Motacan Compassion Society is exempt from business licence requirement, operator argues A medical marijuana dispensary is suing the City of Abbotsford in an effort to remain open and avoid paying thousands of dollars in tickets. Motacan Compassion Society, which operates a storefront location in an alley off Montrose Avenue in downtown Abbotsford, says it is exempt from bylaws requiring a business licence due to its not-for-profit society status. In a petition filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court, "principal operator" David Smith claims Motacan is a registered society that provides "reasonable access to medical cannabis to members of the society on a highly subsidized basis." [continues 266 words]
In wiser times, cigarettes were considered poison: protect the kids, reduce health-care expense, ban that toxin almost everywhere. As a result, we all breathe easier. Now it's 2017 - set up shops and fill them with pretty coloured weed balls, like lollipops. Who cares how many more toxins are in those? Huge numbers of young people in their 20s are still in school and still dependent on their parents. Is the medical community thrilled to welcome a new mind-altering drug we can all enjoy? Is there enough paper to list all the side-effects? [continues 212 words]
Host's company says event aims to add legitimacy to community What do you do if you're a budding awards show trying to create a buzz around Canada's $8.7-billion cannabis market? First you weed out the best producers from the very large crop of products out there. Then you book a swanky joint and roll out the red carpet for business types looking to get in on the potential pot of gold surrounding legalization next summer. The CEO of Lift Co., the online marketplace for the medical marijuana industry that is holding the event, says it was high time for a grass gala to highlight the fourth annual Canadian Cannabis Awards - previously held only online - in an effort to add some legitimacy to the often stigmatized cannabis community. [continues 389 words]
The Liberal government has released its draft legislation for Bill C-45, known in shorthand as the 'Cannabis Act' for legalizing marijuana. And according to Kootenay Outdoor Producers Cooperative co-founder Todd Veri, it's better than just good news for small producers - it's everything they'd hoped for. "Our big concern was that they wouldn't allow outdoor growing or that they'd make life impossible for the co-operative model," says Veri. "Based on the report the government put together last year, we believed the government was going to go in the right direction but might need a nudge from us. It seems they took into account our documentation - we had five or six points we wanted to address and they addressed them all in the draft legislation." [continues 670 words]
In wiser times, cigarettes were considered poison: protect the kids, reduce health-care expense, ban that toxin almost everywhere. As a result, we all breathe easier. Now it's 2017 - set up shops and fill them with pretty coloured weed balls, like lollipops. Who cares how many more toxins are in those? Huge numbers of young people in their 20s are still in school and still dependent on their parents. Is the medical community thrilled to welcome a new mind- altering drug we can all enjoy? Is there enough paper to list all the side- effects? [continues 212 words]
IF you want to know how quickly this country is turning over a new leaf, consider the curious case of Julian Fantino. The tough-on-crime former Toronto police chief was eager to help lead the war against drugs - including cannabis - during his time as a cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government. In fact, the record from the 2015 federal campaign is filled with public stands Fantino took about the danger of legalizing marijuana. And today? Well, the former politician has had his own epiphany on the pot-marked road to the legalization of marijuana. [continues 517 words]
KITCHENER - At gatherings with family and friends, it's common for people to sit and chat as they enjoy a glass of wine. Drinking alcohol is legal and regulated by the government, but too much of it causes impairment and your long-term health could be at risk. The same could be said for marijuana. The now illicit drug will soon be legal, regulated and sold by the government. Smoking it daily could lead to a dependency, healthcare professionals say. But the stigma associated with dope smoking remains. [continues 749 words]
Online cannabis dispensaries are the latest to cash in on the holiday shopping frenzy, with some offering dramatic markdowns or novelty products as the season known for consumer spending gets underway. Several online cannabis stores are holding Black Friday sales for the first time this year in an effort to stay competitive and draw new customers in what they call an increasingly competitive market. Savings typically range from 10 to 35 per cent, though some deals advertised go as high as 45 per cent off. [continues 388 words]
Some cities want to prohibit all recreational marijuana sales; others have already started licensing dispensaries Ottawa's Cannabis Act, Bill C-45, passed third reading in the House of Commons on November 27, little more than seven months before the federal government's July 1, 2018, target date for legalizing recreational marijuana. The bill must be approved by the Senate and achieve Royal Assent but the writing is on the wall that legalization is on the way. The B.C. government has yet to reveal how it plans to regulate retail sales for non-medicinal marijuana. [continues 1445 words]
The prospect of legalization opens up Pandora's box overflowing with dilemmas A few years ago, after a heated argument with a friend at a party, I decided that I would never/ever write about whether marijuana should be legalized. But since this-bud's-for-you (or not), colloquially called skunk, (a.k.a. mary jane), is being legalized real soon, I have decided to unbutton my loose lip and (gently) lower my big toe into the bath water. This is primarily because it is a headline topic that will deeply (I think) affect the West Island. (I promise not to take sides because that would only get me crappy letters. I am not threatened by my capacity for being weak-kneed nor my addiction to the errant exploitation of parentheses.) [continues 706 words]
