As a power-lifter who could bench 340 pounds, a talented guitar player, and a driven young man with a strong work ethic who bought his own house at the age of 18, Jessie Kolb defied the stereotype of a fentanyl addict.

If there's one thing his parents, Arlene Last-Kolb and John Kolb, have learned about opioid addiction is that it can happen to anyone and all the preconceived notions some people have about opioid addiction just perpetuate the stigma.

[continues 1082 words]

IF you want to know how quickly this country is turning over a new leaf, consider the curious case of Julian Fantino.

The tough-on-crime former Toronto police chief was eager to help lead the war against drugs - including cannabis - during his time as a cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government.

In fact, the record from the 2015 federal campaign is filled with public stands Fantino took about the danger of legalizing marijuana.

And today? Well, the former politician has had his own epiphany on the pot-marked road to the legalization of marijuana.

[continues 517 words]

When Dalton Fredericks took Jesse, his 18-year-old son, to the hospital because his son seemed dangerously high, he learned about the stigma associated with opioid addiction.

"I took him to the hospital and I said, 'I want you to keep him here.' I went home and after three hours, I got a call from the hospital that they were releasing him," he said.

The nurse told Fredericks that his son had been doing drugs, but there was not much they could do for him. He had the RCMP take Jesse into custody because he feared for his safety.

[continues 1074 words]

Adam Watson didn't want to break his parents' hearts, and he did not want to die, but after battling opioid addiction for six years, he became the victim of a system woefully ill-equipped to help him.

Adam tried a methadone program, he attempted to detox at the Main Street Project, he saw family physicians, he ended up in emergency four times in the throes of withdrawal, and he met with a counsellor at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM). None of the treatment options or resources gave Adam the support he needed.

[continues 544 words]

There seems to be a general euphoria with the upcoming legalization of marijuana while, at the same time, there is silence from the majority who oppose legalization.

Perhaps one should look at why marijuana was made illegal in the first place. For many, it was a case of "We have enough problems with alcohol. If marijuana is legalized, we'll have twice as many drug problems."

Others didn't want to live in a nation of zombies, where people are walking around stoned all day.

[continues 69 words]

A GENERATION of Canadians who grew up with the "Just Say No" anti-drug messaging of the 1980s will find themselves in uncharted waters next summer.

As of July 1, 2018, marijuana will be legal, which will radically change a lot of things - including, significantly, how we talk to our kids about it.

Realistically, it's a conversation we should already be having. According to a 2013 UNICEF Office of Research report, Canadian youth are among the top users of marijuana in the developed world.

[continues 503 words]

That fury you hear?

The betrayal medical cannabis patients and activists feel after the federal government went back on yet another promise surrounding legal marijuana.

Last Friday, the Department of Finance announced a federal tax proposal that could see an excise charge of $1/gram or 10% (whichever is higher) on both recreational and medical cannabis. According to Ottawa, the revenues will be shared equally between the feds, provinces and territories.

So what are they smoking? The shady government is apparently 'concerned' users will lie to their doctors, pretend to be sick and navigate the complex workings of the medical cannabis system in order to save the extra 10% tax that would be reserved for recreational pot.

[continues 480 words]

Questions raised about decision to allow municipal authority over sales

PREMIER Brian Pallister's government went stone cold silent on legal retail cannabis Thursday while federal officials considered their reaction to Manitoba's plan of allowing municipal councils to have the final say on local sales.

The federal government will brief reporters in Ottawa today on its plans to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis.

But the Pallister government did not make the premier or any cabinet ministers available to the media Thursday and a communications staffer intervened when a reporter tried to ask Justice Minister Heather Stefanson about any possible reaction from Ottawa.

[continues 650 words]

PREMIER Brian Pallister has always been coy about whether he has ever enjoyed the pleasures of cannabis. "I prefer beer," has become his standard retort when asked if he's ever taken a toke.

Regardless of whether the premier smoked, inhaled or appreciated the mystic qualities of marijuana, you can bet he will learn to love the tax revenue that will flow from a legalized marketplace.

Manitoba's plan for the legalized wholesale and retail sales of cannabis is pretty thin. Pallister has only confirmed a plan to have Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries act as a wholesale distributor, with retail sales going to the private sector.

[continues 1006 words]

MGEU off-base when it comes to private pot stores

Manitoba's largest union is accusing the Pallister government of compromising the safety of Manitobans and foregoing millions in profits by allowing private retailers to sell marijuana once it becomes legal next year.

But as usual, the union provides some of the dumbest arguments possible to try to support its case.

The province announced Tuesday that legal weed would be regulated by the

Liquor and Gaming Authority but would be sold through private retail outlets. It would be much like how beer, wine and other liquor products are sold through vendors, private wine stores and private liquor outlets in rural Manitoba. The outlets are private but the products must be purchased through Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp.

