As the province wraps up its short consultation period with local governments and the public on the impending legalization of marijuana, city councils - including Merritt - are being put in the hot seat. The federal government will introduce legislation which will see marijuana legalized for recreational use across the country on July 1, 2018. While the feds will retain control over, provinces will be tasked with deciding how to deal with crafting their own rules regarding the enforcement and sale of cannabis products. [continues 444 words]
Although the topic of the finance minister and his assets that were not held in a blind trust, leaving a potential conflict of interest investigation looming remains an active one in Ottawa, it will not be the topic of this week's report. Instead, I would like to solicit your thoughts on the pending legalization of marijuana. For those of you unfamiliar, the Liberals in the last election openly campaigned on the legalization of marijuana. I raise that point as I believe the Liberals received a democratic mandate from voters to move ahead with marijuana legalization. [continues 392 words]
Re: "Legalized pot expected to have 'significant impact' on police work," Nov. 1. I just read an article about legalized marijuana dramatically increasing the workload for police forces across the country. This makes no sense. I believe the police currently check for possession, driving while high, etc. They talk to kids about drugs now. They do surveillance on gangs and bust grow-ops. Will things change that much after legalization? If the object is to reduce or eliminate the black market, many of these problems will be reduced, not increased. [continues 93 words]
VANCOUVER - New rules for legalized marijuana need to consider the impact on workplaces and clarify the rights of both employers and employees, say some business groups. Ottawa has set July 1 as the deadline for regulations to be in place and many provinces and territories are still working to craft legislation, including B.C., where a public consultation on legal pot wrapped up this week. Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, said large and small companies need guidance from the provincial and federal governments on how they should balance employee privacy with safety in the workplace. [continues 422 words]
Customers suspected of selling opioids A Nanaimo pot shop has been shut down after RCMP suspected customers of selling illegal opioids inside the store. Nanaimo RCMP raided the Limelife Society marijuana dispensary at 119 Nicol St. about 8 p.m. Thursday, acting on information that patrons were trafficking opioids, said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien. Two men were arrested and found to be in possession of eight purple tablets. The tablets will be sent for testing to determine if they contain fentanyl, O'Brien said. [continues 246 words]
To: Mayor and Council of the City of West Kelowna I find myself writing this in support of the cannabis dispensaries in West Kelowna which have either been closed or are threatened to be closed by this current council. Over the past one-and-a-half years I have been a regular customer of a number of those businesses. They have become an important part of our daily lives dealing with arthritis, achy backs, anxiety, stomach issues, restless leg syndrome, etc. etc. The cannabis products provided by these businesses have been instrumental in helping us enjoy our time at this point in our lives. We (my wife and I ) are in our late 50s and have found that we prefer to use more natural methods to tend to our more minor health issues if possible and these dispensaries provide this for us and thousands of others in your community. [continues 380 words]
Canadian municipalities aren't the only ones trying to figure out how they're going to respond when marijuana becomes legal across Canada next summer. A recent Maclean's story shows universities across the country are also struggling with how to adapt. UNBC is no different. "Senior administration is giving this issue thought and some of our operational units are discussing it as well," UNBC provost and vice-president, academic, Dan Ryan said in a written statement. "UNBC is developing a response but we will have to consult with various people/units around the university, including the Board of Governors, and make sure the response is framed appropriately and that we're going in the right direction." [continues 427 words]
Kelowna city staff say cannabis should only be sold from storefront dispensaries licenced by the provincial government and under rules similar to existing liquor stores. And their locations and operations should be controlled by municipal land use zoning and bylaws. Those are the key recommendations in a report to go to city council Monday morning after the province asked municipalities across the B.C. for input about how marijuana and cannabis products should be distributed once the federal government makes them legal next July. [continues 586 words]
