Heated debate erupted in the gymnasium at Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour School Saturday as residents of Edmonton-Riverbend argued over whether their suburban community would ever welcome supervised injection sites. "It was pretty clear that a lot of people weren't supportive of safe injection sites coming into suburban areas, which we've been hearing through letters to the office and phone calls," said Matt Jeneroux, MP for Edmonton-Riverbend. Supervised injection sites - where intravenous drug users can inject under the supervision of medical professionals as a way to reduce overdose deaths - are approved for the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, Boyle Street Community Services and the George Spady Society. [continues 506 words]
It would be crazy to hold these stocks into the legalization date, because in my opinion there's just too much exuberance and too much anticipation. Rob Armstrong, an oil camp chef living in northern Alberta, plunked $37,000 of his savings into marijuana stocks a year and a half ago. He's quadrupled his money. Retail investors like Armstrong and larger institutional players have been getting rich from the high-stakes game of betting on the peaks and valleys of cannabis stocks. [continues 1256 words]
Safe sites for drug users stir up heated debate at MP-led community forum in southwest Edmonton Heated debate erupted in the gymnasium at Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour School Saturday as residents of Edmonton-Riverbend argued over whether their suburban community would ever welcome supervised injection sites. "It was pretty clear that a lot of people weren't supportive of safe injection sites coming into suburban areas, which we've been hearing through letters to the office and phone calls," said Matt Jeneroux, member of parliament for Edmonton-Riverbend. [continues 550 words]
The Alberta Party says a network of publicly owned cannabis stores will cost at least $168 million, a price it says is too steep to pay when the private sector is lined up to serve the market when recreational marijuana is legalized next year. The NDP government has mandated that legal weed be sold in stand-alone stores but has not yet decided whether to set up government-owned and operated stores or allow private retailers. In a news release Monday, Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark pegged the cost of a public system at $168.4 million. [continues 383 words]
The evidence points to an urgent need, say Elaine Hyshka and Cameron Wild. Last week, Health Canada issued the approvals to establish supervised consumption services in Edmonton. Scientific evidence consistently supports the individual and community benefits of these services, and local data demonstrate an urgent need for them in our inner city. Unfortunately, some people allege ("Safe injection sites will hurt vulnerable communities," Oct. 21) the scientific evidence used to support Health Canada's decision is biased and not credible. We write to correct this misrepresentation of facts. [continues 582 words]
Safe injection sites only serve to delay the inevitable downward spiral of life for addicts. In the meantime, larger and larger areas of downtown become even more unlivable as the number of addicts rises. This leads to more robberies, assaults, murders as addicts commit crimes to support their lifestyles and dealers fight for market share and territory. We only have a couple of options: One is to supply addicts with drugs and supplies under condition they don't commit any crimes. Since they're addicts, they'd be under our control. A total enablement and surrender if there ever was one. Or, more realistically, as a society we need to make some fundamental changes toward drug treatment. Make detox more available and, once voluntarily entered, a person cannot leave until the program is complete. P.M. Zupan, Edmonton [end]
Did anyone expect the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees to decide the sale of legal marijuana is best put in the hands of private enterprise? Delegates to the union's convention in Edmonton on the weekend passed a resolution that - gasp - "all cannabis retail outlets be publicly owned and operated by the Government of Alberta or one of its regulated agencies." Union members - or more precisely, their executive and the employees they hire - rely on dues to keep the lights on at the AUPE office. The addition of a few thousand card-carrying marijuana retail workers would add a shine to the AUPE's ledgers. [continues 330 words]
Alberta health officials are handing out between 2,000 and 3,000 naloxone kits a month to combat a lethal fentanyl epidemic. In two years of providing at least 30,972 of the free kits that include the anti-narcotic formula, Naloxone has reversed a reported 2,330 overdoses in the province, said Dr. Nick Etches, medical officer of health for the Calgary region. "Certainly, there have been more reversals than reported, the majority of times people are not telling us," he said, also noting those numbers are as of Sept. 30, and don't include naloxone interventions delivered by medical professionals. [continues 468 words]