[continues 539 words]

Legal pot sales could lead to $95M annual profits for province

Legal pot sales in Manitoba could raise as much as $95 million a year for government after five years if the province could take over 80% of the black market, according to recent figures released by the Pallister government.

The sales projections, which contemplate various levels of black market penetration, are based on selling marijuana products through stand-alone government stores. However, since the Pallister government has opted for private retail stores instead, updated projections could be higher or lower.

[continues 217 words]

WINNIPEG - Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister signalled Monday that the province's private sector will be involved in the distribution of marijuana when recreational use is legalized next July.

Pallister said details of the provincial plan to govern cannabis would be released Tuesday. He rejected earlier statements from the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union that sales should be done exclusively through government-run stores.

Pallister said there will be some sort of a "hybrid option" - public-sector regulation and distribution combined with private-sector delivery - that could take business away from the existing black market.

[continues 305 words]

If Colorado is any indication, provincial coffers will be filled

Premier Brian Pallister may not be holding out much hope that the province will cash in on a windfall of taxation revenue from the legalization of marijuana.

But if skyrocketing sales of commercially-available weed in the state of Colorado - which legalized pot in 2012 - are any indication, the government of Manitoba could be in for a sizeable revenue stream once the industry shifts into high gear.

Pallister announced Tuesday that recreational marijuana, which becomes legal on July 1, 2018 under federal legislation, will be regulated by the provincial Liquor and Gaming Authority but sold through private retail outlets. The province issued a request for proposals Tuesday to solicit bids from private retailers.

[continues 593 words]

There's plenty of interest in selling legal pot in Manitoba. The province notes an expression of interest on the subject attracted more than 60 responses.

Premier Brian Pallister said that bodes well for his government's goal to ensure official marijuana stores are accessible enough to undermine the black market.

Pallister said the province aims to ensure access to marijuana sales within a 30-minute drive for 90% of Manitobans to meet that goal.

"We wish to see broad coverage, broad availability," he said.

[continues 204 words]

Province planning public-private hybrid plan

A local advocate believes "Manitoba has an opportunity to be a country-wide leader" in marijuana legalization after the province announced plans to exclusively sell marijuana through private retailers.

"Get ready for the green rush," said Steven Stairs, Winnipeg's most outspoken cannabis proponent and community organizer.

On Tuesday, the Manitoba government revealed details of its hybrid public-private response to the federal government's impending legalization of recreational cannabis on July 1, 2018. It's a significant departure from the public-sector biased approach of at least one other province.

[continues 393 words]

MANITOBA has become the first province to allow the private sector to play a central role in the future retail sales of recreational cannabis in Canada.

The federal Cannabis Act, which is not yet law, would make the federal government responsible for regulating the production of recreational cannabis. Designing a system for distribution and sales will be up to provinces and territories. The Manitoba government's plan, which will let private retailers operate cannabis stores in conjunction with a government-owned regulation, distribution and supply regime, is a far cry from the all-public plans already revealed by some other provinces.

[continues 299 words]

MANITOBANS are learning it will be their mayor and local council who will decide if legal retail cannabis can be sold in their communities next summer.

Notwithstanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize pot nationally by July 1, and Premier Brian Pallister's months of accusing Ottawa of moving too fast, it turns out it will be a local decision.

Municipal councils found out Tuesday, and Pallister's office confirmed Wednesday, that the province is giving them the same local power over pot as they have over Sunday shopping.

[continues 927 words]

MANITOBA Premier Brian Pallister says he wants "the best of both worlds" by including both private and public sectors in the handling of legalized marijuana.

Nevertheless, he was talking up the attractions of the private sector a lot more than the public Monday.

The premier will release details of the government's request for proposals today. However, he repeated warnings Monday that gangs will not simply go away when cannabis becomes legal in Canada on July 1.

The illegal gangs want to keep supplying the product that's been making them a lot of money, Pallister told reporters. "They know how to adapt. The competition isn't going to go away."

[continues 334 words]

Province says top concern must be health, safety

KEEPING cannabis out of the hands of minors will be of paramount concern when the Pallister government announces how the drug will be legally sold in Manitoba, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson says.

Speaking Friday to the annual general meeting of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party in Winnipeg, Stefanson blasted the federal government for rushing cannabis legalization and failing to estimate its associated costs, many of which are expected to fall to the provinces.

[continues 520 words]

MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries (MLL) wants to handle all angles of legal pot in Manitoba - everything including production, distribution and sales.

The Crown corporation said Friday that it submitted an expression of interest to the government of Premier Brian Pallister in September.

Pallister will issue a request for proposals Tuesday, setting out for anyone interested in getting a piece of the action in the legal pot business, where the government wants to go when cannabis becomes legal July 1.

MLL declined Friday to elaborate or provide any further detail.

[continues 240 words]