Mayor and council of the City of Quesnel developed, discussed and passed a response to provincial government for policy considerations for a regulatory framework for non-medical cannabis in British Columbia at its Oct. 24 meeting. Following the 2015 federal election, the Liberal government started working on its campaign promise to legalize cannabis across the country. The revision of Cannabis Act and the Criminal Code are underway and it's expected these bills will be passed by July 2018. The provinces will be responsible for the regulation of the distribution and sale of cannabis. [continues 705 words]
VANCOUVER - Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenues as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from View Royal and Port Coquitlam for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. The British Columbia Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police echoes that recommendation, saying in its submission that the "cost download" of enforcement needs to be considered when a revenue-sharing system is developed. [continues 509 words]
Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a medical doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice and the public-health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say out of the gate that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle - I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians might become more inclined to self-medicate with this so-called "miracle drug." [continues 638 words]
West Kelowna councillor declares conflict of interest during discussion of B.C.'s policy on sale of marijuana West Kelowna city Coun. Rosalind Neis did not participate this week in discussions about how marijuana should be distributed when it is legalized. At the outset of Tuesday's deliberations, Neis declared a conflict of interest. "As you're all well aware, I hold stock in publicly traded cannabis companies, so I will be excusing myself from this discussion," Neis told her council colleagues before leaving the meeting room. [continues 122 words]
At a special council meeting, Tuesday city council lit up its marijuana advice for the provincial government. Mayor Doug Findlater and his council provided feedback for the ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on the legalization of non-medical marijuana. Council came up with these suggestions: * The minimum age to buy, grow and possess marijuana should be 19. * Province should prohibit public cannabis smoking altogether, but allow cannabis vaping wherever tobacco smoking and vaping are allowed. [continues 623 words]
Recommendations to province include municipalities sharing in cannabis economy Local municipalities should share in the revenues of a legal recreational marijuana economy and should retain the authority to regulate retailers and suppliers in their communities. Those were among the recommendations approved by Parksville city council Monday, Oct. 23, in response to a request for input by the provincial government into provincial regulation of marijuana beginning in July of 2018. The non-binding recommendations followed a report from Keeva Kehler, the city's director of administrative services. [continues 499 words]
Canadian municipalities aren't the only ones trying to figure out how they're going to respond when marijuana becomes legal across Canada next summer. A recent Maclean's story shows universities across the country are also struggling with how to adapt. UNBC is no different. "Senior administration is giving this issue thought and some of our operational units are discussing it as well," UNBC provost and vice-president, academic, Dan Ryan said in a written statement. "UNBC is developing a response but we will have to consult with various people/ units around the university, including the Board of Governors, and make sure the response is framed appropriately and that we're going in the right direction." [continues 418 words]
Editor: We need to seriously consider legalization of illegal substances, as this cannot continue. In countries such as Portugal, statistics show overdoses, crime and addiction rates decreased following legalization. With fewer arrests and lifelong sentences, some prisons became so vacant that they were refurbished to apartments and living quarters. These could be used by low income people or those on government assistance, homeless or recovering addicts. Like those in living in RVs on farmland down Gulley Road who need a place to live, this would be perfect for Vancouver and Kelowna with their high rents, lack of housing and the mild climate that many homeless come to (or are sent to) for the winter. [continues 116 words]
Members of city council agree on need for tight regulatory framework once marijuana is legalized next summer Marijuana should be sold only in government-controlled stores when the drug is legalized next summer, West Kelowna council says. A tight regulatory framework is preferable to a free-market approach, at least in the initial stages of the drug's legalization, city councillors said Tuesday. "It could be loosened (over time), as it seems reasonable to do so," Coun. Bryden Winsby said. "There'd be all kinds of opportunities later, if it works, to change the retailing system," Coun. Duane Ophus said. [continues 335 words]