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) has adopted a resolution supporting the public sale of marijuana when the drug becomes legal next year. The federal government plans to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, but has left many of the details - including how the drug will be sold - - up to the provinces. On the last day of its annual convention Saturday, members of the AUPE, Alberta's largest labour organization, endorsed a resolution that "all cannabis retail outlets be publicly owned and operated by the Government of Alberta or one of its regulated agencies." [continues 358 words]
Supervised drug consumption site set to open Jan. 2 What's old will be renewed again in a bid to save lives from the rising number of drug overdoses in Lethbridge. Government officials and local media received a tour Friday of the city's future supervised consumption site, currently under construction. The former Pulse nightclub is being transformed into what will become a "clean and safe space" area for drug users to snort, inhale, inject or swallow drugs while under the supervision of healthcare professionals and without fear of arrest. [continues 1061 words]
My hope is that the supervised injection sites recently approved at four locations in Edmonton will become a jumping-off point for heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) in our province. In my opinion, it is the only way to tackle the opioid scourge that is leaving a trail of bodies in its wake. Countries like Switzerland have experienced rates of homelessness and property crime associated with problematic drug use approaching zero per cent after approving the use of HAT by qualified doctors. This approach is counter-intuitive to many, but the numbers speak for themselves. The health authority in the United Kingdom figures that for every dollar spent on harm reduction, it saves $3 in health services and enforcement. Steven Zerebeski, Beaumont [end]
Vancouver's experience isn't very encouraging, writes Warren Champion. The news tells us the epicentre of opioid/fentanyl deaths appears to be situated in the urban core of Edmonton, specifically, in the communities of Central McDougall and McCauley. The three levels of government created an organization named AMSISE - Access to Medically Supervised Injection Services. AMSISE applied to the federal government on May 1 for a waiver that would allow approved sites to provide supervised injection services. The rationale given was "the spike in opioid-related overdose deaths has pushed the need for an effective set of responses into the forefront for community and government." [continues 618 words]
Remand Centre hopes technology cuts in-custody overdoses, boosts staff safety Edmonton Remand Centre inmates will go through an electronic body scanner to counter the smuggling of increasingly toxic drugs and other contraband into the lockup. The scanner, similar to those used by airport security, takes a full body X-ray. The remand centre, which showed off the new equipment Wednesday, is the first correctional facility in Alberta to test the technology. New inmates, transferred inmates and inmates suspected of having contraband will be put through the scanner, said Ken Johnston, security director of the remand centre, which houses about 1,500 people in custody awaiting trial. [continues 314 words]
Supporters of Edmonton's Chinatown and urban community league members say they 're disappointed with the Ottawa's approval of four supervised drug consumption sites in the city's core. "We feel that it's an extremely unfair decision, and not well-informed," Michael Lee, chairman of the Chinese Benevolent Association, said Wednesday. "The basic rights of some communities (were) totally ignored." Alberta Health announced Wednesday that its federal counterpart had approved three supervised injection sites in Edmonton's downtown core and supervised consumption services for inpatients at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. [continues 276 words]
Alberta's first supervised drug injection sites will open within months at four locations in Edmonton's inner city after receiving approval from Health Canada, the provincial government announced Wednesday. Proponents hailed the news as a "long overdue" step that will save lives and direct more addicts into treatment. The goal is to get three community sites open by late December or early January, while a fourth facility at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is anticipated to open sometime in the spring of 2018. [continues 1235 words]
Health Canada approved the first few supervised consumption facilities in Alberta on Wednesday, including a site in downtown Lethbridge. ARCHES and Edmonton-based coalition AMSISE received an exemption from federal drug legislation, allowing them to operate supervised consumption sites. Four sites are slated to open, three in Edmonton and one in Lethbridge, which will operate out of the former night club Pulse. The application process for Lethbridge moved quicker than most and Jill Manning, the managing director of ARCHES, feels that may be a result of the unique issues Lethbridge is facing around substance use. [continues 571 words]
