In an interview with The Citizen last April during the 2017 provincial election, NDP leader John Horgan admitted that government and politicians are behind public sentiment when it comes to marijuana. Knowing it and saying it is one thing but Horgan, now the premier, still seems reluctant to act on it, based on the additional details on a provincial pot policy the NDP government announced Monday that will take effect once marijuana is legalized later this year.

"Some may think that this work will end in July when non-medical cannabis is legalized by the federal government," Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said. "But the truth is our government will be dealing with this significant change in policy for years to come."

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There was some good news out of the report the B.C. Coroners Service released Jan. 31, that overdose deaths declined in the last quarter of 2017 compared to 2016.

There were 99 deaths last December, compared to 164 the previous year. But that's about all the good news. Overall, 2017 was the deadliest year for overdose deaths B.C. has ever seen, with 1,422 deaths compared to 914 in 2016.

In the majority of those deaths - 81 per cent - the synthetic opioid fentanyl played a part. That's an increase over 2016 again, when the figure was estimated at 67 per cent. That many deaths makes you question just how much fentanyl is in circulation, and how many other overdoses there were that didn't result in death, thanks to naloxone or other lifesaving measures.

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Municipalities across Metro Vancouver are considering their options when it comes to allowing legal cannabis retailers in their communities, following the release of new provincial policy around licensing.

This week, the B.C. government said that under its proposed framework for the retail sales of non-medical cannabis, residents aged 19 and older will be able to buy cannabis through privately run or government-operated retail stores and online through the government once it is legalized in July.

The Liquor Distribution Branch will operate public retail stores and the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will license and monitor private stores.

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British Columbia's civil forfeiture regime violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by forcing individuals to produce evidence against themselves and by resulting in penalties that are grossly disproportionate, says a new constitutional challenge.

The case, which will proceed to trial in B.C. Supreme Court in November, stems from a 2015 police search of a multi-million-dollar home on Vancouver's west side that turned up hundreds of marijuana plants. It is expected to be the second constitutional case involving B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Office heard this year; a case involving the Hells Angels is scheduled for April.

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Forms are being sent out to households and businesses this month

City staff have set an aggressive timetable for public debate over the future of cannabis sales and consumption in Nelson ahead of federal legalization this summer.

Feedback forms are set to be sent the week of Feb. 12 to every household and business within city limits. The survey, which needs to be returned to City Hall by Feb. 28, will be used by staff and council to help draft regulations in March.

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The province's opioid crisis is truly frightening.

The death totals for 2017, released last week, are record-shattering - with 1,422 dead in B.C., including 200 in the Interior Health region and 19 in the Kootenay Boundary region.

About four out of five who died were male and almost nine out of 10 deaths occurred indoors.

The powerful opioid fentanyl was detected in 81 per cent of last year's deaths compared to about 67 per cent in 2016.

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Dear editor: If cannabis legalization gets any more costly, we may need to revert back to the black market model. At least then, patients needn't struggle to get their medication. The current victims of the legalization effort are the dispensaries, and with them the patients.

They filled a gap left when the government permitted medical marijuana in 2001, but left the patient without access to their medication. Fifteen years later, Neil Allard successfully sued the government for unduly restricting the access to medical cannabis.

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A Green Gold Rush gets a wet blanket from a Father Knows Best government

It should embrace the employment opportunities, the tourism potential, the joie de vivre with which California has legalized.

The provincial government's initial plan for marijuana legalization must have been put together by spoilsports and dour Mrs. Grundies. It's tone-deaf.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth "sounded like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas unveiling details of the province's blueprint for cannabis," Ian Mulgrew writes.

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Communities across British Columbia will have an easier time shutting down illegal marijuana dispensaries after the drug is legalized this summer and a provincial body is put in charge of making sure businesses comply with the new retail rules, according to the architect of Vancouver's landmark marijuana bylaw.

The province's solicitor-general released details this week about how recreational cannabis will be sold in B.C. The system will be almost identical to the one for alcohol, allowing a mix of private or public stores to sell the substance - with the support of their local bureaucrats - once federal drug laws change this summer.

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There is much to praise in the B.C. government's new retail regulatory regime for recreational cannabis. But there are also a few oddities that suggest Victoria hasn't moved beyond reefer madness as far as we thought.

Handing responsibility for licensing and oversight of private pot shops to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch seems a prudent move to ensure an orderly transition of store fronts operating outside the law to legal status. Allowing the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch to operate a stand-alone network of its own outlets mirrors the successful approach of selling wine in B.C. through private and public retail outlets.

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But one aspect that is not well known is how much the change will add or subtract to the economy. Statistics Canada is as yet unable to quantify the impact and expects to have more information by 2019 but Deloitte in 2016 produced a report suggesting the industry could be worth between $5 billion and $9 billion in goods in services.

Of course, price and the willingness of consumers to switch to legal marijuana sources are key considerations.

