LOS ANGELES - California's legal marijuana marketplace is coming with a kaleidoscope of new taxes and fees that could influence where it's grown, how pot cookies and other munchies are produced and the price tag on just about everything. Be ready for sticker shock. On a retail level, it costs about $35 to buy a small bag of good quality medical marijuana in Los Angeles, enough to roll five or six joints. But in 2018, when legal sales take hold and additional taxes kick in, the cost of that same purchase in the new recreational market is expected to increase at the retail counter to $50 or $60. [continues 1063 words]
California's legal marijuana marketplace is coming with a kaleidoscope of new taxes and fees that could influence where it's grown, how pot cookies and other munchies are produced and the price tag on just about everything. Be ready for sticker shock. On a retail level, it costs about $35 to buy a small bag of good quality medical marijuana in Los Angeles, enough to roll five or six joints. But in 2018, when recreational sales take hold and additional taxes kick in, the cost of that same purchase in the new market is expected to increase at the retail counter to $50 or $60. [continues 586 words]
Street ads for Weedmaps app under attack for illegality MONTREAL- Ben Anson says he was outraged to see a large-scale billboard advertising Weedmaps, an app that lists local marijuana providers, crop up in a spot near several schools in Montreal earlier this year. Recently, he contacted the company hosting the ad, asking them to take it down because of the presence of children in the area. He says they agreed, replacing that ad with a picture of a giraffe. But the 47-year-old says he also filed a police complaint against the marketing firm handling Weedmaps' advertising, believing the other ads around the city encourage people to engage in illegal activity. [continues 268 words]
TIVERTON, Ontario - Behind a forbidding high-security fence topped with razor wire, Supreme Pharmaceuticals is busy preparing for the legal marijuana trade, with workers expanding a greenhouse complex where the lucrative crop grows. But while Supreme looks like it will be ready for the day when prohibition ends, Canada's governments still have a lot of work to do. Proposing legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana was the easy part for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With about eight months to go before Canada becomes the second nation after Uruguay to take this step, the federal government and the provinces are staring at a formidable to-do list. [continues 1220 words]
Make no mistake, the war on marijuana has not been colorblind. Despite national surveys showing that white people and black people use marijuana at approximately the same rates, blacks have over the years been nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. That disparity is as true in Los Angeles as it is elsewhere in the country. African Americans comprise less than 10% of the population in L.A. Yet between 2000 and 2017, blacks represented 40% of marijuana-related arrests. Latinos made up 44% of arrests. Whites made up only 16% of arrests, according to a city consultant's analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data. [continues 704 words]
KITCHENER - Kitchener will be one of the first cities in Ontario to get a provincially run recreational cannabis store. On Friday, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced standalone store locations for 14 municipalities in anticipation of the federal government's intention to legalize cannabis by July 2018. "In light of our size, the fact that we're the eleventh largest region in the country, I'm not surprised that we're one of the first communities," said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, in response to the announcement. [continues 485 words]
Cannabis activists say they still have work to do after legislation takes effect CANNABIS activists say that while they've succeeded in helping to push for marijuana legalization across the country, their work is far from over. The federal government has committed to making recreational cannabis legal by July 1, 2018, but has tasked provincial governments with establishing their own business and regulatory models that will make the new legislation a reality. Activists say they need only look at the early versions of provincial plans to find targets for future campaigns. [continues 653 words]
The Ohio Department of Commerce has approved 14 applications for small operations to grow medical marijuana, although only 11 will become operational. The 11 sites on which up to 3,000 square feet can be cultivated, will be in addition to 12 sites on which 24,000 square feet can be cultivated. Successful applications for the large sites will be announced in coming weeks, Department of Commerce spokeswoman Stephanie Gostomski said. Medical marijuana is expected to be available to consumers in about a year. [continues 170 words]
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday pledged to make medical marijuana available to patients by May and released a list of 109 approved practitioners statewide. It also launched the medical marijuana patient and caregiver registry, with instructions on how those interested can sign up. More than 200,000 patients across the state could qualify for medical marijuana treatment. Pennsylvanians with 17 medical conditions are eligible for medical marijuana patient ID cards. Those conditions are Lou Gehrig's disease, autism, cancer, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Huntington's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord damage, chronic pain, neuropathies and intractable seizures. [continues 410 words]
