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1 CN BC: LTE: Say No To Drugs The Best MessageMon, 03 May 2021
Source:Cowichan Valley Citizen (CN BC) Author:Adam, Cristina Area:British Columbia Lines:52 Added:05/06/2021

I have not heard any reporting on what type of drug education our children are receiving in schools. Considering the high number of deaths due to drug overdoses just this year alone, that is 500 in B.C. in the last three months, I would like to know if the schools have any drug prevention education and if so, what is the message?

Recently the granddaughter of a friend of mine who is in Grade 7 stated that her teacher said, "if you're going to do drugs, do it safely" =2E

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2 CN BC: PUB LTE: Just Say No Education Doesn't WorkWed, 05 May 2021
Source:Cowichan Valley Citizen (CN BC) Author:Elrod, Matthew M. Area:British Columbia Lines:48 Added:05/05/2021

Letter writer Cristina Adam asserted that abstinence-based drug education is the best, adding that "in no uncertain terms there is NO way to take drugs safely." ("Letter: Say no to drugs the best message," May 3)

Alas, the "drug abuse resistance education" and "Just say 'no'" messaging Adam recalls from her youth was found to be ineffective, if not counter-productive. DARE graduates and those exposed to such simplistic messaging were actually more likely to experiment with drugs.

While nothing in life is absolutely safe, some drugs, some means of ingestion and some situations are more hazardous than others. For example, cannabis is safer than alcohol, vaping is safer than smoking and having a beer at home after work or school is safer than drinking and driving.

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3 Canada: 2 Years After Legalizing Cannabis, Has Canada Kept ItsSun, 24 Jan 2021
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Austen, Ian Area:Canada Lines:284 Added:01/24/2021

OTTAWA - When Robert was 18, he was arrested by Montreal's police for possession of a small amount of hashish, an event that would upend his young life.

The charge brought him 30 days in jail, and the conviction ended his part-time job as a translator.

"Back then, you smoke a joint, you would get arrested," said Robert, who asked that only his first name be used because of the continuing stigma of his criminal record. "Then the cops would put you in a car, then pull over and give you a couple of shots in the head. You get slapped around just because of smoking."

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4Canada: Canadian Study Finds A Link Between Starting Medical CannabisThu, 29 Oct 2020
Source:Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Author:Stelmakowich, Angela Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:10/29/2020

43.5 per cent of study participants who used marijuana as a substitute for alcohol decreased the frequency of their drinking.

Authorized medical marijuana patients who began using cannabis to help reduce their drinking report experiencing a reduction or even discontinuation of alcohol use, notes new research out of the University of Victoria.

The finding reflects feedback from 2,102 patients registered with Tilray, a medical cannabis research and production company in Canada. The input was received as part of the Canadian Cannabis Patient Survey 2019, which gathered details on patient demographics, patterns of weed use and self-reported use of prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs before and after starting medical cannabis.

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5 Canada: Oped: Canada Faces Its Own Opioid Crisis. It ShouldTue, 15 Sep 2020
Source:Washington Post (DC) Author:Moscrop, David Area:Canada Lines:102 Added:09/15/2020

In July, the Canadian province of British Columbia experienced its fifth straight month with more than 100 overdose deaths - and its third above 170 lives lost.

Globally, the World Health Organization reports approximately 500,000 deaths from drugs, over 70 percent of them tied to opioids. In Canada, from January 2016 through December 2019, more than 15,000 people died from apparent opioid-related causes. In 2019 alone, there were over 21,000 "suspected opioid-related overdoses" across nine provinces and territories, excluding Quebec (for which data wasn't provided). The opioid crisis clearly persists at home and abroad.

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6 CN AB: PUB LTE: Harm Reduction Still An Effective StrategyWed, 22 Jul 2020
Source:Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)          Area:Alberta Lines:45 Added:07/25/2020

Like myself, I suspect many citizens of Lethbridge were alarmed by the finding of misappropriated funds within ARCHES, and the subsequent withdrawal of provincial funding to their supervised consumption site (SCS). As an RN who has worked for a number of years in harm reduction, I am reeling for our clients and their families in terms of how this will impact them.

One thing is clear - the inappropriate management of funds within one agency does not refute decades of empirical research behind the effectiveness of harm-reduction interventions in mitigating drug-related health and social issues. This financial audit was not intended to evaluate the effectiveness of harm-reduction services provided to people who use drugs. To conflate findings of financial mismanagement with lack of effectiveness in harm reduction would only further exacerbate drug-related health issues.