From the head of DEA to the pimple-faced skater punk, everybody knows that you can't kill weed - you may as well try to rid the world of dandelions and rainbows. Ready or not, weed will do what weeds do - they spread. But not to worry Mr. and Mrs. Buzzkill; think of marijuana as a phase that society is going through. Like a teenager going through a rebellious stage. Just like 99.9 per cent of the people reading this, teenagers will also try things like alcohol, tobacco and fornication. [continues 512 words]
Editor: I am one of the 700 medical patients that is being affected by West Kelowna city council. I am told that I am like most of the other clients that happily visit the Black Crow Herbals weekly for my medication. I am older (57) and need help in maintaining my health due to chronic back pain (since 2004), constant nausea, etc. Three years ago, my doctor sadly told me that he could not continue providing prescriptions for percocet to help me with my constant pain, since narcotics were being abused throughout the country. [continues 313 words]
Dear Editor, Re: "This bud's for you?" Feature, Oct. 20. With money laundering being "uncovered" at our largest casino, a burgeoning birth tourism industry displacing tax-paying Canadians requiring a hospital bed and the expanding opiate (fentanyl) addiction crisis, this "Marijuana Legalization Concern Group" and the city councillors who support them (Mr. Au and Mr. McNulty), all need a reality check as to what the real issues are today within Richmond. Their list of demands to the federal government regarding cannabis legalization demonstrate a collective ignorance towards addiction, the negative effects prohibition has had on society, and the root causes of criminality. [continues 75 words]
This post to the Richmond News Facebook received a large number of "likes." Re: "This bud's for you?" Feature, Oct. 20. This honestly makes me laugh. We're OK with corruption, illegal money laundering, buildings built without proper zoning, misuse of our ALR, shootings of gang members, birthing "hotels" in residential and agricultural lands, passport babies, etc. Yet, some are overly concerned about the legalization of marijuana? Council should be protecting our citizens from the illegal things going on in Richmond, and prepare properly for the eventuality of the legalization of pot because it will no longer be the 'underground' activity it has been for decades. Debra 'Dee' Wells [end]
Dear Editor, Re: "This bud's for you?" Feature, Oct. 20. I'm surprised Coun. Chak Au is so worried about marijuana legislation, when the proposed legislation is designed to regulate marijuana, not encourage its use. Right now, marijuana is an unregulated seven billion dollar industry, much of it in the hands of criminals, and the government is right to seek to regulate and control the sale of it. Washington State has not seen a dramatic increase of use in marijuana amongst youth since legalization, nor has crime increased, which seems to be the main fear for Chak Au and his "concerned" group. [continues 60 words]
Marijuana will cause problems: Mayor Brodie Richmond city council voted unanimously to oppose marijuana legalization and send a letter to the provincial and federal governments expressing its concerns and requesting "proper" regulations. In the letter, the city will ask for the right to regulate cannabis at the municipal level, should it become legalized. This would enable the city to impose stricter rules and regulate it through land-use bylaws. "If you legalize it, then it's really like saying it doesn't cause problems when it really does," Mayor Malcolm Brodie told the Richmond News. [continues 445 words]
Mayor asserts city has numerous supporters as it looks to ban the sale of cannabis once provincial legislation is set next spring At least one Vancouver suburb wants to explore outlawing retail sales of cannabis within its city limits, even after the drug is legalized next year. Richmond city council's opposition to recreational cannabis underscores the balance British Columbia is trying to achieve with its coming rules as it assures communities there will not be a provincewide, one-size-fits-all approach to legal sales of the substance. The NDP government has established a 19-member committee of municipal politicians and bureaucrats to discuss a host of controversial issues surrounding legalization with the province, but Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said on Tuesday his community is opposed to the sale and use of recreational cannabis. Richmond will await the new provincial rules - expected next spring - before exploring its options, he said. [continues 874 words]
Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice, and the public health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle. I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians may become more inclined to self-medicate with this drug. [continues 632 words]
