Adults in their 70s, 80s and 90s are trying medical marijuana for the first time, hoping it will ease chronic pain, insomnia and depression after pharmaceutical drugs have failed. Businesses are noticing - and they are all in, Adriana Barton reports. Around this time of year, Hope Bobowski can't wait to garden in the flower beds outside her home near Keremeos, in the hills of southern Interior British Columbia. The petite 79-year-old loves card games and cooking for her great-grandchildren, but the only thing that keeps her on her feet is her daily dose of cannabidiol (CBD), a potent extract of cannabis or hemp. [continues 1448 words]
Upcoming weed expo at Stampede Park expected to match Edmonton trade show Taboos over marijuana are going up in smoke, supercharging cannabis expos in Alberta, including one taking seed in Calgary next month, say organizers. Fuelled by a buzz over impending national legalization and eight U.S. states that have dropped pot prohibition, an Edmonton trade show held in early April exceeded attendance expectations, said Kevin Blackburn of organizer Canwest Productions. "We were hoping for 3,000 to 5,000 people and we doubled that," he said. [continues 471 words]
Last week the federal government announced it will move forward with its highly-anticipated and contentious pledge to legalize recreational marijuana. What might possibly be the most memorable piece of legislation undertaken by the Justin Trudeau Liberals will most certainly result in polarizing political and personal stances. Social media and online reactions range from cheers to fears - including criticisms that the whole movement is nothing short of a government tax grab that has parent and landlord advocates up in arms. "I've witnessed Justin Trudeau try to manage the economy, electoral reform I'm not sure I have faith in his ability to protect kids from pot," said Banff-Airdrie Conservative MP Blake Richards. [continues 624 words]
Editor: One must ask the lawmakers and backers, "Whose side are you on?" Each time a cop busts a compassion club, they hand power back to the underground economy. I don't believe this is the effect they were aiming for. What does kicking in the door of compassion say about our laws and their views on medical care? Under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPRR), a patient can acquire any source of cannabis material, but recently only from licensed producers (LPs). There are currently almost 130,000 Canadians registered in the program. When these doors are shut, patients are left out on the street at risk of purchasing contaminated or spiked cannabis to treat their condition. [continues 585 words]
Emerys, Magder deserve medals (my dad, too) Maybe one day Marc and Jodie Emery will be on a postage stamp. As opposed to in jail. There's a fine line between heinous criminal and heroic pioneer, eh? Unless you've been in a coma, or totally wasted, you know the Emerys are Canada's prince and princess of pot. They were busted last month for trafficking and possession - 20 charges between them - as they were about to depart Toronto's Pearson airport for a pot festival in Spain. [continues 572 words]
A Chemainus dispensary reopened less than 48 hours after North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP raided three cannabis retailers in North Cowichan late Friday morning. Officers entered Leaf Compassion and Green Aura in Chemainus with a warrant at around 11 p.m. on Friday and were still on scene in the early hours of the evening. "They went ahead and arrested all of our staff that were on site and began their search and seizure," said Leaf Compassion's regional manager Justin Gurinskas outside the store just minutes after owner Kyle Cheyne was arrested and taken into custody. [continues 571 words]
Since 2000, the state of Hawaii has had a medical-use-of-marijuana program to provide patients with chronic illness a safe and effective treatment option. As we progress through 2017 and in anticipation of opening dispensaries, it is now the appropriate time to remove the inconsistent treatment of cannabis as an illegal substance from Hawaii law. It would seem the state Legislature agrees, as there are over 10 bills seeking to decriminalize marijuana; over 10 bills expanding the current dispensary program (even though dispensaries haven't opened yet); over five bills trying to open the state in some way to industrial hemp; and several bills claiming portions of the tax revenue from still unopened dispensaries - all alongside two or three bills with a more "boogeyman" and much less science-based approach. For example, House Bill 922 points out that 90 percent of the state's medical marijuana certifications are issued by just 10 doctors, then asserts this is due to some abuse ! of the system instead of the fact that most doctors feel their license will be in danger if they issue marijuana certifications, or the fact that many people choose to seek marijuana certifications from doctors who specialize in cannabis rather than their regular doctor. [continues 406 words]
Okanagan Cannabis Solutions owner Bob Jaenicke needs a reality check (Penticton Western News, Feb. 17, Not thumbing our noses at city council). I am a home owner that lives about 100 feet from this business. In his arrogance to defy city council he puts our children at risk. First of all city council has every legal right to determine what business are allowed in our city. They have every legal right to limit those businesses in our city period. There should have never been any licences approved at all.The selling of these products over the counter is illegal. I don't care what adults want to buy,they are adults. Influencing our children is another thing. [continues 506 words]
With legislation to legalize marijuana expected in the spring, a new player has emerged on London's increasingly crowded pot-dispensary scene. The Chronic Hub Social Club has opened at 119 Dundas St., the first marijuana dispensary to set up shop in the city's core. The new pot shop brings London's dispensary count to six, four of them popping up after Justin Trudeau pledged in the 2015 election campaign to legalize marijuana. "It's just another reason to come downtown," said Charles Colvin, chief executive of the Chronic Hub. "That's what you want in your downtown core, is for people to be down there." [continues 387 words]