While attending the public meeting on cannabis with the four local members of Parliament earlier this month, I was struck by the scaremongering rhetoric on display from the front. Cambridge MP Bryan May, KitchenerCentre MP Raj Saini, Kitchener SouthHespeler MP Marwan Tabbara, and K-W MP Bardish Chagger, who sponsored the forum, led a 30-minute presentation on the proposed cannabis laws, including the legislation that will impose blood content driving limits onto cannabis users once the product becomes legal in July next year. Taking comments from the audience afterward, it was clear that there were more questions for them than they had answers. [continues 578 words]
Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuanabecomes legal. As a medical doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: The experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice and the public health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say out of the gate that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle - I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuanabecomes more easily available, Canadians may become more inclined to self-medicate with this so-called "miracle drug." [continues 638 words]
VANCOUVER - Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenues as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from View Royal and Port Coquitlam for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. The British Columbia Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police echoes that recommendation, saying in its submission that the "cost download" of enforcement needs to be considered when a revenue-sharing system is developed. [continues 509 words]
Ed Secondiak began his Friday lecture on cannabis in the workplace by cautioning against potential dangers of the soon-to-be-legalized substance. "We would consider marijuana a dangerous drug simply because impairment is not recognized by the individual or perhaps the person (working) with them," said Secondiak, a former drug enforcement RCMP officer who now works with ECS Safety. The talk at Medicine Hat College was organized by APEX and intended for local employers, whom Secondiak encouraged to ask questions at any time. [continues 382 words]
Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a medical doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice and the public-health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say out of the gate that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle - I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians might become more inclined to self-medicate with this so-called "miracle drug." [continues 638 words]
At a special council meeting, Tuesday city council lit up its marijuana advice for the provincial government. Mayor Doug Findlater and his council provided feedback for the ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on the legalization of non-medical marijuana. Council came up with these suggestions: * The minimum age to buy, grow and possess marijuana should be 19. * Province should prohibit public cannabis smoking altogether, but allow cannabis vaping wherever tobacco smoking and vaping are allowed. [continues 623 words]
The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Gloucester has apologized after emails were accidentally sent to 24 patients that revealed the names and addresses of all the store's customers. "Some people were obviously upset, for good reason," said Charlie Cloutier, owner of Greenworks Medicinal on Canotek Road. Staff phoned all the people who received the email to apologize and ask them to delete it, he said. The email contained the names and addresses of about 250 people who are registered customers at Greenworks. [continues 348 words]
New Brunswickers will buy their legal marijuana at a subsidiary of the province's liquor commission - and have sommelier-like staff to guide them. The province also announced Wednesday the stores will be more tightly controlled than liquor outlets, but home delivery will be available. "No one under the legal age will be allowed inside the premises. That will happen at the reception area, after which people will be able to enter the retail environment," NB Liquor president Brian Harriman told a news conference. [continues 539 words]
Employers plan for workers using cannabis recreationally As Canada edges toward full legalization next year, businesses are trying to determine how to deal with employees' use of recreational cannabis. Bill Duncan of Cannamm Occupational Testing Services, which offers employment drug testing and other occupational health mentoring, is hosting a seminar in Mississauga on Nov. 7 to help bosses adapt to the shifting landscape. "Most companies have a policy on alcohol, even though it is legal. They're now realizing that they're going to have to look at something similar for marijuana," Duncan said. [continues 271 words]
A vegetable farmer looking to sell a piece of land has been put in a bind as Norfolk council looks at rules for marijuana grow operations. Bill Nightingale Jr. of Nightingale Farms, a large scale producer of asparagus, beans, peppers among other crops, built a greenhouse on 215 Windham Road 10 North, Delhi last year with the aim of growing organic cucumbers. Hydro prices increased to the point the facility was no longer viable so the operation applied for a farm split that would allow the sale of 7.9 acres of land, which includes the new 2.9-acre greenhouse and a single-detached dwelling. The package is listed for $3 million. [continues 474 words]
The recent announcement of the smoking ban and the growing prominence of the Breathe Easy Campaign has fractured the McMaster community Some seem adamantly opposed to the legalization of weed and its association with an academic community, others feel that we should take a more open-minded perspective. The most interesting feedback were the students who conveyed a stance against excluding weed from the McMaster smoking ban. Given that Canada has made room for marijuana by legalizing it federally in Canada, making room for the substance on campus should also be considered. [continues 635 words]