Staff report to be considered today by Kelowna city council recommends marijuana be sold at private, public stores subject to municipal zoning Marijuana should be sold at privately owned pot shops as well as government-controlled stores, Kelowna officials say. But municipalities should be able to control the number of pot shops, as well as set regulations covering their size and location, says a report going to city council today. City officials also suggest an unspecified minimum distance be set between liquor stores and pot shops. [continues 357 words]
The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal possession and provide a safe, clean drug source, as we do for alcohol and soon for marijuana, but how many more families will be devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave enough to value lives over votes. By decriminalizing personal possession, we could start to get rid the stigma that is associated with addiction. People are being poisoned and dying due to a clean source not being available. [continues 169 words]
Province receiving input on legalized marijuana rules Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenue as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from Port Coquitlam and View Royal, on Vancouver Island, for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. [continues 514 words]
Abbotsford police issue warning after three men, two women die from overdoses in 10-hour period on Friday Five people died within 10 hours from suspected drug overdoses in Abbotsford Friday. The victims were between the ages of 40 and 67, and most were found inside their Abbotsford homes. Between 10:15 a.m. and 7:20 p.m., first-responders attended dozens of calls about residents overdosing on drugs. Five of those were fatal. Const. Ian MacDonald says while overdoses have become normal in the city, it is shocking to see so many die in a day. He said the high amount of fentanyl and carfentanil in street drugs is horrifying. [continues 289 words]
Ontario's proposed liquor-style monopoly would keep black market, cost taxpayers We need a made-in-B.C. solution to cannabis legalization that pays attention to public health and safety, but also considers economic development in B.C.'s mature cannabis industry. Speaking to the recent meeting of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said it was "important to get it [cannabis legalization] right." "We are unique in B.C.," the minister said, adding that we have a "long, established history." [continues 714 words]
Dealers who hand out drugs laced with fentanyl could face manslaughter charges if their customers die, B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said recently. It's a harsh measure, but nothing else seems to stem the waves of poison that are killing people across the province. When even dead customers are not enough to stop a callous retailer, society must put its collective conscience where the dealer's is absent. Farnworth's suggestion is not new. Other jurisdictions, fed up with the senseless deaths, are coming down hard on those who, in the minister's words, are "dealing death." [continues 510 words]
Dealers who hand out drugs laced with fentanyl could face manslaughter charges if their customers die, B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said recently. It's a harsh measure, but nothing else seems to stem the waves of poison that are killing people across the province. When even dead customers are not enough to stop a callous retailer, society must put its collective conscience where the dealer's is absent. Farnworth's suggestion is not new. Other jurisdictions, fed up with the senseless deaths, are coming down hard on those who, in the minister's words, are "dealing death." [continues 522 words]
As little as five years ago, we imagine most people would have scoffed at the idea of needing a special group to pick up discarded needles in the community. Though the Comox Valley is not as badly affected as others, which are in the middle of a needle epidemic directly related to the opioid crisis that has killed so many across B.C. in the last several years, it isn't immune, either. The provincial statistics for 2017 to date are horrifying. This province has never faced a drug threat like that of fentanyl. [continues 224 words]
Action needed as legalization looms, Dr. Jessica Ross says. That was definitely vomit, I thought as I stepped in a slippery substance and caught the rail of the stretcher to avoid sliding underneath. That bilious smell doesn't come out of shoes. After ordering an intravenous, a cocktail of anti-emetics and a change of footwear for myself, I run through a mental list. What causes a 14-year-old patient to vomit like this? Appendicitis? Meningitis? Overdose? As an emergency room physician, it's always Big Bad Diagnoses that run through my mind first. [continues 639 words]
