Most Albertans support the provincial government's proposed regulations for legalized marijuana, according to a new Insights West poll.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to the online poll agree with the decision to prevent pot stores from selling alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals, while 77 per cent favour setting 18 as the legal age for buying marijuana.

While 60 per cent of Albertans support legalization, up five percentage points since a national poll done in October 2016, the poll found a split along party lines.

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Albertans high on province's marijuana plans: Poll

Most Albertans support the provincial government's proposed regulations for legalized marijuana, according to a new Insights West poll.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to the online poll agree with the decision to prevent pot stores from selling alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals, while 77 per cent favour setting 18 as the legal age for buying marijuana.

While 60 per cent of Albertans support legalization, up five percentage points since a national poll done in October 2016, the poll found a split along party lines.

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The head of Edmonton's Police Service looks ahead to 2018 with skepticism around supervised consumption sites,

Edmonton Police Service Chief Rod Knecht says police have had a good but "extremely busy" year. Metro asked him about some of the year's biggest stories and what to expect in 2018. The interview has been edited for space.

Metro: Cannabis will be legal July 1. Has EPS backed off marijuana related arrests since legalization was announced?

We're busy. Obviously there's lots of crimes, and we enforce crime on priority.

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Re: High Workforce, Mike Soch.

Mr. Soch is exactly right that with the legalization of pot on July 1, 2018, we can expect many more workplace injuries. We only have to look at what has happened in Colorado, where after legalization, workplace injuries rose from 6-20%. Too many people erroneously try to equate using marijuana with alcohol. Whereas alcohol leaves the system in about 12 hours, THC can stay in one's system for many days. This means someone getting stoned the night before, may be unknowingly still quite impaired when they show up for work the next day. This will be a particular problem in the mining and oil industry where there is heavy equipment, thus the reason some companies like Suncor want mandatory drug testing.

Larry Comeau



(C'mon, let's not go all Reefer Madness.)

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Since being equipped with naloxone nasal spray last December, Calgary firefighters have administered the opioid overdose antidote to 326 patients.

That's nearly once a day, said fire Chief Steve Dongworth, who noted the department has also seen an increase in overdose calls.

"We often go to overdose calls where we don't necessarily administer Narcan (the trade name of the drug), for one reason or another, and we've seen a significant increase in the volume of those, year over year - from under 400 calls in 2016 to nearly 1,100 in 2017 to date," said Dongworth. "So that's close to a 300 per cent increase."

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Expect the unexpected.

That sage advice from Dan Rowland, director of public affairs for Denver, Col., comes after more than five years of experience dealing with the legalization of cannabis and its ripple effects.

"I think it's imperative that governments, whether it's the provincial level or the local level, set themselves up to be nimble and flexible," he said. "There's a ton of education that needs to happen.

"Even for savvy consumers, there's going to be a regulated marketplace for this, so they need to know what that means, as well."

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Certain cannabis crimes ... will vanish altogether, thus resulting in less enforcement.

The city's claims that cannabis legalization is going to be a big money loser for them should certainly not be taken with a grain of salt, but rather, a few kilos of it.

Or, to put it another way, what are they smoking down at city hall?

A council committee last week heard the details on administration's latest estimates around the cost of legalization: about $10 million or so a year, or about the equivalent of a one per cent increase in property taxes.

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Laziness, not criminal intent, was likely behind a city police officer's decision to take home seized drugs, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Provincial court Judge Jerry LeGrandeur said he had a reasonable doubt Const. Robert Cumming took home marijuana handed over to him by an undercover officer for his own personal use.

LeGrandeur said Cumming's conduct in placing the contraband in his garbage bin in the alley behind his house before retrieving it hours later supported the suspended officer's story.

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Feds up profit split on pot deals

So, pot czar Justin Trudeau, realizing his actual street dealers were on the verge of a revolt, turned to his Mr. Big, Bill Morneau, and told him to divvy up a more saleable split of the profits from upcoming pot deals.

When profits are projected to be in the billions, honour among thieves, and we say "thieves" with all due respect, begins to lose its lustre.

After all, it will be the street dealers who will be taking on the majority of the risk, meaning all those premiers hypnotized by dollar signs who will have to set up their own turf, build their own drug outlets, collect the juice from the sales, and deal with law enforcement should the criminal element invade their space.

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As we stumble down the cobblestones on the uneven and relatively unchartered path to marijuana legalization, we're bound to trip once or twice.

But so far, we have to give props to the provincial government for appearing to get it right.

So far we have agreed with the legal age of 18, we accept the private/public sales model and, for the most part, agree with rules on where you can and can't smoke up.

This week's successful negotiation with the federal government on tax revenue is another case in point.

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Back in the day, before society was enlightened and educated, homosexuality was a crime and people who broke the law were punished. Now those people have received one of (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau's famous, weekly, tearful apologies, along with some cash and all is forgiven. I don't agree with the way the LGBTQ people were treated but it was a different world back then and we learn from our mistakes.

