New federal task force report nixes idea of selling pot at businesses where tobacco or booze are sold Ontario convenience store owners wonder why it appears they're getting the shaft yet again - this time on cannabis sales - after being excluded this year from selling beer and wine while grocery stores got the green light. "It concerns me that we're left behind. At least let us be part of the discussion," said Dave Bryans, president of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association. [continues 498 words]
The federal government has just released the report of its special advisory task force on marijuana legalization. While the report lays out broad strokes, key decisions remain on retail distribution, legal age limit, and taxation that Ottawa and the provinces should agree on soon. The report recommends that provinces be given the jurisdiction to determine the precise mechanism of retail distribution. However, the report has also recommended against allowing the sale of marijuana in stores that also offer liquor and/or cigarettes. This is consistent with my own study that was released by the C.D. Howe Institute, in which I recommended retail sales through stand-alone stores as opposed to government-owned retail outlets, as is the case in Ontario. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has supported the idea of the provincially owned LCBO distributing marijuana. The idea has also received considerable support from the trade unions representing LCBO employees. A supporting argument is that selling marijuana through LCBO outlets reduces the possibility of underage consumption. [continues 418 words]
The weed world is a buzz after the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization released over 80 recommendations for how the government should regulate pot once it becomes legal here in Canada. The task force created their report based on consultations with current medical marijuana users, Indigenous communities, youth groups, experts and governmental bodies from across the country. The nine members of the Task Force, headed by Anne McLellan, also gained firsthand knowledge from places who have already legalized cannabis - travelling to Colorado and Washington State as well as receiving a detailed outline from the government in Uruguay (the only country to date that has a federal regulatory system for accessing cannabis). And, while yes these are just recommendations, this is virtually the ONLY information we have received from the government about how they may move forward with legalization other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent announcement urging police to enforce the current marijuana laws - a stance that did not sit well for many. [continues 877 words]
As Canada is about to join Uruguay as one of two countries to legalize marijuana, we are in for major changes in our culture, plus added pressure on our ailing health care. It is most disturbing that the Trudeau Liberals are rushing ahead with legalization before a simple roadside test is available to test for driver pot-smoking impairment. The government is ignoring the Canadian Medical Association's recommendation to raise the age for purchase to at least 21. Police better get ready for the entry of organized crime groups, which will surely take advantage of black market pot sales. Canada as we know it is about to be majorly changed. Larry Comeau, Ottawa (Theoretically, a legal market should squeeze out a black market if prices are kept in check.) [end]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned to legalize pot in the 2015 election campaign. This federal task force report on the subject released this week offered no quick fix to the complex issues surrounding legalization, and the sensible recommendation that the Liberals proceed slowly. The 106-page report made more than 80 recommendations - including restricting pot sales to those 18 and older, banning sales near schools, banning pot advertising and branding (similar to tobacco products) and a new, proposed Cannabis Control Act to police illegal production and trafficking. [continues 278 words]
Nova Scotia not ready to talk strategy on legalization The Nova Scotia government has formed two working groups to get into the weeds of marijuana legalization, but the province's plans remain a little hazy. A federal task force on marijuana legalization released a report this week recommending mail-order and storefront sales to people over the age of 18, with a 30-gram limit on personal possession of recreational pot. The report contained more than 80 recommendations about how legalized marijuana should be produced, regulated and sold. [continues 267 words]
Last week, city council heard some pretty alarming statistics about Orillia's downtown. While most of us can agree we have a unique, quaint downtown with some must-visit retail attractions, most also acknowledge the Mississaga Street strip is experiencing some tough times. That was confirmed by urbanMetrics, the consultant firm that, at the behest of the city, compiled an inventory of existing and available space downtown, analyzing the retail gaps to be filled through future investment-attraction efforts. The analysis found a vacancy rate of 18.4% in an area that includes the downtown and its environs - that's the largest vacancy rate of comparable downtowns they studied. It's important to note those numbers reflect the traditional downtown core in addition to three nearby properties - 70 Front St. N., 10 Western Ave. and 4 King St. E. - which account for a third of that vacant space. So, the numbers may be a bit skewed. But just take a stroll up the main street and you might be surprised by the sheer number of unoccupied stores. It is worrying. [continues 383 words]
Pot and booze don't go together. According to a report released Tuesday from the federal task force on marijuana legalization, marijuana, once it's legalized, shouldn't be sold in the same place as alcohol. That, of course, runs contrary to what Premier Kathleen Wynne and her government want in Ontario; they've floated the idea of selling it at government-run LCBOs. But the report from the task force, headed up by Anne McLellan, a former Liberal cabinet minister and four-term MP for Edmonton Centre, says there are big problems with selling alcohol and pot together. For instance, it notes that some 80 per cent of Canadians drink, while only 11 per cent use marijuana. "There is a significant risk of cannabis and cannabis advertising being introduced to a large number of Canadians who might not otherwise use cannabis," the report declares. [continues 264 words]
When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun? This issue - the legal age for buying and consuming cannabis - is the biggest single challenge facing the federal Liberals as they rewrite the law on this popular, but potentially harmful, drug. A federal task force this week provided 80 recommendations for opening up the market for recreational pot. Most of the suggestions, which include permitting storefront and mail-order sales as well as allowing individuals to buy or carry up to 30 grams for personal use, are both reasonable and workable. But the recommendation to allow sales to people as soon as they turn 18 is troubling because of the harm that medical experts say would result. The age should be higher. [continues 358 words]