By next summer, a brave new world will dawn on Edmonton streets. Smokers will openly, and quite legally under certain restrictions, puff on joints purchased from a cannabis store selling a line of products sanctioned by and maybe even distributed by a provincial agency. If the Notley government decides to adopt a public retailing system instead of a private model, the province itself may adopt the role of pot dealer - a scenario that a few scant years ago would have rightly elicited a "what-have-you-been-smoking?" response in a region traditionally known for small-c conservative values. [continues 344 words]
It is great to see Edmonton embracing supervised injection sites. The number of people dying from fentanyl (thousands per year) would be alarming but for the general indifference our governments have for drug users. The war on drugs directly causes fentanyl deaths; people trying to use cocaine inadvertently use fentanyl, then overdose. The war on drugs directly supports organized crime. If all drugs were legal and regulated, cartels would not exist: they are the only group that benefits from this policy. [continues 74 words]
I was disturbed by the language of Shelly Williams when talking about safe injection sites. "This is for people who are injecting substances in unsafe environments, and providing them the opportunity to inject in a safe place where we can deepen relationships." She leaves out that the substances are illegal, and it has a $2.3 M annual cost. Food bank demand is surging, kids are going to school hungry and our government is coddling drug addicts? Jason Morton (The goal is to defray costs to the healthcare system and prevent deaths.) [end]
It doesn't make sense to invest (public) money to set up infrastructure here. Premier Rachel Notley won't say which way her NDP government is leaning when it comes to sales of legal cannabis, but she insists the province is carefully weighing the merits of both the public and private sector options. Under its policy framework unveiled last week, the NDP will allow recreational marijuanato be sold only in stand-alone stores once it is legalized next year, but the government is still weighing whether to set up a system of government owned and operated stores, or leave retail to the private sector. [continues 478 words]
Premier Rachel Notley won't say which way her NDP government is leaning when it comes to sales of legal cannabis, but she insists the province is carefully weighing the merits of public- and private-sector options. Under its policy framework unveiled last week, the NDP will allow recreational marijuana to be sold only in standalone stores once cannabis is legalized next year, but the government is still weighing whether to set up a system of government owned and operated stores, or leave retail to the private sector. [continues 274 words]
The health implications of legalized cannabis and ways to combat Canada's rising opioid problem are on the agenda when health ministers meet this week in the Alberta capital. Provincial and territorial ministers will hold discussions today and will get an update on the marijuana file from federal counterpart Ginette Petipas Taylor on Friday. Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen says he wants to know more about the impacts on health and on the health system. "Many studies show that people are affected by the consumption of marijuana up until the age of 25 because there can be long-term effects if the brain is still developing up until that age," said Goertzen. [continues 308 words]
In more than 35 years as an emergency room physician, Dan Morhaim has learned a lot about opioids. The doctor, Maryland state legislator and faculty member at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said he has had the opportunity to talk to thousands of drug users while treating patients. "It's given me tremendous insight into what goes on and that's informed a lot of the policies that I've promoted," he said. The physician was in Calgary on Wednesday to speak about that approach as part of a University of Calgary School of Public Policy and O'Brien Institute of Public Health event. [continues 396 words]
CALGARY - Premier Rachel Notley won't say which way her NDP government is leaning when it comes to sales of legal cannabis, but she insists the province is carefully weighing the merits of both the public and private-sector options. Under its policy framework unveiled last week, the NDP will allow recreational marijuanato be sold only in stand-alone stores once it is legalized next year, but the government is still weighing whether to set up a system of government owned and operated stores, or leave retail to the private sector. [continues 361 words]
