No amount of evidence and reason can dissuade the marijuana-legalization camp from their ongoing frenzy in trying to convince the populace that making pot widely available is the panacea for what ails our society.

The growing list of unintended consequences that Colorado is facing along with well-known cognitive, circulatory and respiratory impediments that users face cannot be simply ignored by a civil society that cares for its inherent health.

No amount of regulation and no amount of tax revenue can atone for countenancing a drug whose sole attribute is to alter a person's state of consciousness and leave the most vulnerable such as children and elderly with potentially lethal effects. The definition of insanity includes advocating against all reason and rational.

Don Sukkau, Delta

[end]

Dear Editor: Oh the political perils of pot, let alone its health and safety implications.

All of those voters who went for Justin Trudeau's legal pot promise will have to remain underground for a while yet, but this won't slow down the dedicated tokers one bit.

The Canadian Press article in the Oct. 26 edition of the Herald outlines some of the complications with the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and other U.S. states. It isn't as easy as it seems at first blush.

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The price of pot at Vancouver's retail shops will likely stay relatively the same over the next year even if their numbers are drastically reduced in light of the city's new licensing system.

The city announced Monday that only 11 of the 176 applicants had been approved to move on to the next stage of the licensing process, but that number could double once the city breaks up 10 clusters of shops located closer than 300 metres from each other.

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Kootenay-Columbia Liberal candidate Don Johnston spent Monday evening in the basement of the Hume Hotel in Nelson, surrounded by a smattering of supporters, watching television while election results rolled in from across the country. The moment Justin Trudeau was announced as the next prime minister of Canada, the Nelson native pumped his fists in the air and cheered: "Line up, pot's legal!"

"I'm feeling absolutely blown away and happy," a tearful Johnston told the Star. "I got my Canada back. When I did my nomination speech in this very hotel the title was 'I want my Canada back' and I'm so happy to have my Canada back. The possibilities are limitless and for the last nine years we've done nothing but limit them. It's so nice to be free of that weight."

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A rash of recent drug overdoses at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver prompted Interior Health and the RCMP to issue warnings last week.

Neither Interior Health nor the RCMP are able to identify the specific drugs involved until toxicology reports are received, but an Interior Health official said the patients showed signs consistent with having taken a depressant.

"It's hard to say whether it's an opiate or benzo or anything like that, because what they were presenting with was shallow depressed breathing as well as they weren't fully conscious," said Jeff Walsh, harm reduction coordinator with Interior Health.

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Premier Christy Clark is emphasizing co-operation with the new Liberal government in Ottawa on climate change and infrastructure spending, while avoiding comment on plans to run deficits and legalize marijuana.

Clark said Tuesday she is looking forward to having Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accompany premiers to Paris at the end of November for the next United Nations climate conference. Trudeau said Tuesday he is looking forward to changing Canada's reputation as a "less than enthusiastic actor" on climate policy, but he wants provinces to take the lead.

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The promise of legalized marijuana offers new hope to Nanaimo medical marijuana producer Tilray.

In December, Tilray was about to ramp up production to create 275 jobs at its Duke Point facility, when new competition - unlicensed dispensaries - started cutting into market share.

The Liberals pledged during the election campaign to legalize marijuana and regulate it so minors can't access the drug.

Tilray CEO Greg Engels said with demand for the company's medical marijuana curtailed by the proliferation of what he calls "alternative sources," the company would consider entering the recreational cannabis market.

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There are many reasons for the recent Liberal landslide victory. Justin Trudeau's positive campaign style, his clear love for the country's diversity, the strength of Liberal candidates, and the people's desire to throw out Stephen Harper's Conservatives were all factors behind what happened.

But perhaps as much as anything, the Liberals' adoption of many evidence-based policies may have proven decisive.

The Liberals didn't fear that the electorate was too stupid to wrap its mind around complicated information.

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LEGALIZATION: Medical Marijuana Stock Prices Smokin' Hot in Wake of Liberal's Majority Victory

B.C.'s pot advocates are urging legalization sooner rather than later, now that a Liberal majority government is in place and medical marijuana stocks have begun to surge.

"I think it's going to have to move pretty quickly," said Sensible B.C.'s Dana Larsen. "There's no real reason to delay things."

Medical marijuana stocks surged Tuesday following the election victory of the Liberal Party, with Canopy Growth Corp. up more than 10 per cent in morning trading to $2.40.

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The Vancouver Sun's Tiffany Crawford looks at five priorities in B.C. that Justin Trudeau has promised to tackle as prime minister:

1. MARIJUANA

The Liberals have promised to legalize marijuana for recreational use, arguing that too many young Canadians end up with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug. Trudeau has not said how soon legalization will happen because first the government will need to figure out how to tax and regulate weed. He said it could take a year or two before it is made legal. Legalization has been a hot election topic in Vancouver, home to Prince of Pot and legalization activist Marc Emery, who spent five years in a U.S. prison for selling marijuana seeds on the Internet. This year's annual 4/20 legalization rally drew an estimated 20,000 people to downtown Vancouver.