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7 CN BC: Are More B.C. Tokers Finally Looking To Legal Cannabis OverFri, 24 Jul 2020
Source:Victoria News (CN BC) Author:Wadhwani, Ashley Area:British Columbia Lines:51 Added:07/25/2020

A recent poll suggests 51 per cent of British Columbians are buying all product legally

B.C. has had a difficult road to getting cannabis users interested in purchasing from legal retailers over their neighbourhood dealer, but a recent poll suggests that the province may finally be winning the battle over bud.

A Research Co. poll released earlier this month found that 51 per cent of B.C. respondents who have consumed cannabis in the past six months have bought all of their products from licensed retailers. That's an 18-point increase from a similar survey conducted in October 2019.

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8 Canada: Oped: Tough-On-Crime Anti-Drug Moralizing Does A DisserviceSat, 25 Jul 2020
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Schultz, William Area:Canada Lines:118 Added:07/25/2020

If the idea of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs once sounded radical, the coalition of people who now espouse the idea would certainly seem to be strange bedfellows.

On July 9, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called on the federal government to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs; B.C. Premier John Horgan asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do the same in a Jul. 20 letter. Benjamin Perrin, the top criminal justice adviser in Stephen Harper's "tough-on-crime" administration, recently wrote a book in support of decriminalization, and major publications, including The Globe and Mail, have published editorials urging the same.

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9Canada: Editorial: National Post View: Listen To The PoliceWed, 22 Jul 2020
Source:National Post (Canada)          Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:07/22/2020

Listen to the police

Let's talk about decriminalizing all drugs

We're having a national conversation about policing and criminal justice. Examining our drug laws is a natural extension of this debate

More than nine years ago, writing about the war on drugs, this editorial board encouraged the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper to get bolder with decriminalizing cannabis.

"By any reasonably broad metric," we wrote then, the war on drugs "has been an abysmal failure. According to estimates by the UN - by no means a liberal organization when it comes to drug policy - worldwide consumption of opiates rose 34.5 per cent from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27 per cent, and cannabis by 8.5 per cent. In achieving that abject failure, tens of thousands of people have been killed."

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10 Canada: Pot in Canada: Legal, But Not ProfitableMon, 16 Dec 2019
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Austin, Ian Area:Canada Lines:196 Added:12/20/2019

SMITHS FALLS, Ontario - When Canada became the first major industrialized nation to legalize recreational marijuana, visions of billions of dollars in profits inspired growers, retailers and investors, sending the stock market soaring in a so-called green rush.

A year later, the euphoria has vanished.

"No one wants to invest in it now," said John-Kurt Pliniussen, a professor of marketing at the Smith School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

That is because those who have invested have generally lost money. During the first year after legalization, the value of shares in Canada's six largest marijuana companies tumbled by an average of 56 percent, according to stock price data.

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11 Canada: The Verdict Is In, And Year One Of Legalized Cannabis InFri, 18 Oct 2019
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Berkow, Jameson Area:Canada Lines:276 Added:10/18/2019

There's no getting around it: Year one of legalized cannabis in Canada was a dud.

It was an unmitigated disaster for many investors. The bubble burst, and the shares of most large Canadian marijuana producers dropped by at least 50 per cent. The public markets are largely closed to the industry; at the moment, there's simply no appetite for more pot stocks.

The Trudeau government's goal wasn't to make shareholders or investment banks rich, though. It was to whittle down the black- market marijuana business. Giving cannabis users a place to buy regulated marijuana would generate new tax revenue, open up new business opportunities and reduce the burden on police and the courts.

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12 CN BC: PUB LTE: Dealers Might Have Tips For Legal Pot-SellersSat, 31 Aug 2019
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Beyer, Chuck Area:British Columbia Lines:41 Added:09/02/2019

It is indeed sweet victory to see the B.C. Liquor Corp. selling cannabis.

In the B.C. election of 2001, I, as a B.C. Marijuana Party candidate, was arrested at the behest of the Victoria Hillside liquor store for campaigning for legal cannabis.

Some advice about marketing would be in order.

As a Realtor of 30 years, I can offer some pointers. Analyze the prevailing market and emulate it. At present, in the "friends" market, you can smell before you buy. If you don't like it, you can bring it back.

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13 Canada: Oped: Medical cannabis: Strengthening Evidence In The Face OfMon, 19 Aug 2019
Source:Canadian Medical Association Journal (Canada) Author:Fitzcharles, Mary-Ann Area:Canada Lines:123 Added:08/22/2019

Canada has been at the forefront of cannabis research, education and regulation for the past 2 decades, yet uncertainty remains about how the drug should be used in medicine. Physicians lack evidence-based information and formalized training about cannabis, which stems, in part, from the drug's previously illegal status that hindered research. Among the public, however, many perceive cannabis as a natural and safe medical treatment. Patients increasingly seek advice about cannabis from physicians, request prescriptions or experiment with cannabis for medical problems on their own. However, physicians must adhere to good medical practice regardless of public pressure and provide counselling to patients based on up-to-date knowledge and evidence. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada more research should be forthcoming, but the evidence base remains weak.

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14 CN BC: PUB LTE: Harm Reduction Is First AidTue, 20 Aug 2019
Source:Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Author:Elrod, Matthew M. Area:British Columbia Lines:55 Added:08/22/2019

Dear Editor:

Contrary to Joe Fries' editorial "Abstinence works best" (Courier, Aug. 16), Rhode Island treats addicted prison inmates with methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Like methadone, buprenorphine is an opioid agonist, or replacement opioid. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that blocks opioid receptors.

The benefits of opioid substitution therapy are well-established, in and out of prison. It reduces crime, prevents overdoses and the spread of infectious diseases, denies profits to criminal gangs, allows addicted individuals to function normally within their families, jobs, and communities, and gets them off the hamster wheel of raising money by hook or by crook to pay criminal gangs for illicit opioids of unknown potency and purity.

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15 CN BC: Editorial: Abstinence Works BestThu, 15 Aug 2019
Source:Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Author:Fries, Joe Area:British Columbia Lines:57 Added:08/20/2019

More than half of all Canadians believe drug treatment should focus on abstinence, rather than opioid replacement therapies, according to poll results released this week.

Research Co. found 57% of those surveyed were in favour of programs that aim to get people off drugs entirely, rather than programs that supply people with free dope to help keep them healthy and out of trouble.

It's unclear from the results if people's attitudes towards drug treatment are shifting, but it's clear that a majority of the population supports an approach that doesn't enable addicts.

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16 CN BC: PUB LTE: Too Soon For A Verdict On Pot LegalizationWed, 14 Aug 2019
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Elrod, Matthew M. Area:British Columbia Lines:44 Added:08/14/2019

Re: "Legalizing pot is proving to be a public-health disaster," column, Aug. 11.

Lawrie McFarlane's verdict is premature. Legal regulation in Canada isn't analogous to legalization in Colorado, for among other reasons, Colorado allows advertising and initially allowed edibles and extracts with inadequate labelling, packaging and dose limitations.

Yes, emergency-room visits from adverse reactions spiked in Colorado following legalization, but this was due in part to inexperienced tourists from prohibitionist states, and consumers feeling more inclined to seek help once they no longer feared arrest. Panicked patients are typically discharged (the wiser) on the same day, with no lasting ill effects. Such visits remain far less common and severe than visits related to alcohol, pharmaceuticals and tobacco.

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17 CN BC: PUB LTE: On Cannabis, Canada Is Different From ColoradoWed, 14 Aug 2019
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Lake, Stephanie Area:British Columbia Lines:51 Added:08/14/2019

Re: "Legalizing pot is proving to be a public-health disaster," column, Aug. 11.

In his opinion piece on cannabis legalization, Lawrie McFarlane cites a short-term increase in the numbers of adolescents visiting emergency rooms for cannabis in Colorado - a jurisdiction with a commercialized approach to cannabis legalization - as evidence that Canada's much more restrictive public health-oriented approach to legalization has failed.

However, as scientists who have carefully considered how to best measure the public-health impacts of cannabis legalization, we would suggest a thorough and ongoing analysis of Canadian data is needed to understand the effects of the new regulatory landscape. Although cannabis-related hospital visits should be a priority, we also need to ask important questions about underlying causes: if we see an increase, how much is due to increasing use among youth, and how much could be related to shifting trends in products/modes of administration (e.g., a shift towards high-THC concentrates, increased edible consumption)?

