Pubdate: Fri, 01 Jul 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A1
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Daniel Leblanc
Referenced: Toward the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of 
Access to Marijuana - Discussion Paper: http://mapinc.org/url/lnsUUQH3

OTTAWA MOVES TOWARD TIGHT CONTROLS ON RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA

The federal government is moving toward a restrictive market for 
recreational marijuana, vowing to impose potency limits, controls on 
advertising, and strict rules over the production and sale of the drug.

Ottawa has unveiled a nine-member panel to draw up Canada's new 
marijuana framework, sending out the clearest signal to date that it 
is not bowing to the demands of members of the illegal pot industry 
that has boomed in recent months.

A number of producers and users of marijuana are advocating a 
liberalized regime, but Ottawa says it will continue to treat 
marijuana as a dangerous drug, especially for young Canadians and 
frequent users.

There will be no amnesty for current pot users, and the government 
promised to continue to support the crackdown on illegal dispensaries 
in cities around the country.

"It is not like tomatoes; [marijuana] is a substance that poses 
certain significant social and health harms and risks to Canadians, 
and we want to make sure that we mitigate those risks," said Liberal 
MP Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who will oversee the 
work of the task force.

The task force will be chaired by former Liberal cabinet minister 
Anne McLellan, and include experts from the fields of medicine, law 
enforcement and substance abuse. The group is to propose a series of 
rules to the government by the end of the year, leading to the 
introduction of legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational 
purposes by the spring of 2017.

"I think their attitude is wrong-headed," Vancouver cannabis activist 
Dana Larsen said.

Mr. Larsen said he favours a system that would be similar, or even 
more liberal, than the one currently governing alcohol production - 
including home brewing - in Canada.

"Otherwise, it's only prohibition, but with a different dealer," he said.

Toronto Mayor John Tory welcomed the "clarity" of the government's 
announcement.

"The law is the law until it's changed, or until a court rules 
otherwise," Mr. Tory told reporters.

"I don't think the view of the people has changed in light of any of 
this, which is that they don't want marijuana dispensaries on every 
street corner or on every retail strip."

Mr. Tory said those who want to sell marijuana should be patient and 
wait for the law to change.

In May, Toronto police and city bylaw officials targeted 43 pot 
dispensaries in one day, handcuffing staff and charging 90 people 
with drug offences or zoning bylaw violations that carry $25,000 
fines. Four more dispensaries were raided last week, and 23 people 
were arrested.

In a discussion paper released by Ottawa on Thursday, the government 
called for a minimum age - in the range of 18 to 25 - to limit the 
opportunity for young Canadians to buy marijuana.

The government also said there could be limits on the percentage of 
THC in cannabis products, and that "high-potency products [could be] 
strictly prohibited."

The government is also eyeing restrictions on the sale of edible pot 
products, and has determined the need to "prevent commercialization 
through advertising controls."

The paper extolls the virtues of the existing system of heavily 
regulated, security-heavy facilities that legally serve Canada's 
medical-marijuana market in its discussion of pot for the 
recreational market, and also states that home cultivation would 
likely not be in the public interest for large-scale production of 
recreational marijuana.

One of the questions that the task force will be addressing is: "To 
what extent, if any, should home cultivation be allowed in a legalized system?"

Health Minister Jane Philpott told a news conference that the 
government has already narrowed down many of the issues that will be 
examined by the task force.

"We're not starting from ground zero," she said, adding that federal 
officials have already studied places such as Colorado and Washington 
State where marijuana has been legalized.

Vancouver Councillor Kerry Jang, whose city is the first in Canada to 
create a set of bylaws regulating the sector, said establishing the 
task force was an important step.

"We've got to find out where Canadians agree, overall, on the whole 
issue of marijuana," he said.

"Get some nationally agreed-upon principles in order for some sort of 
legislation to be created. It's clear that there's a place for 
marijuana in Canadian society and I encourage everybody to get out 
there and talk to the task force."

The Vancouver Police Department has said investigations into pot 
shops require immense resources. After most of the force's 11 recent 
raids, the dispensaries reopened the next day. When asked Thursday 
about the government's support for enforcement against marijuana 
operations, a Vancouver police spokesperson said the department will 
"continue to take a priority-based approach in enforcing the laws in 
relation to marijuana offences."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom