Medical marijuana consumers complaining about Health Canada's attempt to criminalize home grows Few suppliers and a lack of willing doctors are among the concerns being raised by Alberta medical marijuana users testing a new federal system for supplying the drug. Health Canada aimed to criminalize home marijuana grows by April 1, but a court injunction has prevented such measures from being fully implemented for the time being. Edmontonian William Carlson had trashed his plants in advance of the coming legal change, but when the injunction came in, he decided to start another crop. [continues 253 words]
Order Marijuana, Don't Grow It: Health Canada Few suppliers, shipping dangers and a lack of willing doctors are among the concerns being listed off by Calgary marijuana users who say they're being greatly pained by holes in a new federal system for supplying the controversial drug. Health Canada aimed to criminalize home marijuana grows by April 1, but a court injunction has prevented such measures from being fully implemented for the time being. Even still, many Calgary marijuana users say they've trashed their plants and a handful of entrepreneurs have pressed ahead with plans to establish commercial growing facilities in rural Alberta areas. [continues 321 words]
Good people of Scarborough-Agincourt, we give you Liberal Party candidate Arnold Chan. You should vote for him not so much for what Arnold has done - but for what the Conservative Party hasn't. To be precise, the Conservative Party hasn't behaved itself in the Toronto riding, which was formerly the domain of one Jim Karygiannis. This week, the ruling party circulated noxious flyers all over Scarborough-Agincourt, much in the way the Axis used to drop propaganda leaflets on advancing Allied troops. As in that case, the Tory propaganda is unlikely to defeat the Grit forces. [continues 507 words]
Good people of Scarborough-Agincourt, we give you Liberal Party candidate Arnold Chan. You should vote for him not so much for what Arnold has done - but for what the Conservative Party hasn't. To be precise, the Conservative Party hasn't behaved itself in the Toronto riding, which was formerly the domain of one Jim Karygiannis. This week, the ruling party circulated noxious flyers all over Scarborough- Agincourt, much in the way the Axis used to drop propaganda leaflets on advancing Allied troops. [continues 521 words]
While some cities in North America are anticipating a rise in heroin use, so far heroin use is so low in Edmonton that it's not statistically reportable, according to Alberta Health. But it's not nonexistent. Alex (not his real name), a 39-year-old in-patient at a local recovery centre, said he only tried heroin because he wasn't able to get his hands on his drug of choice. "I was looking for morphine," he said. "On this one occasion, there wasn't any available, but heroin was, and I was told it was even better." [continues 268 words]
The newest smear campaign against Trudeau has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard. The ad has the tagline "Imagine selling marijuana just like cigarettes and alcohol." As if it's a bad thing. Imagine selling marijuana just like cigarettes and alcohol where you need to be of age and show proper ID to get it. Sounds horrible to me. The kids have no problem getting it on the streets as it is now anyway so how does selling marijuana just like cigarettes and alcohol make it any worse? If anything the restrictions on marijuana should be lesser due to the proven damage that cigarettes and alcohol cause. Rick Ammazzini (Legalize it. Tax it. And let's move on.) [end]
Local realtors applaud the government's report on recommendations to combat the negative effects of marijuana grow operations on residents, their homes, and their neighbourhoods. The report was released by Justice Minister Jonathan Denis earlier this month and it includes 37 recommendations about the health, safety and remediation of former marijuana grow-operations. "It's a step in the right direction," said Brad Kopp, president of the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA). "Albertans need to be protected in the event a property becomes 'sick' after re-habitation due to the reoccurrence of mold or other toxins. Guidelines are also needed for properties that fail remediation standards, so they don't become blights on our communities," said Brad Cook of the Lethbridge & District Association of Realtors in a news release. [continues 315 words]
Re: "Food shoppers paying price for war on drugs," Kevin Brooker, Opinion, May 12. Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to catch up with the 21st century. Even Americans have turned their backs on mandatory minimum prison sentences. If harsh penalties deterred illicit drug use, Canada's southern neighbour would be drug free. The U.S. drug war has done little other than give the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Putting non-violent drug offenders behind bars with violent criminals provides them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behaviour. This can backfire when inmates are released years later with a PhD in criminality and no means of gainful employment. If the goal is to discourage unhealthy choices, there are cost-effective alternatives to mandatory minimum prison sentences that destroy lives and tear families apart. [continues 78 words]
A province wide information campaign to inform residents, visitors and businesses in rural communities about the potential dangers of illegal marijuana grow operations could be useful, says Mountain View County reeve Bruce Beattie. Such a campaign is one of the recommendations coming out of the provincial Grow Op Free Alberta Final Recommendations Report, which was released last week following months of study and examination by an expert panel under the direction of Alberta Justice. "As long as they are not encouraging people to go out and start looking for them, I think people should certainly be aware of the issues around those illegal operations," said Beattie, adding, "I wonder what kind of resources they (the province) will put behind that?" [continues 902 words]
Getting tough on crime has been a focus of our federal government. Here in Canada, it has been viewed by many as a shift to more of an American-style form of punishment. For years, tough-on-crime agendas have been common south of the border, as critics in the United States have often scoffed at the light sentences received north of the border. The United States, however, is home to a significant chunk of the world's prison population, as a result, with a high degree of focus on the war on drugs. A recent report by the London School of Economics pointed to the collateral damage that war has levied on American society in general, which is part of the reason the United States imprisons more of its citizens than any other country, by a very wide margin. [continues 493 words]
Have you gone to buy any Mexican limes or avocados lately? The price for both has skyrocketed in recent months, with a wholesale case of limes worth as much as four times what it cost just a year ago. So what's the culprit? Bad weather? Trade embargo? Greedy farmers? No, according to Mexican sources, it has much to do with a drug cartel, calling itself the Knights Templar, which has recently decided that extorting money directly from growers in the lucrative lime and avocado export business is a great way to diversify their "industry." Thus, the artificially inflated price of these items on Calgary's supermarket shelves can properly be described as a collateral effect of the war on drugs. [continues 573 words]
A person doesn't have to believe in God to realize it is Luciferous to cage responsible adults ('It's high time for Canada to talk pot,' May 5, 2014) who choose to grow cannabis (marijuana) but it helps. Cannabis prohibition has been dependent on lies, half-truths, propaganda and ignorant politicians to exist and continue. Show me a politician who supports cannabis prohibition and I'll show you an ignoid. Colorado re-legalized cannabis and the sky hasn't fallen in. When Canada re-legalizes the God-given plant, the sky will not fall then, either. A sane or moral argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist. Stan White (Legalize it, tax it and let's move on already.) [end]
No odour. Marijuana oil used is more potent than regular joint Liquid marijuana has found its way onto Edmonton school grounds as police are noticing an emerging trend of students toking up in electronic cigarettes. The Edmonton Police Service was first notified of the problem two weeks ago and since that time, school resource officers have reported five incidents of local high school students using e-cigarettes to smoke marijuana. While no charges have been laid in any of the incidents, Sgt. Kelly Rosnau said officers are now going to be closely monitoring for drug abuse with the pseudo-smokes. [continues 227 words]
Students banned from using e-cigarettes Teens are turning to hash oil, easily smoked using electronic or e-cigarettes, to get their marijuana fix - a trend city cops are calling "dangerous". Now officials with Edmonton's two school divisions are taking action by banning the devices on school district property. Popularity of hash oil has been slowly building, prompting a warning from cops early last month. Officers say over the past two weeks, five incidents have been reported, or discovered, by school resource officers, in the past two weeks. [continues 461 words]
Public, Catholic school boards announce ban on vapour devices School resource officers in city high schools are seeing an increase in the use of marijuana oil in electronic cigarettes, spurring the public and Catholic school boards to announce a ban on e-cigarettes. Sgt. Kelly Rosnau, of the EPS School Resource Officer Unit, said there have been five incidents in the past two weeks of youths consuming marijuana oil on school property by inhaling it using e-cigarettes. "It's an emerging trend among youth," Rosnau said. "In talking with teachers and school resource officers, they saw the device in the past but were unaware of what they were and what they're being used for." [continues 148 words]
The demand for hash oil, or cannabis resin, is attributed to the proliferation of the electronic cigarettes. Alberta's Law Enforcement Response Teams Two Edmonton school boards have banned the use of electronic cigarettes on school property over concerns that some students could use the devices to smoke marijuana on the sly. Police say officers have caught five high-school students in the past two weeks with e-cigarettes filled with marijuana oil. The devices use a battery to heat and vaporize the oil. They mask the smell of the more concentrated drug, which delivers a more powerful high than a regular joint. Electronic cigarettes, which use the same technology to vaporize nicotine or other materials, are growing in popularity around the world, including with teens. Proponents say they are a safer alternative to tobacco. [continues 277 words]
Let me start out by telling you I would pass any drug test right now. I work for a company that urine-tests people at any incident. Somebody drives into my truck, I get the test. Somebody hurts me, both get urine tested. This I feel is terrible. If I smoke a joint on my days off, I shouldn't lose my job for it two weeks later. I have ADHD and I've previously dealt with depression in my life. The amphetamines the doctors hand out like Skittles disagree with me strongly and the anti-depressants I've been on have done the opposite of their desired effect, often making me worse. In one case, when I was around 19 or 20, my mother took the happy pills away from me. She was concerned I'd be a danger to myself within the week. [continues 329 words]
Mayor Naheed Nenshi has endorsed pre-employment drug testing for city workers who use heavy machinery, a proposal senior bureaucrats will debate privately Tuesday. After quietly running a trial for new Calgary Roads labourers last year, managers have given an early OK to extend the program to all departments and all "safety sensitive" jobs - ranging from newly hired snowplow drivers and forklift users to water plant operators. Council hasn't yet discussed the plan, and it's unclear if they'll get to have any decision on drug testing. Human resources operations are typically handled by the city manager and six department heads who form the private Administrative Leadership Team committee. [continues 224 words]
A mandatory drug-testing policy being adopted by the City of Calgary is ineffective at best and discriminatory at worst, argue critics. Prospective City of Calgary transit drivers are among the "safety sensitive" employees who will be subjected to testing for marijuana and cocaine use prior to being offered employment. The program, which would see applicants for "safety sensitive" jobs subjected to pre-employment testing for marijuana and cocaine, was approved by top administrators after a lengthy discussion Tuesday, a city spokeswoman confirmed. The city did not respond further. [continues 430 words]
Inside Alberta
