Pubdate: Mon, 21 Dec 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Keith Leslie
Page: A7

WYNNE LOOKS TO FEDS ON POT LAW

Ontario is looking for federal government guidance on regulating 
clinics that sell medical marijuana and on how pot should be sold for 
recreational use once it's legalized.

The federal Liberals promised in this month's throne speech to 
"legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana" to keep it out 
of the hands of children while also denying criminals the financial profits.

The new government plans to remove possession of small amounts of 
marijuana from the Criminal Code and create new laws to more severely 
punish those who provide it to minors or drive while under its influence.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says there hasn't been enough discussion about 
the distinctions between medicinal and recreational marijuana, which 
is one reason she suggested Ontario's government-run liquor stores 
would be well-suited to retailing legalized pot.

"The reason I put forward the LCBO as the possible distribution 
network is that I want to make it clear that I see the need for a 
socially responsible approach to this," Wynne told The Canadian Press 
in a year-end interview.

"I think that this needs to be a controlled substance - and I don't 
use that in a technical way - but there need to be controls on it, 
and so I will be looking to the federal government to work with us to 
determine what those controls need to be."

There are dozens of clinics or dispensaries springing up in cities 
across Canada that sell medicinal marijuana - mainly in Ontario, 
Alberta and British Columbia - and there are referral-only clinics 
staffed with doctors who assess patients but don't sell pot.

They give patients a prescription to take to a licensed marijuana producer.

Canada needs national standards and regulations for the marijuana 
clinics, said Wynne.

"Not all marijuana is going to be medicinal, so we've got to make 
distinctions between a clinic that is providing medicinal marijuana 
and what the recreational distribution is going to be," she said.

"I just don't think we're there yet."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to create a task force with 
representatives from the three levels of government and, with input 
from experts in public health, substance abuse and policing, to help 
design a new system of marijuana sales and distribution.

Wynne isn't the only one looking for a socially responsible way to 
retail marijuana.

The British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union and the 
B.C. Private Liquor Store Association joined forces to call for legal 
marijuana to be sold through their existing retail system, which 
includes about 200 private and 200 government-run stores.

BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said the union did not take a 
position on whether it supports the plan to legalize marijuana, "but 
we do believe that when this happens, it ought to be sold in the most 
socially responsible way possible, in an age-controlled environment 
with the strongest track record of checking identification."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom