Several people now face drugrelated charges

It's not legal yet.

Police sent out a stern warning Thursday after shutting down two cannabis dispensaries in south Edmonton - including one that required prescriptions for purchase - and making several arrests.

"We want the owners and employees of these illegal cannabis operations to be aware that they're breaking the law, and that we'll continue to enforce that law until such time those laws are changed," said Edmonton Police Service Insp. Shane Perka.

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College's information outdated, says James Moir.

The Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP) recently published a statement reflecting their stance on medical cannabis, basically stating there is insufficient evidence to recommend it, and that adverse effects outweigh any benefits.

As a physician working in Edmonton's only legitimate "physician-and-nurse-run" cannabinoid medical clinic, I must object strongly to this stance. I have an MD from the University of Alberta, with five years' subspecialty training in anesthesiology and pain medicine, and have over 20 years clinical experience in this area. I have five years' experience in perioperative medicine and extra training in cannabinoid medicine, which allows me to prescribe medical cannabis and work in the clinic, where I have been for the better part of a year.

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Medical users fear legalized recreational pot may leave them behind

For Mandy McKnight, the benefits of cannabis oil to treat her son Liam's debilitating seizures seem almost miraculous - the nine-year-old has gone from being wracked daily by dozens of the life-threatening episodes to having days now when he experiences none.

But like many Canadians authorized by doctors to use marijuana to treat a wide range of medical disorders, McKnight is worried what will happen when recreational pot for adults becomes legally available through government-sanctioned retail outlets in July.

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A downtown London pot shop has beefed up security after a staffer was charged for the second time in less than three months.

The charges announced Thursday against Michael Leeder, 27, stem from a three-week investigation into the London Relief Centre, an illegal marijuana dispensary that set up shop on Richmond Row in September.

Police raided the dispensary, where anyone over the age of 19 can buy cannabis, even without a valid pot prescription, less than two weeks after it opened. Leeder and four others were charged with multiple counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

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Dear editor: It was shocking to read that a parent and her nine-year-old child had to take on the drug-needle problem in our school grounds (Western News, Dec. 12).

That secret Queen's Park shed should never have been secret in the first place. What with such a fuss being made about possible marijuana shops anywhere within sight of schools, how can discarded needles go on being all over the place, right at those schools?

Wendy Hyer, school district superintendent, seems not to realize what her priorities should be, and therefore what we are paying her for.

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There's a dirty little secret about legalized marijuana, one that could become an issue in neighbourhoods across the country.

Well, maybe it would be better to describe it as a stinky little secret, but one that's likely to become very familiar - and maybe too familiar.

Weed, both smoked and unsmoked, is more pungent than it once was. It's gone through decades of horticultural experimentation to strengthen its kick. And there's likely to be a lot more of that pungent to go around once smoking a joint isn't a criminal offence anymore.

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Impending legalization is daunting says Keetch

Sault Ste. Marie's top cop anticipates impaired driving by drugs "is going to be a significant challenge" in the latter half of the new year.

The federal government plans to legalize marijuana on July 1.

Robert Keetch, chief of Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, fears city residents will opt to toke and drive, not recognizing how their ability to drive may be impaired.

"Canadians have not been getting the message when it comes to impaired driving and it remains the leading criminal cause of death in Canada," he told The Sault Star. "I believe that legalizing marijuana will only add to the numbers of drivers on our roadways whose ability to drive is impaired by either alcohol and/or drugs. I believe there are individuals who will consume legal marijuana and be under a false impression that their ability to drive is not impaired and will get behind the wheel of a vehicle and drive."

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The most important social and legal change in Canada during 2018 will almost certainly be the legalization of marijuana. This move, the boldest by the Trudeau government so far, will end almost a century of prohibition of cannabis that has resulted in a great deal of misery while delivering few benefits in return.

The House of Commons has passed two laws that will make the consumption of marijuana legal while toughening the rules against abuse of the drug. The prime minister now says his goal is to put them into effect by "next summer."

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Certification initiative to test businesses for quality control, ethical production

Marijuana consumers are likely to have a flood of options when pot becomes legal next summer and now a not-for-profit group is stepping in to help determine which products to trust.

The National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education said its CannabisWise certification will test businesses on quality and safety guidelines, similar to the way other voluntary programs regulate pharmacy services or fish products in Canada.

The institute's CEO, Barinder Rasode, said they've heard concerns that Canadians are looking for clarity when it comes to buying quality marijuana that is sourced ethically and adhering to laws from all three levels of government.

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Scott Reid stood alone on the Conservative benches as the House of Commons gave its final say on landmark legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Of the 74 Conservative MPs in attendance for the late November vote, he was the only one to support the bill. He was also the only MP in the Chamber who could say with some level of confidence that his vote represented the wish of his constituents.

Nearly 3,100 of Mr. Reid's constituents in the Eastern Ontario rural riding of Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston responded to a mail-in referendum on the bill, resulting in a narrow finding of 55-per-cent support. Mr. Reid voted accordingly.

