Majority to respond to city's online questionnaire have been for legalization Two thirds of Medicine Hatters support pot legalization, according to early results of an online survey that asks how the city should regulate local marijuana sales, the municipal planning commission heard on Wednesday. The same survey, filled out by 4,000 respondents as of Feb. 20, is on track to garner a larger response than similar surveys in Calgary and Edmonton. And city officials says the high numbers aren't the result of the pro-pot community "hijacking" the process to skew the results. [continues 472 words]
Tax income from soon-to-be-legal marijuana is forecast at $615 million. But it could bring in much more, a Lethbridge business audience heard Wednesday. And while the federal government will collect the new tax, 75 per cent of it will go to provincial governments to help communities with implementation costs. That was one of just a handful of new or hiked consumer taxes included in the federal government's budget, highlighted in a breakfast presentation by experts from KPMG. [continues 283 words]
Funds from marijuana taxes will also help, says mayor Federal funds targeting the opioid crisis will be welcome in Lethbridge. And Mayor Chris Spearman says a share of the newly announced taxes on marijuana will also help, when its use becomes legal later this year. Finance Minister Bill Morneau included $231 million in his new budget - - spread over five years - to support communities battling an opioid crisis. "Maybe we can get some relief," Spearman said, pointing to the steps the City has taken to respond to the situation. One initiative, a safe-use centre where drug users can find medical help and counselling, opened Wednesday. [continues 432 words]
Trying not to be too cynical about all the reporting, discussions, debates and business preparations on Trudeau's "wrath of pot" legalization predications, with the lame duck excuse that the crooks are making too much money on its sales, I'm sorry! The recent news of the inherent benefit of marijuana has been blown right out of the water by a recent group of very prominent world scientists. They have reported that there is absolutely no shred of evidence whatsoever of its benefit for health and pain relief, because of the availability of hundreds of pharmaceuticals that do not have negative health aftereffects like brain damage, in addition to dangerous driving which puts the very heavy load on our police forces that still do not have equipment to test for drug impairment. [continues 147 words]
Brighton - People consume marijuana because it relaxes them but the prospect of its recreational use becoming legal is making police anxious. "Anticipated issues" include "easier access for the youth population," impaired operation of vehicles, and the "facilitation of trafficking," OPP Detective-Sergeant Rick Dupuis said in a presentation to Brighton council on the implications of the federal law that is to take effect sometime after July 1. "The provincial and federal governments indicate that this act was introduced to minimize or mitigate accessibility to our young population but in my professional opinion I believe that is ... counterintuitive," he told council Feb. 20. "It's going to make it much easier." [continues 690 words]
Realtors and condo boards scramble to find solutions Realtors and condo boards are sparking up conversations about pot as legalization looms. Anand Sharma, president and condominium manager with the Northern Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute, said condo corporations should start revising their rules if they haven't already to prevent sticky situations when tenants start lighting up legally. "The bottom line is people are going to have to seek legal counsel to tighten up their bylaws or address some of these issues in their bylaws," Sharma said. [continues 428 words]
With some marijuana dispensaries still open in spite of repeated warnings, the Regina Police Service is now taking its campaign to the shops' landlords. About two weeks ago, police sent letters to property owners informing them that their pot-shop tenants are committing a criminal offence. Selling cannabis out of storefronts remains illegal. According to police spokesperson Les Parker, the letters also conveyed that the properties "may be subject to forfeiture" if sales continue. He cited a provision of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that allows courts to order the seizure of "offence-related property." [continues 248 words]
As Canada is poised to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, readers might wonder how schools will handle the change. Will kids be legally toking up on school grounds? Will skunky smells be wafting down the halls? Definitely not. First off, it's important to note that when the recreational use of marijuana is legalized, probably later this year, it will still be illegal for minors to use or possess pot. In that regard, things won't change in schools. [continues 680 words]
Pot courses sprouting at Ontario colleges Puff, puff, pass will take on a new meaning when recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada later this year. And not just in the way you might think. Some Canadian colleges and universities are preparing people for the thousands of potential new jobs expected to be created as the country's booming weed industry - valued at $23 billion by accounting firm Deloitte - transitions from the black market to a legal one with an estimated 5 million existing customers across the country. [continues 668 words]
It is hard to pinpoint reasons for a large increase in the number of physicians authorizing the use of medical marijuana, but a local pain specialist has some theories. "Cannabinoids are showing great promise as medicines, especially in the myriad of non specific conditions like anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, mild to moderate pain, unhappiness, recurrent stress and dysphoria conditions which pharmacotherapy has offered little and doctors are ill equipped to treat," said Dr. Gaylord Wardell, anesthesiologist and pain specialist, Sante Surgi, Medicine Hat. "Patients are dissatisfied with their doctors and their drugs." [continues 457 words]
