Re: "Why the big rush to legalize pot?," Letter, Dec. 23.

Mike Priaro has it right. We must look in the direction of Colorado in the U.S. They were a vanguard state in the legalization of marijuana.

Originally, the idea was sold on the promise of all this additional tax revenue from pot sales. Unfortunately, it did not turn out the way they had envisioned it.

What happened, among other negatives, was that the newly created health care costs exceeded the tax income by a large margin.

So, the initial win-win situation turned into a lose-lose proposition. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wish to legalize marijuana in Canada is about creating his legacy.

Caspar Pfenninger, Calgary

[end]

Re: Half of all pot users shrug off driving risk; Survey. Maura Forrest, Dec. 20

Canadians need to be surveyed on far more marijuana harms than just the risk of driving impaired. Health Canada has identified conditions for which the use of marijuana is strictly contraindicated. Our country's health watchdog advises men to avoid the use of marijuana if they want to start a family.

How many Canadians understand the science that links marijuana to a heightened possibility of testicular cancer? How many Canadians are aware of the scientific evidence that suggests marijuana can negatively impact pre and postnatal development, including a link with heavy use and a five fold higher likelihood of distorted facial features as compared to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome babies?

Such warnings, provided from Health Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use, are not the rantings of Reefer Madness, but rather statements by highly regarded institutions.

Pamela McColl, Vancouver B.C.

[end]

Vancouver - Canada's marijuana industry is expanding rapidly and some First Nations are looking to cash in on the emerging economic opportunities.

Phil Fontaine, an Indigenous politician turned marijuana executive, has spent the last year travelling the country and talking to First Nations about jobs, wealth and training opportunities the burgeoning marijuana business could bring.

"Everywhere we've been, it's been the same reaction, interest, excitement. First Nations are speaking about possibilities and potential. So it's been very encouraging," said the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

[continues 463 words]

Re: Pot plan another Liberal mess. Kelly McParland, Dec. 21.

How can the Liberal government regulate marijuana once it is legalized, if they can't seem to tackle the even bigger issue of contraband tobacco in Canada?

We agree with Kelly McParland's column: The Liberal government's rush to get marijuana legalized by July 1, 2018, has not fully realized its repercussions.

Take taxation for instance - while taxes on tobacco represent close to 75 per cent of their selling price, marijuana taxes will not exceed a $1 per gram, or 10 per cent of a producer's selling price, according to Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

[continues 165 words]

Legalizing a drug like marijuana will not stop young people from using it, it will increase consumption.

Kevin Page, the Parliamentary budget officer, estimates 600,000 new users will start using marijuana if it becomes legal in Canada.

Marijuana is extremely dangerous for user aged 14-25 since the teenage brain is developing.

I love my family; we don't use drugs, I love my city, Charlottetown, I don't want the citizens using drugs.

Same goes for my province and great country Canada.

[continues 140 words]

Renfrew County councillors have more questions than answers when it comes to the impending legalization of marijuana by both the federal and provincial Liberal governments.

Earlier this month, legislation giving the provincial Liberals a monopoly on recreational marijuana sales in Ontario passed at Queen's Park. The bill creates a provincial agency that will distribute and retail pot through storefronts and online. It also creates stiff fines that could top $1 million against companies and people who sell marijuana in defiance of the government monopoly.

[continues 246 words]

Legalization of marijuana was a long time coming, but Carl Morgan believes the future is bright for selling the product in Nova Scotia.

Morgan is currently the owner of two medical marijuana dispensaries - Scotia Green Inc. on East River Road in New Glasgow and one on Spring Garden Road in Halifax.

While they've had some uphill battles, he believes the business will continue to grow into the New Year despite the fact that the province has made the decision that recreational marijuana will be sold at Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation outlets.

[continues 271 words]

Grieving father warns kids about dangers of drugs after son's death

SMOKE from a smudging stick and the warm breath of friends and family of Jeremy Hobson filled the front yard of the house where the 21-year-old accidentally overdosed and died on the weekend, during a ceremony held Thursday.

Jeremy died after taking a pill, which he thought was OxyContin, at a gettogether with friends and cousins on Saturday night, according to his father Larry Hobson. Hobson said he thinks the pill that killed his son was laced with fentanyl.

[continues 792 words]

UPEI engineering students have designed and developed a THC breathalyzer device

A group of UPEI engineering students has come up with a way to help detect levels of marijuana in drivers.

The students designed and developed a prototype, handheld THC detection device.

But before they consider taking the product or a technological aspect to market, they have some unfinished business to take care of.

"We're going to concentrate on graduating first. And then after that, we'll see what happens," said Bryce Stewart of Wood Islands.

[continues 684 words]

Medical users fear legalized recreational marijuana may leave them behind in puff of smoke

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 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 2018.

[continues 1051 words]

Vancouver has a history pioneering harm-reduction programs. In 2003, it opened North America's first supervised-injection facility, Insite. In 2014, it moved a prescription-heroin program beyond the confines of an academic study.