An overwhelming number of municipal candidates from across Alberta surveyed by anti-smoking advocate group Action on Smoking and Health support municipal restrictions on the use of cannabis in public places. In total, 159 candidates from 20 major Alberta municipalities were asked nine questions in the survey on cannabis and tobacco between Oct. 2 and Oct. 11. Of those candidates, 133 respondents, or 84 per cent, said they support restrictions. Almost as many, 121 respondents or 76 per cent, said they support municipal licensing of cannabis retail sales, and 129 candidates also supported the use of municipal zoning to control location of cannabis retail stores. [continues 107 words]
As the due date for the Legal Weed Scourge draws to a close, it has been interesting to watch the federal and provincial governments staking their claims as to the millions of dollars to be made. In my mind's eye, I see them all standing with eager anticipation at the starting gate to see who will be the first to get hold of the riches. I know there is a bit of cynicism involved here, but I see such a blatant tax grab in the works despite the huge efforts to hide their greed. The only ones missing out are the municipalities who will have to foot the bills for policing and licencing. [continues 526 words]
Trust us, the grass is greener on the other side of state-run business. Anyone who ever had to line up outside one of a handful of Alberta liquor Control Board retail outlets back in the day knows how brutal it was buying something as simple as a case of beer or bottle of wine. It was enough to drive you to drink. Or how about the stress-elevating experience of a visit to the old department of motor vehicles. Talk about road rage. Privatization has made life so much easier in those two areas, not to mention the jobs created through competition and better, varied pricing for consumers in the case of booze - tax portion aside, of course. [continues 296 words]
The advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants Alberta to sell marijuana through government-run stores - at least in the short term - to ensure public safety before profit. Andrew Murie, the CEO of MADD, points to marijuana stores in the United States that slash prices to mark the annual April 20 counter-culture celebration of public cannabis consumption. "There are a lot of people that want to make a lot of money on this legalization, a lot of entrepreneurs, and they're not interested in public safety," Murie said in an interview Thursday. [continues 503 words]
The Canadian Medical Association has said that the age for marijuana should be 25 and no less than 21. What does our illustrious government do? They set the age at 18. How did they arrive at this? Or, was it pulled out of thin air like so many of their harebrained policies? At the same time, Energy East is cancelled and not a peep. The slow death spiral for this country into the economic abyss continues. I hope we wake up before it's too late. Ken Banner, Edmonton [end]
A dozen medical pot producers plan to start a chain of Alberta marijuana stores if the provincial government allows private companies to sell recreational weed next year. The Canadian Cannabis Co-Op hopes to get in on the ground floor of what's expected to be a billion dollar Alberta industry when the federal government legalizes marijuana consumption July 1, 2018. "We will build out a retail channel in Alberta and any other province that is looking at including private sector retail and distribution in their model," Darren Karasiuk, chair of the co-op working group, said Thursday. [continues 387 words]
Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley has announced the first details of Alberta's plans for selling marijuana once the product is legalized across the nation in July. This makes Alberta the third province, after Ontario and New Brunswick, to show its hand. Ganley announced enough details to satisfy those who want to know Alberta's broader approach to legalization, while keeping more contentious details, like who gets to sell it, for a later date. Although Alberta Health Services recommended making the legal age 21 for pot consumption and raising the alcohol and tobacco ages from 18 to match it, Alberta's government is sensibly and simply making 18 the legal age for weed. [continues 460 words]
The Trudeau government's notice that recreational use of marijuana will be legal on July 1, 2018, has created a number of challenges for provincial politicians. Legalizing the substance is the easy part. More difficult is deciding how the drug will be sold to customers, where retail outlets will be located, where cannabis can be smoked and how police will be able to detect those who have consumed too much pot. The NDP government provided a glimpse this week of what legalized pot might mean for Albertans, but it's waiting for the public to weigh in before it introduces legislation this fall. [continues 334 words]
Alberta condo dwellers are in for a terrible ride with the NDP marijuana legislation plan. Most condos are high-density buildings where small units are crammed together and where the attitudes and behaviours of others directly affect their neighbours. We already hear of people smoking "whatever" on balconies or in units where smoke drifts next door negatively affecting the health, property values and quality of life of others. Now our federal government is giving people, who might not even be owners, permission to carry on. [continues 122 words]
