Workers have been assaulted, but fear of raids stop some from calling police AFTER NEWS OF THE LATEST armed marijuana dispensary robbery, local cannabis advocate Britney Guerra appealed through a media release for any store owners who have been robbed to call police. The responses she got back shocked her. She knew there were robberies going unreported, but the problem was bigger than she suspected. Within 48 hours she had calls from four different Hamilton store owners who told her they had been robbed - perhaps by the same people - in the last month alone. [continues 705 words]
Marijuana, cannabis, pot, whatever you want to call it, it will become legal in Canada sometime this year following the U.S. where pot is legal in several states. I do not smoke pot or anything else. Two glasses of wine and I am asleep. I do get high though watching the Patriots and the Red Sox win. I am also asthmatic and any kind of smoke bothers me. There is a lot of kerfuffle going on and this is my take on this hot topic. [continues 554 words]
Norfolk moves to control odours from marijuana grow ops SIMCOE - Norfolk County has opted for a low-key approach to the regulation of marijuana grow operations. Producers won't have to apply for a zoning amendment or defend their applications at Norfolk council. However, they will have to meet planning standards and ensure that odours from their operations don't impact the surrounding neighbourhood. This is the route Norfolk council chose Tuesday after a discussion of marijuana and its potentially negative impact on surrounding properties. [continues 424 words]
The Kettlewell family has been in the business of selling alcohol for decades. These days, the family owns 11 liquor stores in British Columbia. Business has been good, as the Kettlewells have doubled the number of their Jak's Beer Wine Spirits stores in the past five years. But what most intrigues the Kettlewells these days is a new product: cannabis. The emerging rules around the legalization of cannabis vary by province. In general, governments will be heavily involved - and the sale of cannabis will be kept apart from alcohol, following Ottawa's recommendation. In B.C., however, a unique landscape is being considered, one in which government-owned liquor stores, as well as private liquor stores, sell cannabis. Alongside these stores, currently illegal cannabis dispensaries might also be allowed to operate in the legal market. [continues 786 words]
Last month, the government of Ontario passed the Cannabis Act. It gives the province a monopoly on the sale of recreational marijuana through an estimated 150 stand alone stores to be run by the new Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. While the new law piggybacks on the federal decision to legalize recreational marijuana this summer, as well as a new federal-provincial revenue sharing agreement that will give the provinces and territories 75 per cent of federal marijuana revues, it has not been without controversy. In the Ontario Legislature, 27 Progressive Conservatives opposed the law, citing concerns from police associations that more financial support is required for law enforcement. While the NDP supported the law, some of its MPPs expressed concerns about the uncertainty of revenues to be provided to municipalities, as well as the small number of store fronts (40) to be opened this summer, which they see as inadequate to put a dent in the existing black market. [continues 446 words]
Whistler council gives first two readings to zoning amendment bylaw - with more to come The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is starting down the long, legislative road of legal recreational marijuana. At its first meeting of 2018 on Jan. 9, council gave the first two readings to a zoning amendment bylaw concerning cannabis retail, production and distribution - likely the first of many prior to federal legalization of the substance in July. With much still unknown about the full scope of legal cannabis in Canada and B.C., the zoning bylaw is more a preemptive measure than anything - it updates definitions to align with the new federal Cannabis Act, and reinforces the current status quo in Whistler, which limits cannabis production and distribution to a single site in Function Junction (operated by the Whistler Medical Marijuana Corporation). [continues 602 words]
Legal marijuana, yes, but not in front of the kids: Poll Canadians are comfortable with legal pot but would still be reluctant to consume it in front of their families like they might alcohol, a new Nanos Research poll shows. The survey also found that almost seven out of 10 Canadians agree or somewhat agree that there are medical benefits to marijuana. Jay Rosenthal, President of Business of Cannabis - which commissioned the poll and provides news and analysis of the sector in Canada - said the most surprising finding to him was the high level of public support or acknowledgement that the product has medicinal benefits. [continues 497 words]
At some point this summer, Justin Trudeau expects to make good on his promise to legalize recreational marijuana use across Canada. The Senate thus-far has spoiled Trudeau's plans to kick off Canada Day with a country-wide high, and may yet delay or otherwise thwart speedy implementation of his Cannabis Act. The provinces, meanwhile, are working to flesh out the regulatory details that will govern the sale, purchase, distribution and use of pot across the country. However, the reality of marijuana legalization is fast approaching, raising the question, how do Canadians feel about legal pot now that it is upon us? [continues 553 words]
Picture this: You're an injection drug user, and, you're worried the next time you use, you might die. So, you head for the Shepherds of Good Hope, where there's a special trailer. There, you can use your drugs - and someone will save you if you overdose. Upon arrival, though, there's a police cruiser outside. Apparently it's there a lot, at least according to Ottawa Inner City Health, which runs the injection site, and officers are questioning staff and clients. [continues 667 words]