A number of on-the-fly changes were proposed Calgary city councillors have proposed a number of relaxations on proposed cannabis retailer rules. On Wednesday, during a council committee, administration presented their land use bylaw rules to ready the city's policies ahead of marijuana legalization. But just like rolling your first joint, the process wasn't easy. The rules will now be smoothed over and sent to an April council meeting before being passed into official law. If council approves the changes made at the committee level, cannabis stores won't be restricted by distance when it comes to opening up shop near post-secondary institutions. [continues 328 words]
Liberal MP says he wasn't thrilled about it at first, but changed his views Cannabis was on the menu at the Belleville & District Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast Wednesday at the Travelodge Hotel, and Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis was pushing it - from a business point of view. With Bill C- 45, the Cannabis Act, expected to be law by July 1, Ellis said the business of marijuana will provide many opportunities, not just from production of both recreational and medical cannabis, but from the many sideline businesses it will create. [continues 855 words]
Medical marijuana added to health-insurance plan Medical marijuana will soon be part of health insurance for students at UBC Okanagan. The one-year pilot program will begin in September. University of Waterloo began a similar plan in 2014. The idea was initiated by Michelle Thiessen, chairwoman of the Okanagan chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a UBCO graduate student. Without coverage for medical marijuana, students are left covering 100 per cent of the costs while still paying into the student health insurance plan, she said. [continues 288 words]
As the B.C. government sets policy on the legalization of marijuana, the towns of Oliver and Osoyoos are still wondering what that will look like. Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes said his council has to have a formal discussion on the topic. "We had most recently suggested that any sale (of marijuana) should take place through a government agency and the province has decided against that." Hovanes previously questioned if municipalities should have any role in marijuana legalization. Council recently supported a call for local governments to receive a share of the cannabis revenue to cover social and policing costs. [continues 765 words]
This is a follow-up of my two letters in The Daily Press dated March 29, 2017 titled "PM's head going to pot" and Dec. 20, 2017 titled "Medical marijuana has no medicinal value." I managed to get an updated publication dated April 13, 2017 titled "Health Effects of cannabis" from Health Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and readers can find this Health Canada publication with an online search. The publication clearly summarizes the short-term health effects, long-term health effects, risks of illegal cannabis, mental health effects, health effects on youth, health effects on pregnancy and children, and addiction. [continues 352 words]
Dear Tony: Our strata council is getting a lot of pressure from our owners to adopt a bylaw that prohibits use of marijuana and growing of marijuana plants. Several owners have already complained about the smell of marijuana in the building from several smokers, and we had to eradicate a grow-op back in 2004, costing our strata more than $75,000 in damages that we never recovered. What our council is struggling with is the question of how far we can go with our bylaws. [continues 447 words]
Patients still struggling to get covered by insurance plans As Alberta moves forward on retail applications for recreational marijuana, those who use the drug for medical reasons still wait for coverage. Most forms of medical cannabis do not have a Drug Identification Number (DIN) in Canada, which leaves it subject to tax and exempts it from most health coverage plans. "We're not talking about drug users using this to get high, we're talking about patients that need it to be able to function and be part of a working society," said Scott Bladon, an Edmonton man who has legally used cannabis for three years to treat psoriatic arthritis. [continues 523 words]
As legalization looms, experts say we're not road safe yet As Canada readies to legalize pot this summer, experts including an ex-traffic cop warn we're still stumped about stopping stoned drivers from hitting B.C.'S streets. "I've stopped lots of people who have been under the influence of marijuana," recalls retired West Vancouver traffic enforcement officer Cpl. Grant Gottgetreu. "You had to get really good at making observations. "Unless a person gets pulled over and there's an overwhelming smell of burned marijuana from the car there's still no instrument out there to test like there is for alcohol yet." [continues 532 words]
(Re: New guideline recommends doctors avoid prescribing medical marijuana for most conditions, Feb. 15) The British have just issued the same guideline raising the question why there was not public education on the serious dangers to health before the Trudeau government fast-tracked legalizing marijuana. Besides causing serious damage to young developing brains, using pot can also lead to very aggressive behaviour is some people. The bottom line is very little is known about the long-term health effects of the 80 cannabinoids contained in marijuana. One thing we do know from the experiences in Colorado and Washington states, after legalization, is there will likely be more impaired drivers on our highways leading to more road deaths and young people will gain access to the drug with dire consequences. [continues 131 words]
Psychologists point to 'compelling evidence' of cannabis' potential health impairments Apart from the #Metoo maelstrom and the housing crises in Toronto and Vancouver, few things stir up Canadians more than marijuana, which its promoters claim is the cure for everything from glaucoma to brain disease =2E Should private outlets sell recreational marijuana? Is it more enjoyable to smoke or swallow cannabis? Will I get rich on pot stocks? Is it possible to remove the criminal underground from Canada's $6 billion-a-year cannabis industry? [continues 975 words]
