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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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Premier urges ministers, civil service to declare any potential issues with business side of marijuana sales

MANITOBA - Premier Brian Pallister has ordered cabinet ministers, their legislative assistants and senior civil servants to declare any possible conflicts of interest they may have with legalized marijuana, as he prepares to ramp up its implementation July 1.

Pallister told reporters Wednesday he'll issue a request for proposals next Tuesday for anyone interested in being involved in the production, storage, and sale of legalized marijuana.

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ANY Canadians can hardly wait for the day 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 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 what's been called a "miracle drug."

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Tells colleagues to disclose any ties to marijuana industry

Manitoba's premier is calling on his cabinet colleagues to declare any potential conflicts of interest related to the marijuana industry.

Premier Brian Pallister said his government will release details of a request for proposals next Tuesday that relates to the sale of recreational marijuana, which the feds will legalize on July 1, 2018.

Pallister said it's clearly time to ensure all those who could benefit from the marijuana business don't sway the outcome of that process.

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Pallister tells cabinet to come clean on marijuana ties. How rare in politics - a leader setting a high moral and ethical standard. Premier Pallister deserves kudos for ensuring none of his cabinet minsters will gain financially when marijuana is legalized. I have not seen any "progressive" government leaders, including the Trudeau Liberals, setting this same high standard.

Pot legalization is certainly open to financial gain by those with the inside information. Premier Pallister is also one of the few provincial leaders wanting the feds to slow down the legalization date. Trudeau came up with this risky plan for votes and new revenues, but it will be the premiers who will be saddled with the many negative unintended consequences.

Larry Comeau



(Sad he felt he had to. It should go without saying.)

[end]

'That doesn't mean I like it,' Pallister says

PREMIER Brian Pallister said Manitoba is "ahead of most other provinces" when it comes to preparing for federal legalization of cannabis by July 1.

"That doesn't mean I like it,"he added at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "I'm going to continue to express my concerns about the rapidity of this change; this is a significant change."

The provincial government will unveil its approach to cannabis legalization "over the course of the next few weeks," Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said.

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Fentanyl traffickers are murderers, plain and simple

On a warm Sunday, October afternoon, the kind of fall day when it seems anything is possible, I went to a funeral.

I knew the dead man by proxy. I never met him.

One of those things a dutiful partner does because it's the right thing to do. He was dead at 36. Fentanyl. Another casualty of the opioid epidemic ravaging cities and towns alike.

Last summer a hometown buddy told me his daughter's friend, 14 at the time and with her whole life in front of her, was having a limited-time engagement at a local funeral parlour.

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Real estate agents are worried about damage to home interiors with the proliferation of legal medical marijuana grow-ops in residences, even before marijuana is legalized in Canada.

Peter Squire, vice-president of the Winnipeg Realtors Association, said members of the Canadian Real Estate Association were in Ottawa last week to meet with federal MPs.

One of the chief topics discussed was Bill C-45, the law to make cannabis legal across Canada in July.

"(The association) does have several concerns about the implications and consequences of personal cultivation for homes and homeowners," he said, noting damage from mould is a major issue.

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For a government that promised to legislate using evidence-based science, the rapid approach of legalized marijuana in Canada is starting to look like a case study in blind faith.

Last week, federal justice officials issued the next round of details in their impending pot law.

In addition to existing impaired-by-drug laws that police are already using to prosecute drugged drivers, three new criminal offences are destined to be born to deal with pot-impaired driving all based on the quantity of THC found in a person's body.

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There are concerns that once pot is legalized for recreational use, it'll be flying off the shelves at such a rate that those who justifiably need it for pain - medical users - won't be able to get their stash.

Cannabis growers have been expanding their operations as fast as possible, and Health Canada is issuing more licences, but it still might not be enough to meet the coming demand.

Some analysts expect a countrywide shortage once the cannabis market goes legit in July 2018.

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ACCORDING to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of opioid poisoning hospitalizations has been steadily on the rise, with approximately 13 Canadians a day hospitalized for an opioid overdose in 2014-15. What began with the over-prescription of opioids such as OxyContin, a painkiller previously thought to have a low potential for addiction, led first 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 have multiplied, it is now clear that what was once a medical issue is now a population health crisis.

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Re: Plan to police cannabis-impaired driving full of holes: experts (Sept. 29)

Can we stop the parade of nonsense about the dangers of the legalization of marijuana? People have been smoking marijuana for decades and the idea that there will be a crush of people rushing to use this drug and drive is unfounded. You cannot stop drug use by criminalizing it. You simply create victims and drug dealers.

In my opinion, there should be two categories of drugs: recreational - such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, nicotine and marijuana - that we regulate, and ones that are available by prescription. Prescription drugs like opioids, and unregulated non-prescription drugs, like Tylenol, cause more deaths than all the recreational drugs combined.

We know recreational drugs like alcohol and nicotine cause problems for some; making them legal won't change that, but it will create fewer victims and casualties than drug wars.