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Dispensary licensing plan won't wait for Liberal policy

Vancouver will not pause its push to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries to wait and see what the Liberals, who have promised to legalize marijuana, have in store for pot shops, Mayor Gregor Robertson said at a news conference Tuesday.

"We're midstream in implementing the new regulations for marijuana dispensaries. I expect that work will continue," Robertson told reporters.

The city is in the midst of a very complex business licensing process that aims to control the more than 100 pot shops that have cropped up around town in the past few years. It aims to balance access for patients with keeping marijuana away from children, and it's proceeding even though the federal government outlaws the sale of pot from dispensaries.

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Two people have died and seven more needed medical treatment this month after overdosing on what the South Okanagan's top Mountie suspects was a powerful opioid drug.

Penticton RCMP Supt. Kevin Hewco said he believes some of the nine victims used heroin or marijuana-laced with fentanyl, a synthetic pain reliever that can be fatal in small doses.

"We've instructed our officers if there's any situation where they're doing drug seizures now, if they believe it may contain fentanyl, they have to double-glove and put masks on," he told the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen on Thursday.

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Every Friday, until the October 19 federal election, the Nelson Star will bring you responses to a series of questions posed to the four candidates in the Kootenay-Columbia riding as compiled by Black Press editors throughout the riding. Today's questions are:

1. What's your position on the legalization/ decriminalization of marijuana?

2. If you were being to forced to vote along party lines for/against a bill you strongly opposed/supported because of what you believed to be best for your constituents, what would you do?

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Prior to the Oct. 19 federal election, the Advance asked the four member of Parliament candidates in the Kootenay-Columbia riding.

11. What's your position on the legalization/ decriminalization of marijuana?

12. If you were being to forced to vote along party lines for/against a bill you strongly opposed/supported because of what you believed to be best for your constituents, what would you do?



Liberal Party

11. The Liberal Party will legalize marijuana if elected. The current system has proven to be a complete disaster and a recent World Health Organization survey of developed countries found that Canada has the highest number of teenage users.

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Welcome to the Review's coverage of the 2015 election. We joined up with our colleagues at seven other newspapers in the Kootenay-Columbia to come up with 12 questions for the candidates.Each week leading up to the Oct. 19 election, we will publish the candidates' responses to two questions. We hope their responses help you decide who to vote for.

11. What's your position on the legalization/ decriminalization of marijuana?

12. If you were being to forced to vote along party lines for/against a bill you strongly opposed/supported because of what you believed to be best for your constituents, what would you do?

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RCMP were called to the home in the Fraser Valley community of Hope in March. They had received a report of a sudden death and would locate the body of Gordon Stewart.

But police would also discover and seize nearly $20,000 in cash - and British Columbia's Civil Forfeiture Office says the province should get to keep it.

A lawyer opposing the office's claim says the money is not linked to crime and should not have been seized. And though the Civil Forfeiture Office says police discovered 149 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, the response filed by the lawyer says Mr. Stewart had a valid licence to grow for medical purposes.

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POT SHOP: City seeks declaration that Don Briere's Weeds Glass and Gifts is in breach of bylaws

Abbotsford is taking marijuana dispensary chain owner Don Briere to court in a bid to shut down one of his stores.

City officials say that in May, Briere, sole director and officer of Weeds Glass and Gifts Ltd., applied for a business licence for a dispensary on Clearbrook Road, but was denied permission.

A city employee who reviewed the application noted that "medical marijuana dispensaries are absolutely not permitted and care must be taken not to issue this licence under any condition if this is what they are doing," according to a petition filed by the city in B.C. Supreme Court.

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Dear Editor: One letter in Wednesday's Herald was the most important I have seen in months.

Some people who normally do not vote are jumping on the bandwagon this time because of one intriguing idea being promoted by one party - the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

Legalization could increase government revenues significantly. It would accommodate people's "right" to legally indulge in a potentially mind-altering product and prevent them from being locked up for it. It creates business opportunities for people with limited education and marketable skills.

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Canadian doctors should use medical marijuana instead of frequently abused opioids to treat patients with neuropathic pain and a host of other conditions cannabis has been proven to combat, Vancouver-based HIV/AIDS researchers argue in a newly published editorial.

Thomas Kerr, Julio Montaner and Stephanie Lake of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS argue the Canadian Medical Association is holding pot to a higher standard than other pain-relieving pharmaceutical drugs and is ignoring high-quality, peer-reviewed studies on the use of cannabis. Their editorial is in the latest edition of the Journal of the Canadian Public Health Association.

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VANCOUVER - The Canadian Medical Association and the federal government apply a far more rigid standard to prescribing marijuana, resulting in negative - or even deadly consequences, say experts from the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Medical marijuana is held to a different standard than other prescription drugs despite research suggesting it has therapeutic benefits, say three experts from the centre in a commentary publish Friday in the Journal of the Canadian Public Health Association.

"When it comes to prescription marijuana, patients' needs should be considered above political considerations," Dr. Julio Montaner, one of the authors, said in a news release.

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