The legalization of cannabis in coming months will offer a clear opportunity for provinces to shut down the black market for the drug and put an end to any notion there are still "grey" areas in Canadian law, top Liberal officials said. In a joint interview, federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and her parliamentary secretary, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, said the new regime for legal marijuana will vary by province, as different rules are being put in place for distribution and retail. [continues 1190 words]
OTTAWA - A new Health Canada survey shows that Canadians are hazy on the risks of driving high. Only half of respondents who had consumed cannabis in the past year felt that marijuana use affects driving, according to the Canadian Cannabis Survey, released Tuesday, compared with 75 per cent of all respondents. Another 24 per cent said it depends, while 19 per cent said cannabis doesn't affect driving. Of those who had used marijuana in the last 12 months, 39 per cent said they had driven within two hours of consuming cannabis at some point in their lives. Forty per cent of those said they had done it in the previous 30 days, and 15 per cent said they had driven after using cannabis in combination with alcohol. Only two per cent reported an interaction with police related to driving under the influence. [continues 403 words]
Bill C-45 is horrible legislation which will not achieve its objectives and should never see the light of day. The Senate will do its job and thoroughly study the Bill, but Canadians will be well-served if it is defeated, writes Alberta Senator Betty Unger. It's difficult to remember the last time the federal government and the provinces came to an agreement on revenue sharing in a single day. But that's what happened last week when the feds agreed to give the provinces 75 per cent of tax revenue generated by the sale of marijuana. [continues 787 words]
Legalized marijuana will 'enslave our youth" and turn the federal government into "the new pusher on the block," a Chatham politician says - drawing a rebuke from the community's top publichealth official. Dave Van Kesteren said that nothing about the federal government's Cannabis Act is good, but he's particularly concerned about how it allows youth ages 11 to 17 to carry up to five grams of cannabis. "Doctors have been saying, psychiatrists have been saying, that because the brain is still forming and is not fully formed by the time somebody is 25, somebody below that age should certainly not be using it," the Conservative member said in an interview. [continues 426 words]
On Monday, Nov. 27, The Cannabis Act passed third reading. This was the last vote in the House of Commons before the legislation goes to the Senate for review and approval. The government's plan is to have marijuana on the market for recreational use starting July 1, 2018. I voted "no" to this legislation. Here's why: The Liberal government has been told by numerous authorities, including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, to slow down. There's no reason the legislation needs to come into effect on July 1, 2018 and law enforcement agents have warned the government of the negative impact its rushed time frame will have on officers and the safety of Canadians. [continues 782 words]
Liquor branch will be sole distributor, retail system to be unveiled British Columbians will have to be at least 19 years of age to buy and use marijuanaonce the federal government legalizes recreational pot in the summer. B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth announced the minimum age limit Tuesday in releasing a series of policy decisions on the regulation of non-medicinal marijuana. He said the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch will be the wholesale distributor of marijuana in the province. [continues 726 words]
The federal government is moving on a number of fronts as it pushes toward the legalization of cannabis by next summer, including launching public consultations on the proposed excise tax of $1 a gram. In addition, federal officials are putting the finishing touches on complex regulations that will set the rules for the production and distribution of cannabis "from seed to sale." Once they are made public in coming weeks, the regulations will be the subject of separate consultations, with the government seeking input of everyone from producers to consumers to health experts. [continues 617 words]
Market needs legal structure, official says OTTAWA - Police are warning it could be "impossible" for law enforcement to get trained up in time for legal marijuana in July 2018. Testifying at a House of Commons health committee Tuesday, police leaders expressed concerns about the Liberal government's impending deadline to create a legal weed market. Organizations will need to know the new laws and regulations backwards and forwards before they can prepare their officers for duty, they said. Mike Serr, deputy chief constable and chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police drug advisory committee, said the government should consider extending its deadline. "We ask that established legislative framework be put in place prior to legalization that will provide law enforcement with clear direction and assistance regarding funding and training," he said. [continues 495 words]
Supreme Court affirms landmark ruling on court delays OTTAWA - All players in the justice system need to do their part to target the "root causes" of unnecessary trial delays, the Supreme Court of Canada said Friday in affirming its landmark ruling on timely proceedings. The high court ruled unanimously that a Newfoundland and Labrador man facing drug and weapon charges should not go to trial under new rules spelled out last July for determining unjustifiable court delays. The latest decision comes amid intense public and political debate over the time limits for trials, including a Senate committee report this week that expressed concern over accused criminals walking free. [continues 465 words]
Supreme Court rejects plea by five provinces that intervened in case of accused drug trafficker dismissed because of delay The Supreme Court has taken a tough line on delay in the criminal courts, rejecting a plea from the provinces to be more flexible after a year-old ruling spread turmoil through the justice system. In its first chance to revisit delay since its groundbreaking ruling in R v Jordan last summer, the court spoke bluntly to five provincial attorneys-general who intervened in the case of James Cody, an accused drug trafficker whose charges were thrown out for unreasonable delay. The provinces had asked the court to make it easier to justify delay. [continues 935 words]