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18CN BC: Column: Legalizing Pot Is Proving To Be A Public-HealthSun, 11 Aug 2019
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:McFarlane, Lawrie Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:08/11/2019

It's becoming increasingly obvious that legalizing marijuana consumption was a colossal public-health blunder.

A good part of the evidence comes from south of the border, where several states legalized pot much earlier than Canada. This has allowed time for robust scientific follow-up - follow-up that is beginning to reveal a frightening picture.

Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2012, and recreational use in 2014. One result is that emergency hospital visits by adolescents with marijuana-related symptoms have jumped from 84 a year in the pre-legal era, to 500 in 2018.

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19 Canada: Oped: The Unbearable Whiteness Of WeedFri, 02 Aug 2019
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Ejeckam, Chuka Area:Canada Lines:232 Added:08/02/2019

The Canadian cannabis industry is booming.

From giant industrial operations such as Canopy Growth to smaller "luxury"=9D cannabis retailers, to an array of cannabis "lifestyle"=9D brands and "cannabis brand consultancy"=9D firms, the industry is a lucrative fronti er for those seeking wealth in a rapidly growing market.

And oh, is there wealth to be had. Canadians spent $1.6-billion on legal weed in 2018 - double the total spent on medical cannabis the year before - despite the fact that non-medical cannabis was legally available only after Oct. 17. Statistics Canadaa's National Cannabis Survey from the first quarter of 2019 found that use of non-medical cannabis has increased among men and people aged 45 to 64. The survey reported that 646,000 people tried cannabis for the first time in the prior three months, half of whom were aged 45 or older.

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20CN BC: B.C.'s Largest First Nation Accuses Province Of Conflict OnMon, 24 Jun 2019
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Shaw, Rob Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:06/24/2019

VICTORIA - B.C.'s largest First Nation is accusing the provincial government of stalling its application for a retail cannabis licence while it races to open its own public store in the community's prime retail location.

The Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island are in the sixth month of trying to get approval for two retail store licences from the provincial government. As the Cowichan wrestle with a wall of red tape, and are repeatedly rejected for nation-to-nation talks with the province, the B.C. government is competing against the First Nation for the municipal rights to open a store in the community's largest shopping centre.

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21 CN NS: NSLC Snaps Up Cannabis Edibles ContractMon, 24 Jun 2019
Source:Chronicle Herald (CN NS)          Area:Nova Scotia Lines:58 Added:06/24/2019

If you've got the munchies for cannabis edibles, you'll have to go to the liquor store.

The province has tapped the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. - which already sells dried and fresh cannabis, cannabis oil and cannabis accessories - - to sell edibles, extracts and topicals.

"The NSLC has done a good job in preparing and implementing our new retail model as recreational cannabis was legalized across Canada," said Karen Casey, the minister responsible for the NSLC, in a news release Monday.

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22 CN ON: As New York Mulls Legalizing Pot, Toronto Tokes UpMon, 17 Jun 2019
Source:Buffalo News (NY) Author:Becker, Maki Area:Ontario Lines:125 Added:06/22/2019

TORONTO - Adam Ash, 37, wasn't the least bit shy in explaining why he was at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co., a four-story boutique on Queen Street West in the middle of the city's downtown district.

"Marijuana," the Toronto resident said midday on a recent Monday, a little bewildered as to why someone would even bother asking.

Glass containers of marijuana flower were laid out on tables throughout the shop, amid glass cases of rolling papers, pipes, bongs, grinders and vaporizers. Employees known as "bud tenders" worked the floors, ready to provide advice and recommendations for picking just the right strain.

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23CN AB: Oped: Drug Users Will Die Without Supervised Consumption SitesTue, 04 Jun 2019
Source:Calgary Herald (CN AB) Author:Gagnon, Marilou Area:Alberta Lines:Excerpt Added:06/04/2019

The 2011 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Vancouver's Insite clinic clearly established 1) that supervised consumption sites are part of health-care services that should be made accessible to people who use drugs, 2) that these sites contribute to reducing the harms associated with drug use, and 3) that denying access to these sites increases the risk of death and disease.

In addition to saving lives every day, these sites act as an essential point of contact for people to access much-needed health-care services that have been proven effective to reduce overdoses, blood-borne infections (hepatitis C and HIV), infections (i.e., skin, soft tissue, heart and blood infections) and other medical complications. They also help connect people who use drugs with social services and support to address housing and food insecurity, mental health issues, trauma and isolation.

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24 Canada: Canadian Cannabis Company Tilray Stacks Advisory Board WithTue, 18 Dec 2018
Source:Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Author:Wood, Sam Area:Canada Lines:41 Added:12/18/2018

Howard Dean, the former Democratic candidate for president, and Michael Steele, the ex-head of the Republican National Committee are joining the advisory board of Tilray Inc., the Canadian cannabis grower, the company has announced.

Backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, Tilray was briefly worth more than $28 billion -- valued at more than Twitter or CBS -- in September after it became the first cannabis company to be listed on an American stock exchange. The company made a second splash this year when it was chosen by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to provide a small amount of marijuana for a study at the University of California, San Diego.

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25Canada: Federal Government Approves First Device For Testing DriversMon, 30 Jul 2018
Source:National Post (Canada) Author:Platt, Brian Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:07/30/2018

OTTAWA - The federal government's crackdown on drug-impaired driving has taken a big step forward, as the Justice Department is set to give its blessing to Canada's first roadside saliva test.

Once in use, police officers will be able to swab a driver's mouth to test for the presence of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Roadside saliva-testing devices were authorized by Bill C-46, a massive overhaul of Canadaa€™s impaired driving laws that passed in June.

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26 Canada: Dreams Of Fortune, And Fears, As Canada Embraces MarijuanaMon, 09 Jul 2018
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Austen, Ian Area:Canada Lines:144 Added:07/09/2018

CHESTERVILLE, Ontario - Inside garage-sized containers at one end of a cavernous warehouse in a former Nestle factory south of Ottawa are rows of marijuana plants stacked atop each other, basking in the unearthly glow of grow lights.

They belong to Hamed Asi, an Ontario businessman who calls them his "vertical farm." He has no background in growing marijuana, or in any kind of agriculture. His other line of business is installing office furniture; cubicles, filing cabinets and desk chairs fill the opposite end of the warehouse.

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27 Canada: LTE: Canada's Cannabis TripMon, 25 Jun 2018
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Best, Peter Area:Canada Lines:26 Added:06/27/2018

The legalization of marijuana for general consumption is a devastating, immoral attack by the Trudeau government against the best interests of all of Canada'€™s vulnerable and marginalized citizens, especially our young people, who are ill-equipped to handle it (What A Long Strange Trip It Will Been, editorial, June 21).

Surviving in modern society demands vigilance, sobriety, discipline and competence on all fronts. Marijuana use discourages these necessary virtues. There should have been a national referendum before this profound decision was made. There are no adults in charge any more.

Peter Best, Sudbury, Ont.

[end]

28Canada: Cannabis Dispensaries Get Real Oct. 17, 2018 MunicipalFri, 22 Jun 2018
Source:National Post (Canada) Author:Meissner, Dirk Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:06/27/2018

VICTORIA - On the day Canadians can legally buy and use recreational marijuana, the clock will start ticking for cannabis dispensaries already open across the country, say politicians and pot industry insiders.

On Oct. 17, provincial licensing, monitoring and approval regulations on legal marijuana retail standards will become law and the cannabis business will get real for marijuana shops currently operating outside the rules.

"These are the same people who cried for legalization," said Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang. "Now they've got it, and they have to play by the rules."

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29Canada: Oped: This Is Who We Are, UnfortunatelyFri, 22 Jun 2018
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:White, Calvin Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:06/27/2018

Seldom a day goes by when financial pages don't highlight new developments in the marijuana industry.

So, this is who we are today. Former B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake is now on the corporate board of a major marijuana company. Former Toronto police chief and current MP Bill Blair is a point man on marijuana legalization. Former B.C. Solicitor General and West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed is a consultant for marijuana companies. The list of government and policing honchos who have jumped on the bandwagon is substantial.

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30Canada: Editorial: Politicians Still Think You're Too IrresponsibleFri, 22 Jun 2018
Source:National Post (Canada)          Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:06/27/2018

They might be reluctantly legalizing cannabis. But they'll never stop thinking they know better than us how we should live

The Canadian government announced this week that marijuana would be legal for recreational in just under four months, by Oct. 17, 2018. The intervening time will be used to get legal distribution networks established and give provinces and police forces time to prepare for the transition.

And, the government probably hopes, for Canadians to decide they're not so into this marijuana stuff, after all.

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31Canada: Feds To Make It 'Fair' For Those With Criminal Records ForSun, 24 Jun 2018
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)          Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:06/27/2018

OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the government will look at ways to make things fair for those who have criminal records for marijuana possession after legalization comes into force.

Goodale says the question of pardoning individuals with criminal records for possessing marijuana is legitimate and one the government will pursue once the law takes effect. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior

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32 CN AB: Experts Watch Calgary's Public Marijuana Policy As CouncilMon, 25 Jun 2018
Source:Toronto Star (CN ON) Author:Smith, Madeline Area:Alberta Lines:42 Added:06/27/2018

CALGARY - A report presented to city council on Monday recommends allowing marijuana consumption in designated spaces at festivals and events.

The report, which council had yet to address as of press time, says making an exception will help to move second-hand smoke away from people who don't want to partake, while responding to "the current realities of cannabis consumption at festivals and events.

Earlier in June, when council floated the possibility of modifying bylaws to allow space for event attendees to smoke marijuana, Calgary Folk Music Festival executive director Sara Leishman raised concerns about the additional expense that events would have to take on "with no opportunity to recoup costs through sales of sponsorship."

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33CN BC: Cost Of Substance Use In Canada Tops $38 Billion, With BoozeTue, 26 Jun 2018
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)          Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:06/27/2018

VICTORIA - The economic cost of substance use in Canada in 2014 was $38.4 billion, or about $1,100 for every Canadian, says a report released Tuesday.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction partnered with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research to examine the data and estimate the harms of substance use based on health, justice, lost productivity and other costs. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior

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34 Canada: Ahead Of Legalization, Doctors Warn Pregnant Women OfMon, 25 Jun 2018
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Weeks, Carly Area:Canada Lines:62 Added:06/27/2018

With the legalization of cannabis only a few months away, one of Canadaa€™s top medical organizations is warning women about the risks the drug poses if used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, marijuana use can lead to preterm birth and low birth weight, as well as lower IQ and hyperactivity after a child is born.

a€œWe want to make sure women understand just because ita€™s legal doesna€™t mean ita€™s safe,a€ said Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer with the SOGC. a€œThe science does suggest there are effects on pregnancy and on fetal development.a€

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35 CN AB: Calgary City Council Green-Lights Public Marijuana ConsumptionTue, 26 Jun 2018
Source:Toronto Star (CN ON) Author:Smith, Madeline Area:Alberta Lines:37 Added:06/26/2018

CALGARY - City council approved changes on Monday to allow areas in Calgary where people can smoke or otherwise consume marijuana in public.

The city's Cannabis Consumption Bylaw prohibits public consumption in all forms, even after marijuana becomes legal in October. Changes to the bylaw will allow designated consumption areas both around the city and at festivals and events.

The city says there are currently no proposed designated cannabis consumption areas for Calgary's public spaces, but councillors can now begin identifying potential sites.

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36 Canada: Canadians Brace For Cultural Changes As Marijuana BecomesThu, 21 Jun 2018
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Bilefsky, Dan Area:Canada Lines:157 Added:06/21/2018

MONTREAL - For one of Canada's largest legal cannabis companies, the vote in Parliament this week to legalize recreational marijuana use represents a broad opportunity to develop new products, including marijuana infused drinks.

The hope, said Adam Greenblatt, a manager with the company, Canopy Growth, "is that in five years time people will be drinking cannabis drinks at a cocktail party as if drinking a good wine."

Matteo Rossant, 21, a business graduate at Concordia University in Montreal, also envisions an expansive future, one in which he sells maple syrup, lollipops and jelly treats made with cannabis.

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37 Canada: Canada To Legalize Pot In Mid-OctoberThu, 21 Jun 2018
Source:Wall Street Journal (US) Author:Viera, Paul Area:Canada Lines:73 Added:06/21/2018

OTTAWA - Recreational marijuana use in Canada will be legal in the coming months after legislation cleared its final hurdle Tuesday night, marking what officials here say is a "wholesale shift" in how the country approaches cannabis use.

Canadian officials say other technical steps remain before they can unveil on what day the legislation, introduced over a year ago, comes into force.

When the legislation kicks in, Canada will be the biggest national government to legalize cannabis. Drug-policy experts have said they expect countries in Europe and elsewhere to look to the Canadian experience for guidance on cannabis legalization.