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This past year has seen massive changes in Saskatchewan's health care landscape. Postmedia reporter Pamela Cowan spoke with Health Minister Jim Reiter about the impact of some of those changes on residents now and in the future.

Q When marijuana is legalized in July, are you concerned about increased addiction or drugged driving in the province?

A There's been some work done in Justice, work done with the Crowns on the best way we can deal with it, but I'm very concerned about the safety aspect. … We're concerned about mental health and addictions right across the piece. It's a priority for us and it will continue to be a priority for us.

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Six people charged following police raids on marijuana dispensaries in Bible Hill in September are to appear in provincial court in January to enter pleas.

The six individuals were charged after RCMP officers made simultaneous busts at three medical marijuana dispensaries on Sept. 1.

Each person is charged with trafficking in marijuana and cannabis resin as well as with possessing marijuana and cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking.

[Name redacted], 43, and [Name redacted], 30, of Lyman Street and [Name redacted], 32, of Shore Road, Clifton, are to return to court Jan. 17.

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Correctional officers union boss reflects on issues, progress in 2017

Jason Godin, national president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, has overseen many changes in the union that represents more than 7,400 correctional service officers across Canada at federal institutions, including approximately 1,000 in the Kingston area.

Currently halfway through a third mandate as national president, Kingston-based Godin sat down with the Whig-Standard at the union offices in Kingston's west end to discuss issues for his members, which included the increasing amount of fentanyl coming into the institutions, recognizing correctional officers as first responders, post-traumatic stress disorder issues, the challenges with the beleaguered Phoenix pay system, and the settlement of a union contract that makes them the highest paid correctional officers in North America.

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So-called experts want overdose prevention sites set up to protect druggies from themselves. Temporary and short-term they say; about as short-term as income tax, which was said to be a temporary measure.

Rather than deterring drug habit, it seems like it's being encouraged. Maybe the consequences should not be removed.

How many front-line medical personnel and how many precious health dollars are being eaten up, depriving more deserving and legitimate health sufferers timely and proper attention?

E. R. Dow

London

[end]

Chalk it up to a bunch of whacky weed decisions: The first was that Ottawa's finest decided to charge people working in pot shops. the second that the Crown actually wasted the public's money and the court's time with prosecuting these people and the third being the conditional discharges and suspended sentences handed down which should and will be wiped clean down the road.

Why on earth are authorities going through with this utter lunacy when they darn well know that this drug will be legal soon? The state has better things to do with their enforcement arms and the public purse.

Stephen Flanagan

Ottawa



(For now, the law's the law)

[end]

NORFOLK COUNTY - Ontario Provincial Police say officers used naloxone to save a man's life while transporting him to Hamilton's Barton Street jail.

Norfolk OPP credit "quick-thinking" officers for helping the 29-year-old man who appeared to have overdosed on opioids Friday afternoon.

They administered three doses of naloxone, which is used to revive people in medical distress after taking drugs such as fentanyl. The man regained consciousness and began to respond to officers. Paramedics transferred him to hospital.

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Concern that sites will be clustered in the inner city

Just a few years ago, supervised consumption sites seemed like a pipe dream for public health advocates in Edmonton.

But the opioid crisis, highlighted by alarming rates of fentanyl overdose deaths, sparked a major shift in public opinion and policy.

In October, Health Canada officially gave the green light to five sites in Alberta, including four in Edmonton - all of which are scheduled to be up and running in early 2018.

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Unreasonable retail prices will not drive people to buy legally

As Canadians prepare to celebrate the New Year, the country's provincial and federal governments continue to work on legalizing cannabis.

Provided everything comes together according to initial plans, the monumental policy failure that has for decades treated a health issue as a criminal one - otherwise known as prohibition - will finally be over this summer.

But a growing question looms as leaders attempt to legislate the substance.

At a proposed price point that does not even make the slightest attempt to compete seriously with rates available on the black market, will people actually be convinced to ditch their dealers and do business with legal, regulated retailers?

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They're great for entertainment purposes, but then again, so are fortune-tellers and horoscopes.

If you're looking at public opinion polls to predict things, well, there are wins and there are losses. And lately, more losses.

We've got to start looking at polling differently - because though some of the tools get better all the time, the results are not the gospel we pretend they are.

Two polls in the past week or so highlights that for me: a Toronto poll suggesting Doug Ford could be competitive in a race against Toronto Mayor John Tory, and a Corporate Research Associates poll about marijuana use in the Atlantic provinces.

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During my life time, I have always taken politics with a grain of salt; I never took it too seriously as Canada's voting system gave me the opportunity to exercise my rights every four years with my personal vote to effect change.

Since Pierre Trudeau's time as prime minister of Canada, things have changed noticeably but not always for the better. For example, during the past decades, the Indigenous social issues have been kicked down the road like a tin can with no evidence of concrete changes for the people. Many [Indigenous people] continue to live on far northern inaccessible reserves with overall sub-standard living conditions, drinking water and sewage disposal challenges.

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