Legalizing pot shouldn't be this hard to get right The move toward marijuana legalization is still not as coherent as it could be, let's say. The Liberal legislation, unveiled last month, would establish rules around THC-impaired driving that may well prove unconstitutional: science has yet to establish a solid link between a given level of THC concentration in a driver's blood or saliva and his level of impairment. Frustratingly, there are still those who use this as an argument against legalization - as if it would create pot-impaired drivers where there are none today. [continues 734 words]
The federal Liberal government released their plan to legalize marijuana last week in Ottawa, however, anyone thinking that it is going to happen overnight is in for a rude awakening. Kootenay Columbia MP Wayne Stetski says the legislation actually contains two bills - one bill on marijuana legalization and another bill amending the criminal code to enact harsher impaired driving penalties, for both marijuana and alcohol. First, the legislation has to be introduced into Parliament for first and second reading, before going to an all-party committee meeting. That committee can call in experts ranging from doctors to lawyers to police to testify on the merits or shortcomings of the bill. From there, recommendations are sent back to Parliament, which are rolled into a third reading. [continues 826 words]
Jim Warren should have told us what age he figures is old enough to join the army to kill and die for your country if he figures the government should be protecting children from cannabis until they are 21. I figure if you're old enough to kill or die for your country, you're old enough to engage in vices. Governments were never intended to protect children from adult vices. It is the duty of parents to instill ethics and morals in their children, not the state. [continues 122 words]
Ottawa will have to launch a series of negotiations as soon as it tables its long-awaited bill to legalize marijuana on Thursday, needing to strike deals with the Senate, the provinces and the U.S. government in its bid to lift the 94-year-old prohibition on the drug. For starters, the Liberals will need to adopt a raft of legislative changes in the House of Commons, where they have a solid majority, but also through an independent Senate that is increasingly asserting its desire to study and amend government bills. [continues 660 words]
This July 1 is canada's big 150th birthday bash. But July 1, 2018, could be a more interesting celebration. That's the date, according to reports, when marijuana might finally be legal. In a weekend news leak that had the added benefit of diverting attention from an insipid federal budget, CBC reported the Liberal government will unveil its marijuana legalization bill in the next few weeks. Under it, federal authorities would take charge of licensing producers and regulating suppliers. It would set 18 as the minimum legal age for use, though provinces could set it higher. [continues 303 words]
This July 1 is Canada's big 150th birthday bash. But July 1, 2018, could be a more interesting celebration. That's the date, according to reports, when marijuana might finally be legal. It has been reported that the Liberal government will unveil its marijuana legalization bill in the next few weeks. Under it, federal authorities would take charge of licensing producers and regulating suppliers. It would set 18 as the minimum legal age for use, though provinces could set it higher. [continues 288 words]
At least three provinces are making it clear they expect Ottawa to foot the bill for costs associated with its plan to legalize marijuana - - an issue that will have significant impacts in their jurisdictions. In Edmonton on Wednesday, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said there will likely be additional financial pressures related to regulation, testing and sharing public information about a legalized regime. "We certainly are expecting some help with that - in what form that comes is difficult to say without having seen the regulations," she said. [continues 535 words]
He doesn't seek the limelight and he doesn't look any too comfortable in it, but former Toronto top cop Bill Blair is adapting to life in Ottawa. As the Liberals' point man for decriminalization of marijuana, he's steering radical changes . . . cautiously OTTAWA- Bill Blair, the former undercover drug cop who rose to become Toronto police chief and now leads Justin Trudeau's charge to legalize marijuana, long ago gave up his gun and uniform. But his guard is still up. He defensively shifts position in a room when he's with a minister, switching to what he calls "protective mode." He tries to be casual: "I didn't have a first name for a decade," he tells a reporter. "Now that I've got it back" - just call him "Bill." And yet he's still all "Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am." [continues 2894 words]
This July 1 is Canada's big 150th-birthday bash. But July 1, 2018 could be a more interesting celebration. That's the date, according to reports, when marijuana might finally be legal. In a weekend news leak that had the added benefit of diverting attention from an insipid federal budget, CBC reported the Liberal government will unveil its marijuana legalization bill in the next few weeks. Under it, federal authorities would take charge of licensing producers and regulating suppliers. It would set 18 as the minimum legal age for use, though provinces could set it higher. [continues 349 words]
Vancouver's medical-heroin program was modelled after treatment started in Switzerland in 1990s The smell of rubbing alcohol permeates a tiny room where chronic heroin users inject a pharmaceutical-grade version of the drug three times a day just to feel normal. Justin Hall, 48, exits the freshly cleaned injection room at the Crosstown Clinic in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside after his second visit of the day. He plans to return in the evening for his third "shift," the same routine he has followed for 2 1/2 years. [continues 749 words]