When marijuana is being passed around and someone holds the spliff a little too long, that's called bogarting the joint. Right now, a handful of Canada's independent investment banks are bogarting the legal and lucrative medical marijuana market, raising more than $230-million to fund fledgling companies in the past two years. These dealers in dope stocks have created firms expected to be valued at $5-billion or more by the time lighting a joint is totally legal. The high times are not going to last for the independent dealers. Canada's banks have been just saying no to doing business with weed companies - for a variety of reasons. But the big banks - dominant players in capital markets - plan to target the marijuana business as soon as the federal government signs off on recreational pot with rules it pledged this week to have in place by 2019. [continues 480 words]
With the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana expected to become a reality in Canada in the next couple of years, there are a number of important issues to be considered as we proceed in a sensible way - in other words, with caution. This past week a federal task force released a report with a lengthy list of recommendations on how Canada should move forward with legalizing marijuana. One that causes immediate concern is the task force's troubling recommendation that would allow sales of the drug to anyone aged 18 or over. [continues 354 words]
Legal weed may not be the "revenue cash cow" provinces and territories were hoping for, says the Yukon's assistant deputy minister of justice. Legal weed may not be the "revenue cash cow" provinces and territories were hoping for, says the Yukon's assistant deputy minister of justice. While the recreational marijuana market will open up new revenue streams, said Al Lucier, those dollars, at least in the early days, will be funneled into awareness and education campaigns, research and policy enforcement. [continues 851 words]
It's not yet known whether new laws will create more work, Chaffin says It's not clear recommendations on legalizing cannabis will reduce his force's work or even curb organized crime, Calgary police chief Roger Chaffin said Thursday. While Chaffin said the federal task force did a comprehensive job in crafting 80 recommendations for ending 93 years of marijuana prohibition, numerous uncertainties remain, including what role police would play. "There's still many unanswered elements yet to be determined, such as how much is to be mandated to which levels of government," he said. [continues 433 words]
What the hell, hundreds drive drunk with full immunity daily here in Calgary due to a lack of law enforcement. So, let's legalize marijuana and put a bunch of stoners behind the wheel as well and really have some fun endangering all the innocent folks out there. Idiots! Jake Mcarthur (We hope you are wrong about hundreds of drunk drivers but stoned drivers are a concern.) [end]
Police seize 18 kg of marijuana, confiscate cash and equipment Montreal police arrested Canada's self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot" Friday night and seized 18 kilograms of cannabis a day after the splashy opening of six illegal marijuana dispensaries across the city. Dozens of officers raided the stores at supper hour, arresting 10 people and confiscating an undisclosed amount of cash and equipment relating to the sale of marijuana. Police would neither confirm nor deny that they nabbed Marc Emery, but his wife Jodie posted a video of him being taken away. [continues 740 words]
I think the proposal for the age of 18, or 19 in some provinces, to align with the [legal drinking age] across the country, is a reasonable compromise. Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agrees the minimum age to smoke marijuana should be 18 or 19, in line with each province's drinking laws, endorsing one of the most controversial recommendations from a federal task force on legalization this week. Mr. Trudeau said the task force, which was chaired by former Liberal cabinet minister Anne McLellan, settled on the appropriate age to limit the role of the black market in Canada. With these comments, Mr. Trudeau rejected the calls of public health experts to set the minimum age in the early or mid-20s to protect developing brains. [continues 427 words]
As the lunatic fringe has long said, allowing people to grow their own marijuana would kill the illegal drug trade as soon as the first crop was harvested. But the task force, being an arm of government, had to be stupid. Watching sanity finally seep into the country's drug laws, you have to marvel at the stubborn narrow-mindedness that kept marijuana illegal for so long, causing suffering and injustice for half a century. Once again, the lunatic fringe is proven right. We could have listened decades ago, and prevented people from being imprisoned for pot possession. The impending legalization of marijuana will be vindication for the vocal lunatic fringe who long argued the laws against it were illogical, hypocritical and indefensible. [continues 565 words]
Labelling legalized marijuana products with their levels of two main active ingredients is one of the helpful recommendations released this week by a federal task force on cannabis legalization and regulation, says Saskatoon addictions expert Dr. Peter Butt. "There's no truth in labelling now because there's no testing," Butt said. He is concerned that there is no way to ensure cannabis sold for medicinal use contains any of a substance shown to produce the medical benefits marijuana is promoted to address. [continues 306 words]
OTTAWA - It seems pretty clear Canada is going to fully legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use in just a matter of months. The marijuana task force reported its findings publicly this week, recommending recreational use be legalized with certain limitations, including how much can be grown or possessed at a time and where it can be sold. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Tuesday plans are in place to introduce legislation for legalization in spring 2017. There is no indication the government is going to put the train back in the station on this one. [continues 679 words]
Man secretly smoked medical marijuana All may not be lost for a Muskrat Falls worker fighting his dismissal last year for secretly smoking medicinal marijuana on the job. Brendon Uprichard - a structural assembler of the transmission line for Valard Construction on the Lower Churchill project - had a prescription for medical marijuana to control chronic back pain and anxiety since December 2014. The 37-year-old hid this from his employer, and discontinued its usage to pass the mandatory physical examination and testing for drug and alcohol use upon being hired. [continues 431 words]
Inside Canada