Alberta, like all provinces, is scrambling to come up with a plan to adapt to the federal government's looming legalization of marijuana. Given the rush to meet Ottawa's quickly approaching July 1 deadline, the first proposed rules laid out by Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley are generally promising in their application of common sense to what is a complicated, costly and game-changing file off-loaded onto provinces by the Trudeau Liberals. The federal ground rules are: the minimum age can't be below 18 and you can't possess in public more than 30 grams; most everything else is for provinces to decide. [continues 346 words]
Advocates says province would be spared millions in cost of building retail outlets A dozen cannabis producers from across Canada want to launch a cooperative in Alberta, where they would sell the drug online and in street-level stores - and they're promising extra revenues for the government. A day after the province reopened public consultations on a new cannabis market - leaving its options open on whether to pursue privately or publicly run stores - the Canadian Cannabis Co-op said its proposed retail model poses no risks or costs to taxpayers. [continues 534 words]
Alberta Federation of Labour says public system creates better jobs, more revenue The Alberta Federation of Labour is calling for the NDP government to set up a system of government-owned and operated cannabis stores in the province when recreational marijuana becomes legal next year. With Alberta's policy framework for legal cannabis released earlier this month, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the province will only allow stand-alone stores to sell legal weed but it is still weighing whether to set up government-owned facilities or leave retail to the private sector. [continues 528 words]
CALGARY The Alberta Federation of Labour is calling for the NDP government to set up a system of government-owned and operated cannabis stores in the province when recreational marijuana becomes legal next year. With Alberta's policy framework for legal cannabis released earlier this month, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the province will only allow stand-alone stores to sell legal weed but it is still weighing whether to set up government-owned facilities or leave retail to the private sector. [continues 505 words]
Calgary police Chief Roger Chaffin said a proposed framework released by the province on legalized marijuana this week is "a start" as police examine their next steps to prepare for recreational cannabis to be legalized July 1. "On its first blush, there's not a lot of detail in that yet, but at least the framework sets up at least an idea of where the province wants to go around age limits, around consumption levels, growing the plant, so there's lots of areas there at least we can start to go to work on," Chaffin said Friday. [continues 293 words]
Calgary police chief roger chaffin said a proposed framework released by the province on legalized marijuana this week is "a start" as police examine their next steps to prepare for recreational cannabis to be legalized July 1. "On its first blush, there's not a lot of detail in that yet, but at least the framework sets up at least an idea of where the province wants to go around age limits, around consumption levels, growing the plant, so there's lots of areas there at least we can start to go to work on," chaffin said Friday. [continues 270 words]
Albertans get first look at pot plan Albertans will be able to toke up in public when marijuana is legalized across Canada next summer, as long as they're not around kids. The province released its Draft Cannabis Framework on Wednesday morning, confirming people will be allowed to smoke in public but not in playgrounds, spray parks, zoos, hospitals, school grounds or other places frequented by children. By contrast, Ontario announced last month it will not allow public consumption when the drug is legalized for recreational use on July 1, 2018. [continues 236 words]
Justice minister set to unveil policy framework for legalized marijuana Alberta companies are eagerly waiting to see whether they can do business under the provincial government's plan for legal marijuana. On Wednesday, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley will unveil the NDP government's policy framework for cannabis once the Trudeau government legalizes recreational marijuana on July 1, 2018. Among the areas expected to be addressed by the government are the legal age for consumption, pricing and how cannabis will be distributed and sold in the province. [continues 531 words]
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon and chief medical correspondent for CNN is reported to have said, "Every 19 minutes somebody dies of a prescription drug overdose. It doesn't happen with marijuana." In the past Gupta was against legalising medical marijuana in the U.S. but now he is in favour of it. He sees some benefit for certain types of illnesses. The use of medical marijuana (medical cannabis) as a medicine has not been rigorously tested due to several restrictions. But there is some evidence to suggest cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasm. [continues 417 words]