Now B.C. will launch its most radical drug program yet. It's a plan that one of the province's top doctors says could be a partial solution to the province's opioid crisis.

Tentatively scheduled to begin in March 2018, Vancouver will dispense hydromorphone-a synthetic opioid similar to heroin-in a way that, if all goes according to plan, will not require a doctor's visit and possibly not even a prescription for the powerful drug.

[continues 729 words]

Owner of Green Health for Six waiting to hear from Ottawa, council, and initiated survey

As far as Jeff Hawk is concerned, his marijuana dispensary is filling a void in Six Nations.

Potentially deadly opiates are widely available, but safe, medicinal marijuana is not, says Hawk, owner of Green Health for Six.

"There ain't really a large industry in pot anymore. That's what I'm worried about."

Hawk says his dispensary on Highway 54 just outside Ohsweken has a solid customer base for weed, edibles and oils.

[continues 484 words]

Q: Our 16-year-old son smokes dope daily. We see his grades slipping from last year. He keeps talking about it being legalized and therefore not harmful. How do we get him to understand that he still shouldn't be smoking?

A: How one addresses the issue depends on how one understands the problem. Regular marijuana use in teens can occur if they become addicted to the substance or it may be masking an undiagnosed mental health problem such as depression or anxiety. Or your son may be otherwise well but enjoying the substance and simply not conforming to your expectations.

[continues 234 words]

Feds have promised a deadline of July 1, 2018

The day marijuana advocates and enthusiasts have long been waiting for what will come in 2018 - recreational marijuana will be legalized on Canada Day.

But with federal legislation comes a host of logistical and revenue issues for provinces and cities across the country. Vancouver may appear to have a head start, as the city established a licensing program for marijuana dispensaries in 2015, but it will need to follow provincial rules on the issue as well.

[continues 348 words]

Legalizing marijuana will tie up police resources and risks clogging the court system, Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht says in a blunt assessment of Canada's plan to legalize the drug by next summer.

"I don't think we're going to be ready," Knecht said during a yearend interview at Edmonton Police Service headquarters. "There's a lot of work that's got to be done in the next few months."

Legalization is one of the biggest issues facing police services across the country next year. Police chiefs including Knecht have warned that the timelines are too tight and there are too many outstanding issues, including ambiguity around roadside tests for marijuanaintoxication.

[continues 359 words]

Police use discretion when deciding whether to lay charges for possession

Despite the Liberal government's plan to legalize marijuana possession next July, the drug's possession remains illegal.

But while the law is still in place, police officers have discretion not to lay charges, a senior officer with the Calgary Police Service said.

Staff Sgt. Mark Hatchette, of the strategic enforcement unit, said officers have and will continue to have leeway when it comes to pot possession.

"We don't target (simple possession)," Hatchette said in a recent interview.

[continues 437 words]

Making a safe opioid available in vending machines may be the next harm-reduction tool to fight the deadly overdose epidemic, says the executive medical director of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Dr. Mark Tyndall said he envisions a regulated system where drug users would be assessed, registered and issued a card to use in vending machines to obtain hydromorphone, a painkiller commonly marketed under the brand name Dilaudid.

"I'm hoping that it's kind of like supervised injection sites," he said of the program that could begin as early as next March. "At first it sounded a bit off the wall and now it's pretty well accepted."

[continues 497 words]

New tools are helping - but more needs to be done

December 2016 is seared into the memory of people who live or work with people from the Downtown Eastside, the epicentre of B.C.'s opioid overdose crisis.

"People were going down in alleyways," Karen Ward remembers. "It was a year ago that nine people died in one weekend.

"I remember the night when three people died in my building."

"BC Ambulance had its busiest day in history, St. Paul's hospital was fully blocked up and we were seeing the highest rates of overdoses that we had seen in the emergency room and at Insite," Dr. Mark Lysyshyn recalls.

[continues 605 words]

During his election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana if we chose him as our leader. That day is near, and marijuana might be legalized on Canada Day 2018. Such a decision should not be taken lightly. Our country is not ready for this change.

To clarify, I don't want to come across as cynical. I know that medical marijuana has its place in treating patients with chronic or terminal illness. I also don't agree with throwing people in jail for carrying small amounts for personal use. I see this as a waste of time, money and resources. At the same time, however, I don't think that the legalization of marijuana is what our country needs. And I certainly don't think it will make our country healthier, happier or safer. The decision to legalize marijuana has implications for health, society and our youth.

[continues 547 words]

Why is the federal government in such a hurry to pass its marijuana legalization legislation when there are still so many questions and so few answers?

Just this week, the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police said that the legislation is coming too fast, stating that, "There is insufficient time to prepare the necessary legislative framework and regulations to ensure the public safety". The Canadian Association of Police Chiefs warned that it will be "impossible" to be ready for the government's target of legalizing marijuana by July 2018. Do these things not matter?

[continues 193 words]