Owner joins provincial pot advisory group One of the operators of an Edmonton storefront cannabis dispensary says he has joined an industry legalization committee after charges laid in a police raid were dropped. Aaron Bott, his brother Colin Bott and his mother and stepfather, Janice and Bob Cyre, were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance when their non-profit "compassion club" was busted in July 2015. The Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Organization Society, or MACROS, supplied cannabis products from a shop on 118 Avenue to more than 1,000 customers with Health Canada medical-marijuana licences or prescriptions from a doctor. [continues 343 words]
One of the operators of an Edmonton storefront cannabis dispensary says he has joined an industry legalization committee after charges laid in a police raid were dropped. Aaron Bott, his brother Colin Bott and his mother and stepfather, Janice and Bob Cyre, were charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance when their non-profit "compassion club" was busted in July 2015. The Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Organization Society, or MACROS, supplied cannabis products from a shop on 118 Avenue to more than 1,000 customers with Health Canada medical-marijuana licences or prescriptions from a doctor. [continues 348 words]
[photo] 10,000 People Smoke Cannabis on Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C. to Protest Trump's Pick of Drug Warrior Jeff Sessions The weed was pretty good. #Trump420 protest in Washington, D.C. (Corey Pein) An estimated 10,000 people lined up for five blocks to collect some 8,000 free joints at this morning's surprisingly punctual #Trump420 protest at Dupont Circle in Northwest Washington, DC. The mellow, all but police-free event was a first stop for President Donald Trump's protesters and fans alike this Inauguration Day morning. The weed was pretty good. [continues 293 words]
Mary Louise received her first dose of CBD oil Saturday, about four months after the bill allowing children to receive the oil extracted from marijuana was signed into law. The oil helps children like Mary Louise with severe epilepsy control their seizures. It took only a simple phrase to see how Mary Louise Swing's life would improve from cannabidiol. On vacation with family in Myrtle Beach last weekend, Mary Louise stunned her mother, Jill, and a roomful of relatives with a simple "Hi everybody" as she got out of bed. [continues 685 words]
[photo] Maryland's medical marijuana program cleared a key hurdle Thursday as a state panel approved draft rules to govern the new businesses. (Erin Cox/Baltimore Sun) Maryland's medical marijuana program cleared a key hurdle Thursday as a state panel approved draft rules to govern the new businesses. The medical marijuana commission set license fees for growers and dispensaries -- at rates among the highest in the country -- and developed rules for patients to obtain the drug in either a smokable or liquid form, among other new regulations. [continues 858 words]
Hi is a cannabis brand. Its logo -- "hi" in white letters inside an orange circle -- can be found above the front door of a Portland, Ore., marijuana shop and on a handful of cannabis products, including massage oil and Hi Releaf pain-relief balm. But you wouldn't guess any of that from Hi's trademark filings. In 2015, the brand's parent company, Cannabis Sativa Inc., filed a trademark application -- not for any of Hi's core products, but for hats, T-shirts and a wide array of other apparel. [continues 1251 words]
A pot bust against legal growers in Yolo County seems to go too far If ever you needed proof that we live in an age of confusion about marijuana laws, let me share with you the story of Ted Hicks and Ryan Mears, two Sacramento-area entrepreneurs who decided to start a legal medical cannabis business last year and ended up on the business end of assault rifles wielded by officers from a multi-agency, anti-drug task force. I first heard about the case from Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor in September, at a "State of Marijuana" conference aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Saylor, who was on a panel discussing how cities and counties were dealing with cannabis regulation, said that Hicks and Mears and their business, Big Red Farms, were considered by county officials to be "shining stars" in the cannabis licensing arena. [continues 1201 words]
It looks like pot. It smells like pot. But it's hemp, marijuana's legal cousin, and it's taking over the Bluegrass state. Across the rolling hills of Kentucky, which just two decades ago was the most tobacco-dependent state in the country, farmers are planting less of the crop after rising health concerns shrunk demand. Instead, they're increasingly turning to hemp and have more than doubled sowings of the cannabis variety in 2016 to become the No. 2 producer in the U.S., trailing Colorado. [continues 405 words]
Substance not psychoactive, used for pain, and anxiety Some Edmonton vape shops are pulling products containing a substance derived from cannabis, amid confusion over its legality. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is illegal for anyone to purchase without a prescription, under the federal Controlled Substances and Drugs Act. The substance is not psychoactive - it's tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and not CBD that gets users high - which may be where the confusion comes in. Until late December, Digital Imports carried CBDfx, a vape additive derived from hemp plants that contains concentrated CBD, with the understanding that it was legal. [continues 236 words]
How a renowned Canadian feminist popularized our racist war on drugs Detective Joe Ricci and his partner, Alex Sinclair, were out on a routine bust in Vancouver's Chinatown. It was 1916, and Ricci and Sinclair were front-line officers in the war on opium. The drug had been criminalized in Canada eight years earlier through the introduction of the Western world's earliest drug prohibition law, and the Vancouver police department had been chasing down traffickers ever since. Ricci was a familiar sight in the neighbourhood. He had made such a big arrest in 1913 that for days after, the Vancouver Daily World reported, "not a light [was] to be seen and the ringing noise of the chuck-a-luck dice [had] stopped." But the gamblers and the opium smokers were soon back, and Ricci was out patrolling the streets again. [continues 4172 words]