Jerry Storie

Winnipeg

[end]

Schools have been called upon to teach more than the Three Rs for many decades now, but they should add one more assignment to their long list of lessons: Warning students about drug use, especially deadly opioids.

There'll be some who'll say such a message will fall on deaf ears, but we have a duty to try. Today's young people deserve credit for their sensible approach to hazards such as cigarette smoking and impaired driving - they certainly exhibit more common sense than many of their predecessors.

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Increases in opioid overdoses send a clear message. Our prime minister needs to see it. The message is that more people are turning to drugs, not away from them. A culture of using less drugs, prescription or illegal, needs to be encouraged. Legalizing marijuana sends exactly the wrong message. People need to learn to deal with life's stresses without crutches. Justin Trudeau is supporting drug use, not condemning it. And that is the wrong message.

Rick Lockman



(For his government, that horse has already left the barn.)

[end]

AS recreational cannabis becomes legal nationally on July 1, Canadians are faced with tremendous opportunity and risk. Our country is essentially rolling back a long-existing illegal trade to facilitate a legal, regulated market. The purpose, as the federal Liberal platform says, is: "to ensure that we keep marijuana out of the hands of children and the profits out of the hands of criminals, we will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana."

With much yet to be figured out, the following focuses on the issue of how to implement retail distribution, which rests with each province.

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THE federal government is set on legalizing marijuana by summer 2018. While the Liberals will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive, all the problems and the logistics of legalizing pot will fall on the shoulders of the provincial governments.

There are strong correlations between how a drug or an indulgence, such as gambling, is made available to the public and the propensity for individuals to indulge in it, and the negative health and social outcomes associated with its use.

In other words, it matters how we legalize marijuana, not just that we legalize it.

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MANITOBA - Public Insurance announced a new public education campaign against drug-impaired driving on Thursday, with a focus on cannabis ahead of the expected legalization of that substance next year.

The campaign, launched in co-operation with Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, will include messaging focused on new teen drivers, youth in general, the medical community and the general public, with taglines such as "Think you're a better driver when you're high? Think again."

MPI chief administrative officer Ward Keith said the campaign was developed in response to "a number of things that are lining up to give us real concerns about the risk of cannabis-impaired driving" after legalization.

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THE reaction to last Friday's announcement of the Ontario government's plan for sales and regulation of legalized cannabis was, at best, mixed.

The document, promoted as "a safe and sensible approach to the retail of recreational cannabis," didn't seem to make all that many people completely happy.

At the plan's unveiling in Toronto, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said marijuana sales will be limited to a monopoly of cannabis stores under the control of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), with 40 free-standing locations slated to open in time for the July 1 pot legalization date and a total of 150 to be established by 2020.

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THE government of Manitoba wants Ottawa to provide "further clarity" on how it will support provinces in implementing Bill C45, the Cannabis Act.

In a Tuesday news release, Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson described cannabis legalization as "a significant shift in public policy with many challenges for the provinces and territories to address."

Road safety is an area of particular concern, said Stefanson, who expects that topic to be front and centre when justice ministers from the federal, provincial and territorial governments meet in Vancouver from today to Friday.

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Government union says public sales model best bet for health and safety

CANADA'S most populous province has announced a plan to sell legal marijuana through a publicly owned system, which is music to the ears of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union.

MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said she hopes Ontario's plan to sell cannabis separately from alcohol in publicly owned, stand-alone stores will set an example for Manitoba. A public sales model operated by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation would be the best possible option from a public health and safety perspective, she argued.

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IF Canada's experience with legal recreational marijuana parallels what is taking place in U.S. states, we have much to anticipate in terms of entrepreneurial ferment, job creation, wealth expansion and boosted tax receipts.

Legal recreational marijuana has been law in Colorado for three and a half years, and a little more than three years in Washington. Oregon staggered its rollout of recreational marijuana between 2015 and last year, Alaska and Nevada's programs are up and running and soon to follow are Massachusetts, Maine and the cannabis behemoth known as California.

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Residents have serious concerns about people driving after using pot

Half of Manitoba adults believe driving while high is the same as or worse than driving drunk, according to a new Probe Research poll.

The poll, commissioned for CTV News, shows 34% of Manitobans over 18 years of age agree driving under the influence of alcohol is worse than driving while under the influence of marijuana. Another 16% said they were unsure, leaving a full 50% of Manitobans who believe driving after smoking is worse than driving after drinking.

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Manitobans OK with toking neighbours: survey

MOST Manitobans are unfazed by the thought of a pot-smoking neighbour, but are less comfortable with the prospect of drivers under the influence of cannabis - or the idea of selling edible marijuana products in bars, according to a Probe Research poll commissioned by CTV Winnipeg.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they wouldn't be bothered to learn their neighbour "was a regular marijuana user as opposed to a regular alcohol drinker," an attitude that was consistent across all age groups.

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