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38Canada: Canada To Legalize Marijuana On Oct. 17Wed, 20 Jun 2018
Source:Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Author:Gillies, Rob Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:06/20/2018

TORONTO - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday marijuana will be legal nationwide on October 17.

Trudeau said in Parliament that the government is committed to better protecting Canada's youth and hopes to take money away from organized crime.

The Senate gave final passage to Trudeau's bill to legalize cannabis on Tuesday. The country will become the second in the world to make pot legal nationwide.

"The legislation is transformative," said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, adding it "marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis, leaving behind a failed model of prohibition."

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39 CN BC: PUB LTE: Pot Legalization Will Enable More ResearchSun, 10 Jun 2018
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Elrod, Matthew M. Area:British Columbia Lines:39 Added:06/12/2018

The costs and benefits of cannabis and cannabis policies are difficult to calculate, but cannabis legalization will remove many impediments to research.

A recent study finding an association between chronic cannabis use by young people and diminished life outcomes acknowledged "while we controlled for multiple potential confounds, it is possible that there are other explanatory mechanisms that have not been accounted for ... in the current study."

Oddly, one of the confounds the study neglected to control for is the self-medication of emotional and psychological problems such as ADHD and PTSD, which typically stem from childhood trauma: abuse, neglect, abandonment or, in some cases perhaps, an emotionally unavailable father.

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40 Canada: Column: The Cannabis Experience From The U.S. Tells Us TheTue, 29 May 2018
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Picard, Andre Area:Canada Lines:109 Added:06/01/2018

In 2012, Washington State voted to legalize marijuana. By 2014, the world's first system for legally growing, processing and retailing cannabis was operating.

As Canada prepares to go live with pot sales in a few months, what can we learn from four years of practical, hands-on experience in the western United States?

The first take-away is that all the fretting about the impact on children and teens is largely unwarranted.

Before legalization, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students in Washington State said they had smoked pot in the previous month. Four years of legal doobies later, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students say they have smoked pot in the previous month.

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41 CN MB: Manitoba Seeking Assurance From Feds On Banning Homegrown PotFri, 01 Jun 2018
Source:Winnipeg Sun (CN MB) Author:Pursaga, Joyanne Area:Manitoba Lines:69 Added:06/01/2018

Manitoba's Justice Minister is calling for federal legislation to confirm that provinces can ban the home growth of marijuana plants.

"I think that is clear that is provincial jurisdiction to make that decision. (But) I believe the federal (Justice) Minister made some comments that were a little concerning, so we wanted clarification on that," said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson, following a speech to Manitoba Chambers of Commerce members on cannabis legislation Thursday. "We've called (for) some clarification from the federal government. If they could put it specifically in legislation, that would be best."

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42 Canada: Medicinal Cannabis Use Can Help Mitigate Symptoms Of PTSDThu, 31 May 2018
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Leeder, Jessica Area:Canada Lines:84 Added:05/31/2018

People who have post-traumatic stress disorder but do not medicate with cannabis are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and have suicidal thoughts than those who use marijuana, new national research says.

Based on cross-country data from Statistics Canada, the observational study by researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Substance Use shows that Canadians with PTSD who use medicinal cannabis are 60 per cent to 65 per cent less likely to have major depressive episodes or thoughts of suicide compared with those who do not treat their symptoms with medical marijuana. The study is the first national-scale indication of the effectiveness of cannabis at mitigating the hallmark symptoms of PTSD. It was presented on Thursday at the annual conference of the Canadian Public Health Association in Montreal.

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43Canada: Senators Vote To Remove Random Roadside Alcohol Testing FromThu, 24 May 2018
Source:National Post (Canada) Author:Platt, Brian Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:05/24/2018

The government's leader in the Senate, Peter Harder, slammed the committee's removal of the provision

OTTAWA - In a controversial move that may set up another showdown with the House of Commons, a Senate committee voted on Wednesday night to remove random alcohol testing from the government's impaired driving legislation.

The provision would allow police to demand a breathalyzer test from any driver regardless of whether police had reasonable grounds to believe the driver had consumed alcohol. Currently police need that reasonable suspicion to make the breathalyzer demand, which drivers are punished for refusing.

