Bigger share for provinces, territories OTTAWA * The Trudeau government is willing to give provinces and territories a bigger share of the revenue from a federal excise tax on cannabis, provided that the extra money is devoted to helping municipalities cope with the impact of legalizing recreational pot. The feds have proposed giving provincial and territorial governments half of the estimated $1-billion annual excise tax take once weed becomes legal next July. But The Canadian Press has learned that Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his officials have signalled a willingness to increase that share when they sit down next week with their provincial and territorial counterparts. [continues 454 words]
MANITOBANS will have to be at least 19 years of age to legally purchase and possess cannabis in the province after it is legalized, the Free Press has learned. The minimum age will be part of a new bill to be introduced today at the Manitoba Legislative Building, according to a government source familiar with the matter. According to the legislature's Monday notice paper, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson is scheduled to introduce the Safe and Responsible Retailing of Cannabis Act. [continues 322 words]
Liberals say still in the process of securing supply for legalization The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is busy making sure people have access to cannabis for personal use if they want it, once it becomes legalized in July 2018. As announced, the Liberals will have the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) providing all of the cannabis needed here, as obtained from Health Canada-certified suppliers and sold through the NLC and NLC-certified retailers. Questions coming now from the province's Progressive Conservatives are: who will be our initial suppliers, for how much and for how long? [continues 205 words]
Medical marijuana dispensary raid angers clients Cries of anger, disappointment and disgust rang throughout a Sydney courtroom on Monday when a judge ruled Donald James Campbell was to stay in jail until a bail hearing on Friday. Campbell's supporters packed the courtroom on Monday. His mother, overcome with emotion, had to be taken out by wheelchair after the verdict. Campbell is one of three people charged after Cape Breton Regional Police Service raided two commercial properties and two residential properties on Friday. During the raid, an estimated $200,000 worth of drugs was found plus $20,000 cash. [continues 712 words]
Two legislators called Tuesday for changes to regulations for growing marijuana in California to better protect small family farmers from being driven out of business by big corporate cultivators. Initial proposals to cap licensed marijuana farms at one to four acres were discarded by the state Department of Food and Agriculture, which has since proposed new rules without any cap, according to a letter of complaint to the agency by State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-San Rafael) and Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg). McGuire and Wood support a one-acre cap. [continues 146 words]
Ontario is in the middle of an opioid crisis, Grey Bruce Health Unit program director Lynda Bumstead and Hope Grey Bruce member Dave Roy told Brockton council. Bumstead said one person dies every 10 hours in Ontario from an opioid overdose. In 2016, there were eight deaths in Grey Bruce linked to opioid overdose. "There are many, many more individuals suffering from overdoses and addictions every day in Grey and Bruce," Bumstead told council last week. Overdoses due to opioids killed more people in 2014 than car accidents, and the number of deaths due to opioid overdose continues to rise. [continues 550 words]
Re: Alberta betting on marijuana boom, Opinion, Nov. 28 I read with interest Gillian Steward's column about the cannabis industry in Alberta. I write to clarify some of her comments. Residential marijuana grow-ops have destroyed houses and injured neighbourhoods. When I had the privilege of serving in office, we sought to address this issue with a task force that focused on what could be done from a provincial level. One of the frequent comments we heard was that the decriminalization of cannabis, a federal issue, would decrease the incentives for such activities. [continues 73 words]
Issues to be resolved include licensing, zoning and added cost of enforcement Cities and towns across Alberta are looking for details - and possibly cash - from the provincial government in anticipation of legal recreational marijuana next year. The newly elected president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Barry Morishita, said the NDP government has been good at keeping municipalities in the loop as it works through cannabis legalization. But the Brooks mayor said municipalities are still looking for answers in some areas as the July 1, 2018, deadline for legalization moves ever closer. Money, as usual, is a major issue. "Who's going to fund the cost of services from the change in legislation?" Morishita said in a recent interview. [continues 599 words]
For someone caught up in the heat of the moment at a local dance club or rave scene, taking ecstasy may not seem like a life-changing event. But as studies have shown, this decision may indeed be life-altering. A frequent consequence of taking ecstasy is a trip to the hospital. This is because the short-term effects of ecstasy can produce life-threatening increases in temperature and heart rate, and hallucinations. Stuart Collins is a PhD student in the neurosciences and neurological disorders at the University of Toledo college of medicine. [continues 559 words]
The B.C. government stepped up its fight against the growing number of drug overdose deaths Friday with the launch of a new emergency response centre that will link to regional and community action teams on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. The emergency centre will have about 10 full- and part-time staff based at Vancouver General Hospital and backed by a team of experts. The centre will analyze data, spot trends and work with new regional teams at Island Health and the other four health authorities to improve front-line services. [continues 632 words]