When Dalton Fredericks took Jesse, his 18-year-old son, to the hospital because his son seemed dangerously high, he learned about the stigma associated with opioid addiction. "I took him to the hospital and I said, 'I want you to keep him here.' I went home and after three hours, I got a call from the hospital that they were releasing him," he said. The nurse told Fredericks that his son had been doing drugs, but there was not much they could do for him. He had the RCMP take Jesse into custody because he feared for his safety. [continues 1074 words]
Tougher checks than exist for licence holders As the federal government inches closer to legalizing recreational marijuana by next summer, it is still figuring out where to draw the line on how much previous criminal history should disqualify someone from taking a senior role in the industry. In draft regulations released this week, the government proposes requiring everyone in "key positions" at licensed marijuana companies to hold a security clearance issued by the health minister's office. But it's also asking for feedback on whether people with "histories of non-violent, lower-risk criminal activity" should be allowed to pass security checks. [continues 722 words]
Trudeau's Liberals have been rushing their campaign promise to legalize marijuana in Canada while medical professionals, provinces, municipalities, Canada's policing community and the Conservative Opposition have raised serious concerns on the timeline and the impacts. This week the Liberal government released an online consultation about their new regulations. They are repeating many of the mistakes recently highlighted as problems in Colorado. The Colorado Spring Gazette reported that after five years of legalized marijuana the negative community and youth impacts have been significant and problematic. High school drug violations were up 71 per cent along with an increase in school suspensions. Grade school children, kids aged 5-13, saw drug violations increase 45 per cent. Marijuana use among Colorado youth was the highest in the United States, even though the legal age to purchase and possess is 21 years old. Deadly crashes where drivers tested positive for marijuana doubled in five years. Homelessness growth is among the top of their country. In fact, the legalization of marijuana has attracted many homeless to Colorado, putting strains on their supports systems. [continues 243 words]
It's late afternoon and you receive a text message: "Friends coming for dinner. Please pick up wine." You pull into the neighbourhood liquor store, pick up a bottle of your favourite wine and head home. A familiar scene taking place across the province every day. When you go into your local liquor store, you have confidence knowing you're buying a quality product in a secure environment, with stores conveniently located in every community across the province. B.C.'s public and private liquor stores have a proven track record over many decades, selling controlled alcohol products to adults in a responsible manner, with more than a 90 per cent compliance rate in restricting sales to minors. [continues 517 words]
A proven system is already in place, Stephanie Smith and Damian Kettlewell write. It's late afternoon and you receive a text message: "Please pick up wine." You pull into the neighbourhood liquor store, pick up a bottle and head home. A familiar scene taking place across the province every day. When you go into your local liquor store, you know you are buying a quality product in a secure environment, with stores conveniently located across the province. B.C.'s public and private liquor stores have a proven track record selling controlled alcohol products to adults in a responsible manner, with more than a 90 per cent compliance rate in restricting sales to minors. [continues 535 words]
I am writing in response to the upcoming legalization of marijuana across Canada. As a young adult who will experience the impact of this major decision, I do not agree and I hope the government comes to the realization that this will ruin lives. Legalization of marijuana will result in easier access to the drug, causing an increase in usage. If you consider the underage drinking problem with alcohol, we will have the same issues with underage marijuana usage. This worries me specifically for minors, as studies have shown that marijuana usage can affect brain development as well as causing death in brain cells. [continues 130 words]
The District of North Vancouver is going to fight another pot shop in the courts. The municipality filed court documents Nov. 15 in B.C. Supreme Court, asking for an order that the owners of Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc. operating at 1488 Pemberton Ave. stop selling marijuana and marijuana products, in contravention of local bylaws. The court documents also ask for an order authorizing police to arrest anyone who contravenes a judge's order in the case. Six people - residents of Vancouver, New Westminster and Richmond who are directors of the company, are named in the lawsuit, along with Orient Holdings Ltd, which owns the property where the marijuana retail shop operates. Legal documents also name the Medicinal Mary-Jane Canada Society and three people who are directors of the society, including Aaron Sinnathamby of Burnaby who is also a director of Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc. [continues 450 words]
So far it looks like Alberta will be the go-to province for marijuana entrepreneurs lining up to get in on the action when selling pot becomes legal next summer. Unlike Ontario and Quebec, Alberta has taken a free market approach. Recreational marijuana will be sold in privately owned retail stores and there could be a lot of them because at this point there is no limit on the number. No drab stores run by liquor control boards for Alberta. And there will surely be way more stores than the 15 Quebec has designated for the entire province (Ontario is planning 40) in the first year of legalization. [continues 631 words]
Re: "Warnings, plain covers for pot packaging," Nov. 22. Aside from bona fide medical use, it seems pot legalization may help lull a populace into a sleepwalking oblivion from the world and issues. More happy campers, more votes? By the way, will there be surgeon general warnings on pot packages? Marijuana effects can include secondhand smoke, dependency, mental impairment, impaired driving, seizures, psychosis, damaged blood vessels, chronic bronchitis, strokes, heart attack, etc. Cigarette producers may be rubbing their hands with glee, with finally a double standard perhaps exonerating them. Then there's the spectre of bootleg marijuana to underage people. Will the next move be a marijuana leaf Cannabian flag? Will the motto be Qu'ils mangent de la brioche - "Let them eat cake," or translated nowadays, "Let them smoke pot.' Jeff Miller, Calgary [end]