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44 CN ON: Looking North Of The Border To Limit Heroin DeathsThu, 24 May 2018
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Goodman, J. David Area:Ontario Lines:232 Added:05/24/2018

TORONTO - An aging construction worker arrived quietly in the building's basement, took his seat alongside three other men and struck his lighter below a cooker of synthetic heroin.

A woman, trained to intervene in case of an overdose, placed a mask over her face as his drug cooked and diluted beneath a jumping flame. He injected himself, grew still and then told of the loss of his wife who died alone in her room upstairs - an overdose that came just a few months before this social service nonprofit opened its doors for supervised injections.

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45 CN BC: Craft Cannabis Growers In B.C. Sound Alarm Over Survival OfFri, 18 May 2018
Source:Nelson Star (CN BC) Author:Kane, Laura Area:British Columbia Lines:98 Added:05/23/2018

Open letter sent to federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her B.C. counterpart David Eby

Jessika Villano sells a potent array of dried cannabis, oils, salves and even bud-infused bath bombs at Buddha Barn Medicinal Society - all grown and processed by small-scale British Columbia producers.

Villano doesn't want that to change when marijuana is legalized later this year, and she's among the proponents of local craft cannabis who are pushing the federal and provincial governments to ensure its survival.

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46CN AB: Edmonton Police Spending New Money On Devices For RoadsideThu, 17 May 2018
Source:Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Author:Wakefield, Jonny Area:Alberta Lines:Excerpt Added:05/17/2018

Edmonton police will need about $1.4 million in ongoing and one-time funding to prepare for marijuana legalization this summer, a report to the police commission states.

Cannabis is set to become legal in Canada this summer and with it comes higher policing costs, the Edmonton Police Commission heard Thursday.

Police officials outlined a laundry list of new technology and training needed to enforce legal weed laws. Last month, the city approved $1.4 million in one-time and ongoing funding to help the police service deal with the impact of legal weed.

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47Canada: Everything You Need To Know About What Pot Does To YouThu, 17 May 2018
Source:National Post (Canada) Author:Kirkey, Sharon Area:Canada Lines:Excerpt Added:05/17/2018

Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's how pot affects your body and mind

When neurologist Frances Ames began testing the effects of a single dose of cannabis sativa on a group of her medical colleagues who were, on the whole, "articulate and fairly stable people," the onset of abnormal sensations "was always abrupt and immediate." One was sustained hilarity. "The whole idea of the experiment," Ames reported in 1958 in the Journal of Mental Science, "would suddenly seem enormously amusing." Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's everything you need to know about how pot affects your body and mind.

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48CN BC: Column: Pot-Law Logic Disappears At The BorderThu, 10 May 2018
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Leyne=09, Les Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:05/11/2018

Some time this summer, marijuana will be legal in Canada. It's already legal in Washington state and has been for four years.

But Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth warned this week that there's a significant problem looming at the border crossing, because it's still going to be illegal there.

It makes no sense whatsoever, but the U.S. federal government controls the border crossing, and marijuana is still nominally illegal in the U.S. federally.

"People [meaning, cannabis users] are going to naturally assume, on either side of the border, that they cross back and forth because it's legal in each jurisdiction,a" told the house. "But the reality is it will not be legal at that federal border crossing."

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49 CN ON: Column: Enabling Drugs While Shunning SugarFri, 11 May 2018
Source:Hamilton Spectator (CN ON) Author:Dreschel, Andrew Area:Ontario Lines:98 Added:05/11/2018

It'€™s all about harm reduction and improving community health outcomes

No doubt some Hamiltonians are chuckling to hear city council is considering banning sugary drinks from city buildings to protect people's health.

With good reason.

The proposed ban by the public health department lands at the same time the city is moving ahead with opening its first safe injection site for drug addicts.

It's more than a little ironic that the city may be cracking down on sugar while enabling the use of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine.

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50 CN MB: Editorial: Cannabis Sales Won't Balance BudgetTue, 01 May 2018
Source:Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)          Area:Manitoba Lines:97 Added:05/04/2018

Cannabis sales likely won't prove a financial bonanza.

Those counting on help from cannabis sales to balance the provincial budget are in for a disappointment.

As far as Statistics Canada can tell, cannabis prices in this country have been dropping for the past three years, perhaps the past dozen years. Since weed-market watchers in the United States have found roughly the same thing, it's probably true.

Canada's provincial treasurers, along with private investors in the cannabis trade, may still be able to turn a profit, but the bonanza that used to beckon has probably evaporated already.

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