It is indeed sweet victory to see the B.C. Liquor Corp. selling cannabis. In the B.C. election of 2001, I, as a B.C. Marijuana Party candidate, was arrested at the behest of the Victoria Hillside liquor store for campaigning for legal cannabis. Some advice about marketing would be in order. As a Realtor of 30 years, I can offer some pointers. Analyze the prevailing market and emulate it. At present, in the "friends" market, you can smell before you buy. If you don't like it, you can bring it back. [continues 90 words]
Like many civic leaders across Canada, councillors in the town of Hampstead, Que., were worried about the idea of people smoking marijuana on the street once the drug became legal. So they drew up a tough bylaw - and it's set to become the most restrictive anti-smoking measure in the country. In a move that experts predict will motivate other Canadian municipalities, the town of 7,100 has adopted a draft bylaw that would ban smoking everywhere in public, including streets and sidewalks. [continues 588 words]
Federal service drops case involving cannabis activist whose charges were stayed last month Federal prosecutors have decided to drop their appeal of a court ruling that dismissed charges against a prominent B.C. cannabis activist. Dana Larsen was arrested in Calgary during a national tour to give away millions of marijuana seeds to the public. On Monday, Larsen said in Vancouver that the Crown's appeal was to be heard July 2 in the Alberta Court of Appeal. But after a review this week, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it is dropping the case. [continues 375 words]
The federal Crown has decided to drop its appeal of a ruling dismissing charges against a prominent cannabis activist who was arrested in Calgary during a national tour to give away millions of marijuana seeds to the public. On Monday, Dana Larsen said he was served notice at his home in Vancouver and the case was to be heard July 2 in the Alberta Court of Appeal. But after a subsequent review this week, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said it is dropping the case. [continues 395 words]
Non-smoking buildings can extend rule to marijuana under new legislation Tenants hoping to grow legal marijuana plants in their homes might soon have to deal with a new kind of drug enforcement - from their landlords. The government introduced legislation Tuesday to give landlords the right to prohibit the use, sale or growing of marijuana inside rental units. It's only one part of a string of amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that empower landlords in Saskatchewan. Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters he doesn't intend for the rules to affect the possession of dried marijuana, but only live plants and smoking. [continues 615 words]
Alberta opposition wrestles with intricacies of legal marijuana Alberta's conservative opposition parties are concerned about the tight time-frame for cannabis legalization. NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci said last week that despite major decisions needing to be made, Alberta will be ready with a regulatory regime and won't ask Ottawa for an extension to its planned July 1, 2018, date for legal cannabis to be implemented. However, Wildrose justice critic Angela Pitt said in a recent interview that Alberta should contemplate joining Manitoba in formally asking for the legalization date to be pushed back. [continues 383 words]
CALGARY - Alberta's conservative opposition parties are concerned about the tight time frame for cannabis legalization. NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci said last week that despite major decisions needing to be made, Alberta will be ready with a regulatory regime and won't ask Ottawa for an extension to its planned July 1, 2018, date for legal cannabis to be implemented. However, Wildrose justice critic Angela Pitt said in a recent interview that Alberta should contemplate joining Manitoba in formally asking for the legalization date to be pushed back. [continues 435 words]
Alberta's conservative opposition parties are concerned about the tight time frame for cannabis legalization. NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci said last week that despite major decisions needing to be made, Alberta will be ready with a regulatory regime and won't ask Ottawa for an extension to its planned July 1, 2018, date for legal cannabis to be implemented. However, Wildrose justice critic Angela Pitt said in a recent interview that Alberta should contemplate joining Manitoba in formally asking for the legalization date to be pushed back. [continues 435 words]
Campaigning provincial politicians have dozens of changes in mind for B.C., but they are scarcely talking about the major adjustment that's coming, regardless of who wins the election. For all the competing visions being outlined by provincial leaders, the federal government's move to legalize marijuana is going to be the single biggest revamp on the social and political scene. It was introduced last week and could be in effect by next summer (just in time to help cope with Peter Mansbridge's retirement). Still, Liberal, NDP and Green campaigns have scarcely taken notice. [continues 629 words]
Campaigning provincial politicians have dozens of changes in mind for B.C., but they are scarcely talking about the major adjustment that's coming, regardless of who wins the May 9 election. For all the competing visions being outlined by provincial leaders, the federal government's move to legalize marijuana is going to be the single biggest revamp on the social and political scene. It was introduced last week and could be in effect by next summer. Still, Liberal, NDP and Green campaigns have scarcely taken notice. [continues 627 words]
