VICTORIA - On the day Canadians can legally buy and use recreational marijuana, the clock will start ticking for cannabis dispensaries already open across the country, say politicians and pot industry insiders. On Oct. 17, provincial licensing, monitoring and approval regulations on legal marijuana retail standards will become law and the cannabis business will get real for marijuana shops currently operating outside the rules. "These are the same people who cried for legalization," said Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang. "Now they've got it, and they have to play by the rules." [continues 659 words]
Seldom a day goes by when financial pages don't highlight new developments in the marijuana industry. So, this is who we are today. Former B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake is now on the corporate board of a major marijuana company. Former Toronto police chief and current MP Bill Blair is a point man on marijuana legalization. Former B.C. Solicitor General and West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed is a consultant for marijuana companies. The list of government and policing honchos who have jumped on the bandwagon is substantial. [continues 757 words]
They might be reluctantly legalizing cannabis. But they'll never stop thinking they know better than us how we should live The Canadian government announced this week that marijuana would be legal for recreational in just under four months, by Oct. 17, 2018. The intervening time will be used to get legal distribution networks established and give provinces and police forces time to prepare for the transition. And, the government probably hopes, for Canadians to decide they're not so into this marijuana stuff, after all. [continues 377 words]
OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the government will look at ways to make things fair for those who have criminal records for marijuana possession after legalization comes into force. Goodale says the question of pardoning individuals with criminal records for possessing marijuana is legitimate and one the government will pursue once the law takes effect. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior [continues 236 words]
CALGARY - A report presented to city council on Monday recommends allowing marijuana consumption in designated spaces at festivals and events. The report, which council had yet to address as of press time, says making an exception will help to move second-hand smoke away from people who don't want to partake, while responding to "the current realities of cannabis consumption at festivals and events. Earlier in June, when council floated the possibility of modifying bylaws to allow space for event attendees to smoke marijuana, Calgary Folk Music Festival executive director Sara Leishman raised concerns about the additional expense that events would have to take on "with no opportunity to recoup costs through sales of sponsorship." [continues 108 words]
VICTORIA - The economic cost of substance use in Canada in 2014 was $38.4 billion, or about $1,100 for every Canadian, says a report released Tuesday. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction partnered with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research to examine the data and estimate the harms of substance use based on health, justice, lost productivity and other costs. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior [continues 258 words]
With the legalization of cannabis only a few months away, one of Canadaas top medical organizations is warning women about the risks the drug poses if used during pregnancy and breastfeeding. According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, marijuana use can lead to preterm birth and low birth weight, as well as lower IQ and hyperactivity after a child is born. aWe want to make sure women understand just because itas legal doesnat mean itas safe,a said Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer with the SOGC. aThe science does suggest there are effects on pregnancy and on fetal development.a [continues 309 words]
CALGARY - City council approved changes on Monday to allow areas in Calgary where people can smoke or otherwise consume marijuana in public. The city's Cannabis Consumption Bylaw prohibits public consumption in all forms, even after marijuana becomes legal in October. Changes to the bylaw will allow designated consumption areas both around the city and at festivals and events. The city says there are currently no proposed designated cannabis consumption areas for Calgary's public spaces, but councillors can now begin identifying potential sites. [continues 100 words]
TORONTO - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday marijuana will be legal nationwide on October 17. Trudeau said in Parliament that the government is committed to better protecting Canada's youth and hopes to take money away from organized crime. The Senate gave final passage to Trudeau's bill to legalize cannabis on Tuesday. The country will become the second in the world to make pot legal nationwide. "The legislation is transformative," said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, adding it "marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis, leaving behind a failed model of prohibition." [continues 403 words]
The costs and benefits of cannabis and cannabis policies are difficult to calculate, but cannabis legalization will remove many impediments to research. A recent study finding an association between chronic cannabis use by young people and diminished life outcomes acknowledged "while we controlled for multiple potential confounds, it is possible that there are other explanatory mechanisms that have not been accounted for ... in the current study." Oddly, one of the confounds the study neglected to control for is the self-medication of emotional and psychological problems such as ADHD and PTSD, which typically stem from childhood trauma: abuse, neglect, abandonment or, in some cases perhaps, an emotionally unavailable father. [continues 86 words]