But there must be something to be said about future job opportunities in sales, analysis, finance, licensing and security. In other words, the lure of working for a gang's dial-a-dope operation - and getting shot at - may be replaced by a good job with benefits.

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B.C. has announced $20 million over three years for First Nations communities struggling with the drug-overdose crisis that's disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities.

The funding will be administered by the First Nations Health Authority, which delivers services in partnership with First Nations communities. It is part of $322 million announced in last September's budget update.

About 1,400 people died of illicit drug overdoses in the province last year, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.

Indigenous people are five times more likely to experience an overdose than the general population and die at a rate three times greater, said Judy Darcy, minister of mental health and addictions.

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Province's system heeds advice of public-health experts, but substances won't be sold together in single outlet

British Columbia will create a retail system for recreational cannabis that is almost identical to the one for alcohol, but like most other provinces, will not allow the two substances to be sold together in private or public stores once Ottawa legalizes marijuana this summer.

Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth released more details for the province's legal cannabis framework on Monday. He noted that his NDP government heeded the advice of the country's top public health experts to ban the sales of cannabis next to alcohol. The province's biggest public unions had pushed for co-location, which only Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories have approved. However, it will be legal in some rural areas, just as the province now allows alcohol to be sold next to tobacco in special cases, he added.

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Recreational marijuana will be sold in a network of stand-alone stores overseen by the province's liquor regulator, according to rules announced Monday by the B.C. government.

Public health officials had warned against selling cannabis and alcohol in the same place, which is advice the province took seriously, said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.

When federal law makes recreational pot legal in July, there will be both privately run and government-operated cannabis shops. They will not be allowed to sell alcohol, tobacco, clothes, gas or lottery tickets, although exceptions will be made for pot shops in rural areas.

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The B.C. government has barred the sale of "snacks" in all the new retail marijuana shops that will start opening legally this summer.

Only cannabis and cannabis accessories will be on the shelves, which overlooks the fact that snacks are the No. 1 cannabis accessory. They go together like alcohol and fist fights.

The prohibition is one of several details Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth released Monday. Countless more will come out in the next few months before the new era of legal cannabis arrives in Canada on July 1. Farnworth said the government's adaptation will carry on for a long time after that. And a lot of the further details will involve municipal governments, which have significant say in shaping the retail landscape and have been grappling with how to do so.

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'Authority' included in new guidelines

According to the province's latest cannabis retail laws, announced Monday in Victoria, city governments - such as Richmond - will be able to decide whether to allow pot shops.

In the lead up to the federal government's July 1 marijuana legalization deadline, the province's new guidelines lay out rules for who can sell recreational cannabis where and when.

At a Feb. 5 press conference, Minister of Public Safety, Mike Farnworth, said municipalities would have "the authority to make local decisions, based on the needs of their communities."

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The provincial government on Monday unveiled a set of retail rules for recreational cannabis that paves the way for a new network of stand-alone stores operated by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch but leaves an opening for existing medical-pot dispensaries to legitimize.

However, municipalities will be left with the authority to block any storefront sales of marijuana if they oppose it, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said in unveiling the regulatory framework.

The retail framework, to be in place for legalization of recreational cannabis by July 1, will allow for online and storefront sales but restrict bricks-and-mortar commerce to stand-alone stores that don't sell liquor, tobacco, food or other products.

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Some fear increased police presence will drive drug users to avoid health services

While Vancouver police proclaim victory in a recent crackdown on crime in the Downtown Eastside, some locals fear the boost in beat cops is pushing people who use drugs into harm's way.

Last week, Vancouver police increased foot patrols to address "street disorder" and prevent violence. Police said the sweeps came in response to a surge in complaints from residents, business owners and visitors. As well, people with mobility issues and the elderly have complained about blocked sidewalks and doorways.

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If it wasn't for the scent, customers who wandered into Eden Medicinal Society would be forgiven for thinking they had entered a boutique health store rather than a marijuana dispensary.

The distinctive fragrance greets shoppers at the door. It wafts from jars filled with bright green British Columbia bud lining spotless glass shelves. Flat-screen monitors on gleaming white walls display prices of golden hemp flower paste and mocha THC syrup.

Behind the counter stands Vanessa Dandurand, the 30- year-old store manager with an encyclopedic knowledge of cannabis and many dedicated return customers.

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Civil lawsuits over cannabis sales, such as the one the City of Victoria won last week, are part of a new, civilized approach to pot, says a B.C. lawyer,

"At least in British Columbia, we have evolved to the point where the response is not to just send in the police," Kirk Tousaw said. "We now take [cannabis sellers] through the normal civil litigation process that you would use with any non-compliant business."

Tousaw has spoken on Canada's marijuana laws before the Supreme Court of Canada and argued on behalf of clients from New Brunswick to B.C. He has also represented Ted Smith, Victoria's longtime cannabis crusader.

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