New NDP leader supports harm-reduction model The response to Canada's opioid overdose problem should be elevated as a national issue with a significant harm reduction approach, new NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said during his first visit to Vancouver as party head Friday. "Thousands of people are dying in our country as a result of this crisis and it needs to be named a national crisis first," said Singh, speaking after taking a tour of Chinatown. Singh's first official visit to the city after winning the federal NDP leadership Oct. 1 came a day after the City of Vancouver released the latest grim statistics on the overdose crisis - 275 suspected overdose deaths to the end of Oct. 9 - and a week after it was revealed that possible overdose deaths across B.C. surpassed all of 2016 at the end of August with 1,013. [continues 238 words]
Health and legal experts are urging caution about the idea of charging fentanyl dealers with manslaughter, saying such a move would do little to deter sellers and could instead punish those who are already struggling with substance-use disorders. B.C. Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth mentioned the idea to reporters at an unrelated event last week, saying it was raised at a recent meeting of federal and provincial public safety ministers. "We strongly believe that if you're dealing fentanyl, you're dealing death, and you should be facing much more severe penalties such as manslaughter charges," Mr. Farnworth said. [continues 727 words]
Criminal charges have been laid against Silver International Investment, a money-transfer business that RCMP allege was involved in money laundering, had ties to underground banking and used suspected drug cash to fund Chinese VIP gamblers in B.C. casinos. During the RCMP's so-called E-Pirate probe, Mounties allege they uncovered $500 million-plus from a Richmond money-laundering service that they said handled up to $1.5 million a day. "The Public Prosecution Service of Canada can confirm that charges have been laid against Caixuan Qin, Jian Jun Zhu, and Silver International Investments Ltd. in relation to Project E-Pirate," spokeswoman Nathalie Houle said Wednesday in an email. "We have no other information to provide at this time." [continues 685 words]
Thirteen Canadians a day were hospitalized for an opioid overdose in 2014-2015, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Information, and the rate of opioid poisoning hospitalizations has been steadily rising. What began with the over-prescription of opioids such as OxyContin, a painkiller once thought to have a low potential for addiction, led to the diversion of legal drugs to the illegal market, and later to the dramatic expansion of the illegal production of fentanyl. As the horror stories of addiction and death multiply, it is clear that what was once a medical issue is now a population-health crisis. [continues 634 words]
Last week, it was announced that opioid deaths have already exceeded last year's numbers, and the trend continues to point to an increasing use. Yet we open "incite" places to shoot up and open shelters where drug use is rampant. As long as society tolerates and supports this lifestyle, can there really be any other outcome? Burnside Gorge Community Association has said enough, but Victoria city council approved another shelter, ignoring the voters. Drugs will destroy lives and communities unless there is concerted effort to outlaw their use and stop enabling users. Chris Sheldon Victoria [end]
Students to learn to detect overdoses and reverse them using naloxone kits The University of B.C.'s Alma Mater Society is organizing mass training events to teach students to recognize and reverse drug overdoses amid a devastating provincial health emergency that shows no sign of slowing down. Organizers say 120 students are registered for a two-hour training session Thursday in the student union building at UBC's Vancouver campus, where they'll learn the signs of an overdose, how to use a naloxone kit and the role stigma-free language plays in improving the lives of people who use drugs. [continues 547 words]
John De Villa and his wife, Maxine, are afraid he'll lose access to the cannabis products that keep him seizure-free. The otherwise healthy software technician wasn't born with epilepsy, didn't drink or smoke, and hadn't taken as much as a Tylenol in decades. During the course of the next eight months, he would suffer a total of 12 grand mal seizures. Doctors would later tell him the effects on his brain were equivalent to what one would experience after a series of back-to-back concussions. [continues 1408 words]
Researchers say governments will have to legalize pot shops or incorporate elements from them into new model UBC researchers are cautioning policy-makers not to alter a cannabis distribution system that, while not yet legal, works well. Photo contributedUBC Okanagan psychology professor Zach Walsh recently published a study examining the roles independent marijuana dispensaries play in cannabis access. Associate professor Zach Walsh, who teaches at UBC's Okanagan campus, and PhD candidate Rielle Capler say storefront dispensaries - often under fire from bylaw enforcement and city governments - are a tried and true method of selling cannabis. The pair recently published a study on medicinal cannabis dispensaries and determined customers prefer the independent storefront as opposed to growing their own or getting it from a dealer. [continues 464 words]