Lessons are still being digested after a lethal batch of opioids in October put emergency workers to the test The first warning came mid-afternoon on a Thursday in late October, from a client at a downtown Victoria HIV/AIDS and harm-reduction facility. It was the day after "cheque day," when social-assistance payments are issued in B.C. - a period linked to an increase in overdoses and other related harms. But even with that factored in, front-line workers were getting the sense that things were worse than usual. [continues 1201 words]
Maryland began the sale of medical marijuana to residents in pain on Friday, ending years of delays by embarking on a program that features some of the most liberal policies in the nation on who can qualify for the prescribed cannabis. Dozens of people stood outside a licensed dispensary in Montgomery County, Potomac Holistics, where owners began making sales soon after receiving their first shipment Friday afternoon. "You can tell there's a buzz, and we're excited for so many reasons," Askinazi said. "We're giving care to people who need it." [continues 452 words]
First co-ordinator of drugs strategy says community role key to success As the first co-ordinator of a plan to address local drug use, Lacey DaSilva knows she has been handed a weighty task. The Brantford-Brant Community Drugs Strategy, officially launched earlier this month, sets out goals to delay or prevent substance abuse and keep those already using safe and healthy. It also aims to ensure residents have timely access to services and to reframe addiction from an issue of criminal justice to one of public health. [continues 701 words]
Motacan Compassion Society is exempt from business licence requirement, operator argues A medical marijuana dispensary is suing the City of Abbotsford in an effort to remain open and avoid paying thousands of dollars in tickets. Motacan Compassion Society, which operates a storefront location in an alley off Montrose Avenue in downtown Abbotsford, says it is exempt from bylaws requiring a business licence due to its not-for-profit society status. In a petition filed last week in B.C. Supreme Court, "principal operator" David Smith claims Motacan is a registered society that provides "reasonable access to medical cannabis to members of the society on a highly subsidized basis." [continues 266 words]
West Kelowna is the latest B.C. city to petition the court to stop cannabis dispensaries from doing business. The city is alleging that the Black Crow Herbals Association, Okanagan Cannabis Solutions Society, Selina Lau, Ralph Krehbiel and Matthew Nicholas are operating without business licenses and it is petitioning the court for an order to stop them from continuing to do so. In the petition to the court, it says once the order is issued, the RCMP would be given the ability to arrest and remove any person who is contravening any provision of this order within the properties listed. [continues 198 words]
Two Republicans representing Morris County in Trenton want to 'put breaks' on legalization of marijuana by governor-elect. Two Republicans representing Morris County in Trenton are pushing back against the promise by Governor-elect Phil Murphy to sign a bill legalizing marijuana in the first 100 days of his administration. Murphy and the Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly have said they want marijuana legalized in early 2018, which could generate up to $300 million in annual taxes to the state. [continues 697 words]
Detection tools not available yet The Government of Saskatchewan announced Tuesday that there will be a zero tolerance policy for people who drive while impaired by drugs. Earl Cameron, executive vice president of Auto Fund, said the decision was made after the federal government passed new laws in anticipation of marijuana legalization. "It's because of the three new federal laws, we want to make sure that our administrative sanctions that we have now, for impaired driving, mirror these three new charges," he said. [continues 446 words]
Far too many young people still think driving while under the influence of drugs is somehow less risky than drinking and driving. So R.I.D.E. Checks - an organization that works with cops to promote road safety - has teamed up with the licensed marijuana producer Beleave Inc. to launch a campaign called, Consequence Strains, to spell out the dangers of driving high. "There still seems to be a common misconception where it's not as bad as having a few drinks and getting behind the wheel. People say, 'Oh, I can focus more,'" Dr. Roger Ferreira, Beleave's chief science officer, said Wednesday at Humber College's Lakeshore campus where police from services across the province gathered to kick off this year's RIDE program. [continues 88 words]
Province grants cannabis store to Niagara Falls Niagara Falls will receive at least one government-run pot shop when recreational marijuana becomes legal next July. On Tuesday night, Coun. Wayne Thomson read a letter from Ontario Ministry of Finance sent to the city and dated Nov. 28 that the popular tourist destination has been identified "for the location of at least one initial cannabis retail store by July 2018." Thomson, along with Mayor Jim Diodati, voiced their disappointment when the Honeymoon Capital wasn't among the first 14 cities announced earlier this month by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to host a legal pot shop next July. [continues 929 words]
Host's company says event aims to add legitimacy to community What do you do if you're a budding awards show trying to create a buzz around Canada's $8.7-billion cannabis market? First you weed out the best producers from the very large crop of products out there. Then you book a swanky joint and roll out the red carpet for business types looking to get in on the potential pot of gold surrounding legalization next summer. The CEO of Lift Co., the online marketplace for the medical marijuana industry that is holding the event, says it was high time for a grass gala to highlight the fourth annual Canadian Cannabis Awards - previously held only online - in an effort to add some legitimacy to the often stigmatized cannabis community. [continues 389 words]