Unfortunately, now the precedent has been set. Cannabis is about to become mainstream after decades of being illegal, so I suppose anyone who has been charged, convicted or incarcerated relating to a pot offence will also receive a heartfelt, tearful apology and erasure of their criminal record, along with a cheque to go with it? Along with everyone else in Canada, I'm suffering pretty severe trauma watching our massive joke of a prime minister as he continually embarrasses Canadians and wastes our hard-earned money. So in a few years, I'm fully expecting a tearful, heartfelt apology from whomever replaces Trudeau to all Canadians along with a few million bucks to go with it. Oh, wait, who pays the bill for that?

Chris Rose



(There's no end to the number of people who have been badly treated over the years. It's called history.)

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A union that represents 3,000 oilsands workers at Suncor Energy sites i n northeastern Alberta has won a court injunction against random drug testing.

Unifor Local 707- A had argued that random testing would be a violation of workers' rights and privacy.

Calgary-based Suncor has said random tests are needed to bolster safety and wanted to start the program this month.

In his ruling, Queen's Bench Justice Paul Belzil said the privacy rights of employees are just as important as safety. "In my view the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction," Belzil said in a written judgment released Thursday.

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Nenshi wants share of federal tax revenues

The legalization of recreational marijuana will cost the city of Calgary more than $10 million annually in policing, bylaw and administration costs - a tab the mayor wants the federal government to ease by giving municipalities a one-third share of tax revenues from pot sales.

Council's Intergovernmental Affairs Committee heard Thursday that administration's latest estimates peg the price of cannabis legalization on city coffers at between $9 million and $12 million every year - the equivalent of about a one per cent increase in property taxes annually.

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The County of Strathcona prides itself on being a "champion for advancing diverse agricultural business." We hope that you keep this spirit in mind when voting on the request to place a moratorium on cannabis operations under intensive horticulture in Strathcona County.

As a county that puts priority on being a place that is open for business and investment, this moratorium is counter-intuitive to Strathcona's strategic priorities and goals. With agricultural expertise and well-honed entrepreneurial spirit, Alberta is poised to be a leader in the Canadian cannabis industry.

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A group of Alberta's future doctors are calling on the provincial government to use cannabis tax revenue to fund mental health initiatives for youth.

At least, that will be the pitch when 40 medical students from the University of Alberta and University of Calgary get together Monday with MLAs from various parties.

The Alberta Medical Students' Association has previously used its annual meeting at the legislature to push for investments in mental health, but this time the group wants funding for young adults and children at risk of adverse childhood experience. They are also calling for the formation of a cannabis and youth advisory board to work on future prevention, education and intervention efforts.

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Alberta cities want to hash out details on dealing with fallout from legalized marijuana

Who's going to do what, who's going to pay for what?" Barry Morishita, Alberta Urban Municipalities Association

The newly elected president of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Barry Morishita, said the NDP government has been good at keeping municipalities in the loop as it works through cannabis legalization.

But the Brooks mayor said municipalities are still looking for answers in some areas as the July 1, 2018, deadline for legalization moves ever closer.

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Top grower says science convinced him despite his initial reluctance

Jim Hole is getting into the commercial cannabis game and he couldn't be happier.

In fact, the St. Albert greenhouse owner who has dedicated a lifetime to horticulture can't remember the last time he was this excited about growing a plant.

This week, Hole's Greenhouses and Atlas Growers, an Alberta-based medicinal and recreational cannabis producer, joined forces to create a partnership that they hope will produce the very best commercial quality harvest of legal marijuana in the industry.

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On Monday, Nov. 27, The Cannabis Act passed third reading. This was the last vote in the House of Commons before the legislation goes to the Senate for review and approval. The government's plan is to have marijuana on the market for recreational use starting July 1, 2018.

I voted "no" to this legislation. Here's why:

The Liberal government has been told by numerous authorities, including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, to slow down. There's no reason the legislation needs to come into effect on July 1, 2018 and law enforcement agents have warned the government of the negative impact its rushed time frame will have on officers and the safety of Canadians.

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CALGARY - It looks like Canadian Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Ross Rebagliati may have been right all along.

Rebagliati, the first Olympic gold medalist for Men's Snowboarding at the 1998 Winter Olympics, was initially disqualified after THC, the main ingredient in marijuana, was found in his system in a drug test.

The decision was eventually overturned since cannabis wasn't a banned substance but Rebagliati maintained the positive drug test was the result of second-hand smoke.

Now a study from the Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary seems to support his claim.

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While support for cannabis legalization has grown tremendously in recent years, it's also true that there isn't unanimous consensus that it's the right thing to do.

However, it's also the case that legalization is for all intents and purposes a done deal, and so arguments against it are rather moot at this point. Moreover, bizarre and irrational arguments against legalization are not only moot, but really only serve to embarrass and discredit those making them.

For Alberta's new United Conservative Party, dabbling in such foolishness would represent a totally avoidable self-inflicted wound. Obviously, the Rachel Notley government did not legalize cannabis, but rather - as is the case with every other province - is designing and implementing regulations around legalization.

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