot is hot. Men and women who appear to be mostly over 50 consider products with names such as Headband, Skunk, Banana Kush and THC Bomb. A five-pack of oatmeal cookies that are nothing like the ones your mother used to make go for $42 (U.S.). Behind a glass enclosure there are bongs of every colour and description. Psychedelic renderings grace the store's wood-panelled walls. [continues 1749 words]
The oil sands have long had a reputation for being a tough place to work. Employees, mostly male, are often bunked in work camps in the middle of nowhere, away from friends and family for weeks at a time. Tales of drug and alcohol abuse have abounded for years. An entire mythology has been constructed around the belief that workers routinely drink and take drugs on the job, then resume operating some of the most dangerous equipment on the planet. But how real is that image? [continues 623 words]
While Colorado has plowed ahead in building a taxed and regulated marijuana industry, the state of Washington has been more deliberate. It will be a few months yet before the first retail outlets selling cannabis are open to the public. It's not surprising, given the many questions the state has had to consider since residents voted in favour of legalization in a referendum in November, 2012. Among them has been the question of demand: How much marijuana should the state produce for sale? [continues 686 words]
If ever there were two states that were going to be pioneers in legalizing marijuana, they were Colorado and Washington. Smoking pot has been an accepted part of life in both places for decades. This week, the world's only state-licensed marijuana retailers, legally permitted to sell pot for recreational use, opened their doors in Colorado. By all accounts, business was brisk. The state of Washington expects to follow suit in a few months, as officials there have found the process of building a state-regulated marijuana industry from the ground up a little more complicated. [continues 576 words]
That Justin Trudeau has dabbled with pot likely surprised few in Canada. However, his recent admission that he took his last puff just three years ago is provocative. We're used to politicians saying they tried marijuana in their carefree youth. And used to them drastically playing down the amount they smoked - that is, if they actually inhaled at all. But these types of political confessions stopped being news a long time ago. What's different about Mr. Trudeau's divulgence is his acknowledgment he did it just a few years ago, while an MP. And, not insignificantly, while the possession of marijuana was still a criminal offence in this country - and remains so. That is either politically brave or stupid. It is without question refreshingly honest. [continues 534 words]
Those heading up our national police force must be so glad people have other things on their minds these days. Otherwise, Canadians might be howling about the Mounties' latest antics and demanding our political leaders hold them accountable. Because, as we know, our elected officials refuse to utter the least critical word about the RCMP unless there is public pressure or they fear electoral ramifications. Even then, I'm sure they get sick at the thought. This week, we learned that the RCMP used taxpayers' dollars to hire researchers to author papers that undermine Insite, the supervised injection site in Vancouver opposed by the Mounties and the Conservative government. [continues 705 words]
VANCOUVER - In the basement of Marc Emery's Cannabis Culture Headquarters, a woman in blond and pink dreadlocks is filling plastic bags with what appears to be marijuana. It is not. "Oh, it's way stronger than pot," she says, smiling. "It's Peruvian torch cactus. The high lasts way longer. It has mescaline in it. It really gets you off. It's $25 a bag." In an adjoining room, a man watches a computer screen while smoking a joint. Glass bongs are lying about. And rolling papers. The overhead lighting is covered by long strips of purple and pink gauze. A white blanket made of hemp and emblazoned with marijuana leaves covers a futon couch. On the wall is a playful-looking map entitled: A Stoner's Guide to Vansterdam. [continues 649 words]
Defence Lawyers in B.C. Say Their Clients Will Bear Brunt Of Incomplete Disclosure VANCOUVER -- The defence in the fraud and bribery trial connected with the sensational raid on the B.C. Legislature more than three years ago is demanding the Crown turn over potentially hundreds of more documents. In a notice of application filed yesterday in the B.C. Supreme Court, lawyers for former political aides Dave Basi, Aneal Basi and Bob Virk argue that the disclosure process has been badly flawed and crucial documents still have not been made available before the case goes to full trial. [continues 895 words]
Vancouver -- the Case Against the Principals in a Government Corruption Trial Is Looking Flimsier by the Day. And the conduct of our national police force is once again being called into question. In fact, the actions of the RCMP have laid the groundwork for a future stay-of-proceedings application by defence lawyers representing three former political aides charged with various counts of bribery and influence peddling in connection with the sale of BC Rail. In a wide-ranging application for disclosure filed in court on Monday, lawyers representing Dave Basi, Aneal Basi and Bob Virk said the RCMP were not forthright with a judge when requesting permission to wiretap government phones. [continues 691 words]
VANCOUVER -- The RCMP has a lot riding on a sensational case arising, in part, from the force's bold raid on the British Columbia Legislature almost three years ago. If you're going to pull off a move like that -- and instantly ruin careers and reputations in the process -- you'd better have the goods. So far, at least, the actions of the Mounties in this high-profile case have not been cast in the best light. This week in pretrial hearings at B.C. Supreme Court, for instance, it was revealed that the force was twice refused permission by the courts to wiretap a provincial government cellphone, but got the go-ahead on a third attempt by not telling the judge the phone was registered at the legislature. [continues 697 words]
VANCOUVER -- It's time someone took a serious look at how the RCMP is run in this country. But I won't hold my breath. The City of Richmond also thinks someone should take a closer look at our national police force. In fact, councillors there have had enough of the Mounties. They recently voted to examine the feasibility of establishing a unique force for the city, just like those in Vancouver and many other Lower Mainland municipalities. Why? Because the city is sick of paying 90 per cent of the RCMP's costs and not having any say in how the money is spent. The final straw came when the Mounties presented the city with a bill for $1-million, its share of a regional emergency response team. [continues 776 words]
VANCOUVER -- There was a time when Gustavo de Greiff was seen as one of America's greatest allies in its war on drugs. Now they won't let him into the country. In 1993, Mr. de Greiff was Colombia's prosecutor-general, responsible for cracking down on the country's infamous drug cartels. During his tenure, the conviction rate for traffickers in Colombia jumped to 75 per cent from 20 per cent. The notorious Medellin cartel was effectively gutted. And Pablo Escobar, the richest cocaine trafficker in the world and No. 1 on the FBI's "most wanted" list, was hunted down and killed. [continues 771 words]
Vancouver's Sam Sullivan is in Ottawa this week to meet with Stephen Harper, making him the first mayor of a major Canadian city to get an audience with the new Prime Minister. While there are many items on Mr. Sullivan's agenda, one issue the Vancouver mayor says he won't be raising during his meeting tomorrow with Mr. Harper is his latest idea for cleaning up the troubled Downtown Eastside -- providing free drugs to addicts. Probably not an idea the Conservative Prime Minister would warmly embrace anyway. [continues 851 words]
VANCOUVER -- Whether we like it or not, we appear headed for what will certainly be a loud and rancorous debate over this country's drug policies. And framing the discussion will be the ever-growing view of health professionals that it's time to turn convention on its ear. Almost certain to be cited in the national conversation that's ahead will be a study being released here today by the Health Officers Council of British Columbia entitled: A Public Health Approach to Drug Control in Canada. It may be the most comprehensive, progressive and controversial report yet to be published on the issue. [continues 534 words]