In 2012, Washington State voted to legalize marijuana. By 2014, the world's first system for legally growing, processing and retailing cannabis was operating. As Canada prepares to go live with pot sales in a few months, what can we learn from four years of practical, hands-on experience in the western United States? The first take-away is that all the fretting about the impact on children and teens is largely unwarranted. Before legalization, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students in Washington State said they had smoked pot in the previous month. Four years of legal doobies later, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students say they have smoked pot in the previous month. [continues 663 words]
Manitoba's Justice Minister is calling for federal legislation to confirm that provinces can ban the home growth of marijuana plants. "I think that is clear that is provincial jurisdiction to make that decision. (But) I believe the federal (Justice) Minister made some comments that were a little concerning, so we wanted clarification on that," said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson, following a speech to Manitoba Chambers of Commerce members on cannabis legislation Thursday. "We've called (for) some clarification from the federal government. If they could put it specifically in legislation, that would be best." [continues 341 words]
People who have post-traumatic stress disorder but do not medicate with cannabis are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and have suicidal thoughts than those who use marijuana, new national research says. Based on cross-country data from Statistics Canada, the observational study by researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Substance Use shows that Canadians with PTSD who use medicinal cannabis are 60 per cent to 65 per cent less likely to have major depressive episodes or thoughts of suicide compared with those who do not treat their symptoms with medical marijuana. The study is the first national-scale indication of the effectiveness of cannabis at mitigating the hallmark symptoms of PTSD. It was presented on Thursday at the annual conference of the Canadian Public Health Association in Montreal. [continues 486 words]
The government's leader in the Senate, Peter Harder, slammed the committee's removal of the provision OTTAWA - In a controversial move that may set up another showdown with the House of Commons, a Senate committee voted on Wednesday night to remove random alcohol testing from the government's impaired driving legislation. The provision would allow police to demand a breathalyzer test from any driver regardless of whether police had reasonable grounds to believe the driver had consumed alcohol. Currently police need that reasonable suspicion to make the breathalyzer demand, which drivers are punished for refusing. [continues 625 words]
Open letter sent to federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her B.C. counterpart David Eby Jessika Villano sells a potent array of dried cannabis, oils, salves and even bud-infused bath bombs at Buddha Barn Medicinal Society - all grown and processed by small-scale British Columbia producers. Villano doesn't want that to change when marijuana is legalized later this year, and she's among the proponents of local craft cannabis who are pushing the federal and provincial governments to ensure its survival. [continues 600 words]
Edmonton police will need about $1.4 million in ongoing and one-time funding to prepare for marijuana legalization this summer, a report to the police commission states. Cannabis is set to become legal in Canada this summer and with it comes higher policing costs, the Edmonton Police Commission heard Thursday. Police officials outlined a laundry list of new technology and training needed to enforce legal weed laws. Last month, the city approved $1.4 million in one-time and ongoing funding to help the police service deal with the impact of legal weed. [continues 538 words]
Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's how pot affects your body and mind When neurologist Frances Ames began testing the effects of a single dose of cannabis sativa on a group of her medical colleagues who were, on the whole, "articulate and fairly stable people," the onset of abnormal sensations "was always abrupt and immediate." One was sustained hilarity. "The whole idea of the experiment," Ames reported in 1958 in the Journal of Mental Science, "would suddenly seem enormously amusing." Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's everything you need to know about how pot affects your body and mind. [continues 1328 words]
Some time this summer, marijuana will be legal in Canada. It's already legal in Washington state and has been for four years. But Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth warned this week that there's a significant problem looming at the border crossing, because it's still going to be illegal there. It makes no sense whatsoever, but the U.S. federal government controls the border crossing, and marijuana is still nominally illegal in the U.S. federally. "People [meaning, cannabis users] are going to naturally assume, on either side of the border, that they cross back and forth because it's legal in each jurisdiction,a" told the house. "But the reality is it will not be legal at that federal border crossing." [continues 626 words]
It's all about harm reduction and improving community health outcomes No doubt some Hamiltonians are chuckling to hear city council is considering banning sugary drinks from city buildings to protect people's health. With good reason. The proposed ban by the public health department lands at the same time the city is moving ahead with opening its first safe injection site for drug addicts. It's more than a little ironic that the city may be cracking down on sugar while enabling the use of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. [continues 581 words]
Cannabis sales likely won't prove a financial bonanza. Those counting on help from cannabis sales to balance the provincial budget are in for a disappointment. As far as Statistics Canada can tell, cannabis prices in this country have been dropping for the past three years, perhaps the past dozen years. Since weed-market watchers in the United States have found roughly the same thing, it's probably true. Canada's provincial treasurers, along with private investors in the cannabis trade, may still be able to turn a profit, but the bonanza that used to beckon has probably evaporated already. [continues 618 words]