A pot shop in Courtenay has been raided a second time after it reopened in defiance of RCMP orders. Two employees were arrested and marijuana, cannabis-infused food, cannabis concentrate and cash were seized by Comox Valley RCMP from the Leaf Compassion dispensary on Thursday. The employees are facing charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. They were released on a promise to appear in court on strict conditions not to return to the dispensary, according to dispensary owner Kyle Cheyne. [continues 273 words]
Meanwhile, City of Richmond is concerned over regulatory framework for weed legalization Legalized recreational marijuana is coming to Richmond, but the city's not ready, according to a new group led by Coun. Chak Au. The "2018 Marijuana Legalization Concern Group" has asked the federal government to postpone or suspend the July, 2018 deadline for pot legalization until all regulations are in place. "Once the gate of legalization is opened, it cannot be reverted back," said Au at the group's press conference held Oct. 13. [continues 1055 words]
Re: "Opioid deaths rising, yet drug use tolerated," letter, Oct. 17. The letter-writer hypothesized that the opioid-overdose epidemic is a consequence of increased use, stemming from our tolerance of drug use, as demonstrated by supervised-injection sites and homeless shelters. In reality, the most significant driver of increased opioid use has been opioid prescriptions. The spike in overdose deaths has been caused by the introduction of fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids into the illicit-drug supply. There has never been a fatal overdose at a supervised-injection site, although many have been averted. There is no evidence that supervised-injection sites encourage, perpetuate or "enable" drug use. On the contrary, injection sites shepherd drug users into detox and treatment. Vancouver's Insite, for example, shares a building with a detox clinic called Onsite. Perhaps we should leave life-and-death theorizing to public-health professionals who are familiar with the literature on the subject. Matthew M. Elrod Victoria [end]
Dealers who hand out drugs laced with fentanyl could face manslaughter charges if their customers die, B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said on the weekend. It's a harsh measure, but nothing else seems to stem the waves of poison that are killing people across the province. When even dead customers are not enough to stop a callous retailer, society must put its collective conscience where the dealer's is absent. Farnworth's suggestion is not new. Other jurisdictions, fed up with the senseless deaths, are coming down hard on those who, in the minister's words, are "dealing death." [continues 521 words]
Concerns over where legal marijuana will be grown has local governments looking for right to designate production areas The looming deadline for legalized marijuana has local governments in British Columbia crafting wish lists for provincial legislation, from where pot should be grown to how it should be sold. Ottawa has said regulations must be in place by July 1 and the B.C. government announced last month that it wants public input on shaping the rules. While some municipal politicians worry the timeline for regulations is too short, Vancouver Councillor Kerry Jang thinks legalization can't come soon enough. [continues 578 words]
A new window onto B.C.'s fentanyl crisis might have opened. It appears organized crime groups are using casinos to launder enormous quantities of cash, some of which comes from the traffic in street drugs. Not all of the laundered money derives from this source. But Canada-wide, illicit-drug sales account for nearly 60 per cent of gang-related income. In B.C., that could amount to $5 billion or more, a portion of which was certainly raised selling fentanyl. [continues 525 words]
Courtenay's mayor has received death threats from people upset that the RCMP shut down the community's first cannabis dispensary. Mayor Larry Jangula said someone posted online comments threatening to shoot him after inaccurate information that he had directed Comox Valley RCMP to raid Leaf Compassion dispensary on Wednesday circulated on social media. "It's been a very upsetting day," Jangula said. He said he has been threatened during his 27-year policing career, but never in his role as mayor. [continues 400 words]
City council today expected to rescind business licences for 2 marijuana dispensaries The owners of two West Kelowna pot shops today face the revocation of their business licence and subsequent closure. City council is expected to rescind licences for Black Crow Herbals and The Healing Company, a move staff say would force the businesses to close. "(T)he licence holder has engaged in the illegal dispensing of cannabis, which is in contravention of the Criminal Code of Canada or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act," reads the identical wording in two separate staff reports to be considered at today's council meeting. [continues 413 words]
Inside British Columbia