I happened to spend three days over New Year's in Las Vegas. Work! On the Star's dime! What a pleasure it was to smoke indoors again, a rarity in our world, with all the casinos tobacco-friendly. A city built on vice recognizes that gamblers are smokers and drinkers. But on New Year's Eve, when venturing out onto the Strip, I immediately recoiled from the stench of cannabis. Had forgotten that Nevada is one of eight American states where recreational marijuana is now legal. Clark County, in which Vegas is situated, boats some 80 dispensaries selling recreational (as opposed to medical) pot. Anyone over the age of 21 can buy up to one ounce of cannabis (or one-eighth-ounce of concentrate) at a time. [continues 1022 words]
Will the selling of marijuana in liquor stores result in poor health outcomes, higher health costs and more impaired driving? The answer, according to two credible and well-respected medical professionals, is a resounding "yes," and it's an answer they are trying to get the NDP government to sit up and take notice of. Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s long-serving chief provincial health officer, and Dr. Marcus Lem, the chairman of the Health Officers Council of B.C., are leading the charge against what is a widespread assumption that liquor stores will indeed be the primary outlet for the sales of cannabis once it becomes legal on July 1st. [continues 623 words]
Editor's Note: This story is part of a series on the birth of a new Nova Scotia industry: Legal pot cultivation. Nova Scotia pain researchers are looking to key into the body's own systems for relief through new products based on cannabinoids like those in cannabis. A research team has founded a company called Panag Pharma Inc. to develop non-addictive, effective topical pain relievers that will be available over the counter. Company president Dr. Mary Lynch is a professor at Dalhousie University and director of research in the pain management unit of the QEII Health Sciences Centre. [continues 747 words]
Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a series of stories focusing on people in Nova Scotia who will be delving into the marijuana industry. Fish urine is the secret sauce that will allow some 50,000 cannabis plants to thrive in Liverpool. We'll get to that momentarily. Myrna Gillis, founder and president of Aqualitas, reported recently her company had collected $8.7 million from investors across Canada and the United States. Three years into the making, and Gillis says Aqualitas has its sights set on a cultivating licence next month, allowing a minimum of 60 people to go to work in a job-starved area that was devastated by the closure of the Bowater newsprint mill in 2012. The Aqualitis plant itself occupies the former Bowater site. [continues 552 words]
Even though Ernest Small was the biggest legal grower of legal marijuana in North America back in the 1970s and is the federal government's foremost pot expert, the Canadian researcher is in disbelief that the country is on the cusp of legalizing the drug's recreational use. The principal research scientist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, who was named to the Order of Canada last week, says the aura around marijuana in government and law enforcement circles was "repressive and conservative" for decades. [continues 683 words]
At least 200 potential marijuana retailers have expressed interest in setting up shop in Calgary, says the city official responsible for planning for the impending legalization of recreational cannabis. Matt Zabloski said retail expectations could be getting out of hand, depending on provincial directives on how such shops will be located and regulated - guidelines that should be provided next month. "There are a lot of people putting a lot of money into this now and there are no guarantees," said Zabloski, who's working with as many as 17 city business units to prepare for legalization, expected to take effect this summer. [continues 535 words]
Regina's mayor is faulting the province for "drip, drip, dripping " information on marijuana regulation, and for failing to provide the clarity the city needs to craft its own plan. Despite his issues, he said Regina will not take advantage of the province's offer to "say no to a licence." The province announced Monday that cannabis will be sold through licensed private retailers and regulated through the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. But Mayor Michael Fougere said he still has questions about how the move will affect Regina. [continues 561 words]
New report offers control options for odour, light, noise Norfolk County may soon have well-defined rules governing the production of recreational and medicinal marijuana. Marijuana production facilities have proliferated unchecked in Norfolk over the past two years. These are medicinal in nature and loosely governed by Health Canada regulations. These facilities are not subject to provincial planning policies. As such, increased production has occurred in a policy vacuum that has given rise to land-use conflicts related to smell, noise and light pollution. [continues 188 words]
City on deck for seven outlets, with retailers selected in a lottery Saskatchewan is planning to allow private retailers to sell cannabis products, once they are legalized this summer by the federal government. Regina will be able to have six retailers, while Saskatoon can have seven. About 60 stores, which must be stand-alone shops and will also be able to sell products online, will be located in 40 communities throughout the province. The Saskatchewan Party government is allowing communities with a population of at least 2,500 to be eligible for a cannabis retailer. [continues 482 words]
To the editor: Re: Legalized marijuana will be a gateway drug, Letters, Dec. 28. I read with interest the opinion that marijuana will lead to becoming a junkie. From the age of 25 to around the age of 55, I smoked pot every day. I never encountered the day the marijuana failed to get me high. Some strains were more effective than others, but with the hundreds of fellow smokers I met over this time, only a few would go on cocaine benders but never made it a habit. There were doctors, lawyers, mechanics, school teachers and just about every walk of life who enjoyed a puff every day. In my life I have seen many more lives ravaged by booze than pot. [continues 72 words]