It's 'exciting being involved in a lot of the action,' says Paul Lewin after feds move on legalizing weed Toronto lawyer Paul Lewin jokes that he has been "ranting and raving" about the evils of drug prohibition for years but no one, outside the cannabis community, paid much attention to what he had to say. That changed after Justin Trudeau's Liberal government came to power in 2015, promising to legalize marijuana. The government tabled the enabling legislation Thursday. Since the Liberal win, Lewin's client list has swelled both with would be pot sellers looking for advice and people accused of criminal and bylaw offences after Toronto police raids targeting dispensaries. This fall, he will be in court fighting a forfeiture order injunction aimed at closing Canna Clinics, a B.C.-based company in the crosshairs of the city's licensing division. [continues 645 words]
The queen of Canada's movement to legalize marijuana has not been afraid to cultivate her undeniable girl-next-door charm - or invite controversy - for the cause. And now, an escalating series of police raids that have shut down the Cannabis Culture chain Jodie Emery types eagerly on her iPhone. "This is a good one," she says. We're barely a minute into our interview at a small Ethiopian restaurant near the gay village, and she's on Twitter calling out Toronto police. It's absurd, she says, that they're spending resources raiding marijuana dispensaries with legalization just around the bend. Where the TPS is concerned, Emery can be forgiven for seeming a bit spiteful. It's just shy of three weeks since she and her husband, Marc Emery, who's riding shotgun tonight, were arrested at Pearson International Airport (on their way to a marijuana expo in Spain) and slapped with a string of marijuana-related offences - 15 for him, five for her, ranging from trafficking to possession of the proceeds of crime to conspiracy - after raids on their Cannabis Culture stores. [continues 1500 words]
TIMMINS - A boom in the marijuana industry could lead to economic benefits for Northern Ontario communities. That's according to players in the medical marijuana industry and Alan Spacek, the mayor of Kapuskasing. His community is waiting for word from Health Canada on whether or not Canassist will be able to set up shop there. "There has been no information for many months," said Spacek, who noted the application was submitted in January 2015. "We have a location, we have a plan ready, we're just waiting for the letter to proceed." [continues 809 words]
The business empire built by B.C.'s "Prince and Princess of Pot" is on the verge of collapse. Marc and Jodie Emery have been ordered to cease operating their Cannabis Culture dispensary business after they were arrested Wednesday at a Toronto airport, Jodie said Saturday in a phone interview. Emery said they were taken into custody by plainclothes officers as they got out of an Uber vehicle and were later strip-searched. She described their treatment by police as "disturbing and shocking" and said they were only permitted to speak with lawyers hours after the arrest. [continues 432 words]
Couple behind Cannabis Culture ordered to cut all ties with business after arrests The business empire built by Canada's "Prince and Princess of Pot" is on the verge of collapse. Marc and Jodie Emery have been ordered to cease operating their Cannabis Culture dispensary business after they were arrested Wednesday at Pearson Airport while on their way to catch a flight to Barcelona, Jodie said Saturday in a phone call from Toronto. Emery said that they were taken into custody by plainclothes officers as they exited an Uber vehicle and were later strip-searched and detained. [continues 751 words]
He wants people to plant cannabis in public places. Notorious pot activist Dana Larsen was in Nelson on Tuesday evening, and during his talk at the Prestige Lakeside Resort he distributed envelopes that included Ziploc bags containing CBD-rich cannabis seeds. "By giving away these seeds and encouraging people to plant them in public places like traffic circles, in front of city hall and police stations or on their own property, I want to normalize the cultivation of cannabis," he said during his talk, which was attended by approximately 40 people. [continues 532 words]
Has Ottawa led marijuana-dispensary owners up the garden path? Are municipalities that have begun licensing these outlets jumping the gun? Judging by remarks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made in Victoria last week, that might indeed be the case. During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Liberal Party promised to legalize marijuana. The party also said it would regulate and restrict access to the drug, but not surprisingly, the message most Canadians heard was that legalization is on the way. However, during his visit here last week, the prime minister appeared to walk back, or at least qualify, that promise: "I cannot stress enough that until we have a framework to control and regulate marijuana, the current law applies." [continues 511 words]
Cannabis activist Marc Emery opens marijuana dispensary in city, police shut it down days later While his wife Jodie Emery was at Parliament Hill in Ottawa lobbying in defence of marijuana dispensaries, Canada's best-known pot activist Marc Emery - also known as the Prince of Pot - was in Brantford protesting the shutdown of Cannabis Culture on Colborne Street West by Brantford police. The Brantford Police Service street crime unit arrested a 35-year-old Stoney Creek man, who witnesses said was the owner of the store, at about 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday and charged him with possession for the purpose of trafficking. [continues 534 words]
Cannabis Culture store located in a PoCo strip mall A pot shop franchise with ties to Canada's most famous marijuana activist is open on the edge of downtown Port Coquitlam. And the spokesperson for Cannabis Culture said the company plans to push further into the suburbs given its success in PoCo. Yesterday (Thursday), Jodie Emery - wife of the so-called "Prince of Pot" crusader Marc Emery, leader of the BC Marijuana Party - told The Tri-City News the company wants to expand into other Lower Mainland municipalities so people don't have to drive into Vancouver to buy marijuana. [continues 678 words]