Stafford Drive bridge area being fenced off CP Rail is cutting off access to one of the most active illicit injection sites in the city in the coming months, which could drive up drug use in other areas of the city. In a report to Lethbridge Police Commission on Wednesday, ARCHES Executive Director Stacey Bourque told the commission when CP Rail cuts access to the area under Stafford Bridge, many drug users will lose access to an area where ARCHES cleans thousands of used needles every month. [continues 540 words]
Blueprint for recreational marijuana sales shares key similarities with proposals in Ontario and New Brunswick, but also shows how varied the provincial approaches will be upon legalization, Kelly Cryderman reports from Calgary Alberta has joined in the rush by provinces to adapt to Canada's rapidly approaching marijuana legalization, with a draft plan that sets the minimum age at 18 and allows for public consumption in some areas. But the province is undecided on whether storefront sales will be managed by government monopoly or private interests. [continues 735 words]
Public asked to pipe up on marijuana rules The NDP government is weighing whether to set up government-run stores to sell marijuana in Alberta or leave the market to private retailers once recreational cannabis is legalized next year. Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley unveiled the government's proposed framework for legal weed Wednesday, with the province setting 18 as the legal age for consumption - matching the age for alcohol and tobacco use in Alberta. The province will also mandate that legal weed be sold only in standalone stores, with no sales of alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals in the same facility. [continues 447 words]
Rules for legal weed set minimum age at 18, allow use in public places The NDP government is weighing whether to set up government-run stores to sell marijuana in Alberta or leave the market to private retailers when recreational cannabis is legalized next year. Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley unveiled the government's proposed framework for legal weed Wednesday, with the province setting 18 as the legal age for consumption - matching the age for alcohol and tobacco use in Alberta. The province will also mandate that legal weed be sold only in stand-alone stores, with no sales of alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals in the same facility. [continues 789 words]
Government proposes permitting pot in provincial parks and on street corners Next July, you'll be allowed to get high standing on a downtown street corner, walking your dog through Nose Hill Park or hiking in the Rocky Mountains. In its draft framework for legalized weed, the Alberta government has proposed among the most permissive rules so far in Canada on where pot can be smoked. They're even more lax than rules in Colorado and other legalized jurisdictions south of the border, according to a researcher who has studied the industry. [continues 668 words]
The Notley government wants public feedback on its new plan to manage legalized pot in the province. Here's some free advice that could save taxpayers a boatload of cash and a chronic headache. Don't get into the retail business. At a news conference in Calgary, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Wednesday the province is putting together a framework surrounding who can buy and sell cannabis in Alberta. This comes in response to the federal government introducing legislation to legalize marijuana by next July. [continues 830 words]
Alberta NDP's cannabis retail rules could work, as long as sales remain in the private sector The Notley government's proposed rules for legal pot sales in Alberta, released Wednesday, might just work. The key will be whether the NDP can be convinced to let private retailers sell weed, rather than selling it through government-owned stores run by bureaucrats and staffed by union members. The proposals deal with who may buy weed and where, how it may be marketed and how to keep dope-impaired drivers off our roads and toked-up workers out of the workplace. [continues 558 words]
Minister announces policy framework, says legal age to consume will be 18 CALGARY - The NDP government is weighing whether to set up government-run stores to sell marijuana in Alberta or leave the market to private retailers once recreational cannabis is legalized next year. Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley unveiled the government's proposed framework for legal weed Wednesday, with the province setting 18 as the legal age for consumption - matching the age for alcohol and tobacco use in Alberta. The province will also mandate that legal weed be sold only in stand-alone stores, with no sales of alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals in the same facility. [continues 523 words]
Inside Alberta
