Heavy with needle users, London could move a step closer in February to a supervised injection site for drug-addicted residents amid renewed debate about the idea. The results of a feasibility study that surveyed 200 current and former needle users, as well as police, politicians, and social service and health agency representatives, is to be released in early February, Christopher Mackie, the Middlesex-London medical officer of health, said Wednesday. That study won't suggest a location or timeline to establish a site, but one area Conservative MP already is raising the alarm about the possibility. [continues 448 words]
RE: 18 years is too young for legal marijuana (Dec.16) In this editorial, John Roe's first sentence is: "When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun?" Since when did the recreational use of marijuana become fun? Just asking. Jim Margueratt, Burlington [end]
Re: "Legalization of marijuana must be done right." I wholeheartedly agree with you that something with the potential for a major negative impact on Canada, which will be joining Uruguay as the only two countries to make marijuana legal, must be done cautiously. That being said, the Trudeau Liberals seem to be rushing ahead, even before a simple roadside test for impairment by inhaling marijuana is available to police. This is frightening with Washington State finding road deaths doubled after it legalized this drug. [continues 257 words]
A Needle Exchange Program operates in several sites across the county in Clinton, Seaforth and Goderich. In Clinton it is offered through the Huron County Health Unit, in Goderich it is offered through Choices For Change and in Seaforth it is through Dr. Datema's Methadone clinic. However, the Health Unit in Clinton is used the most due to its accessibility. The health unit's website states: "Like all health units in Ontario, the Huron County Health Unit offers a needle exchange program at several sites across the county. [continues 322 words]
Arguing that smoking dope is safer than drinking booze is akin to stating that getting shot in the leg is preferable to taking one in the head. Yet that's the argument often used by pro-pot crusaders, as we debate the minutiae about what age should Canadians be allowed to legally buy weed. Well, folks, kids can already get a hold of dope with little effort. Don't get me wrong; let's legalize the stuff. In fact, we should decriminalize every other drug, because the entire campaign to treat addiction as a matter of legality rather than mental health is among the deadliest and costliest exercises society has tried. [continues 576 words]
Legalizing recreational use could unleash $22.6B industry TORONTO* It' s Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 526 words]
Program warns youths about effects of cannabis use on brain and reflexes A lot of people have the sense that cannabis does not impair your driving or that they're able to compensate for the effects. With Ottawa poised to legalize recreational marijuana next year, researchers are keeping a close eye on use of the drug, which has been steadily trending upward over the last couple of decades. In Ontario, for instance, a survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that past-year cannabis use virtually doubled between 1996 and 2015, rising from about eight per cent to almost 15 per cent of respondents. [continues 807 words]
Artisanal producers already selling teas, medical rubs under foggy legislation It's Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 333 words]
Police are testing new devices to identify drug-impaired drivers. Whether or not the impending legalization of recreational marijuana use will have an impact on drug-impaired driving remains to be seen. However, the timing of a pilot project to detect drug impairment could give police new resources as legislation legalizing recreational cannabis is introduced in Parliament this spring. The pilot project is being tested by OPP, including Perth County, Toronto, Vancouver, Gatineau, Halifax, and Yellowknife police forces, as well as North Battleford RCMP. [continues 499 words]
A medical marijuana dispensary owner has been charged following a police raid of the business. Vice and drug officers - armed with a search warrant - arrived at the Royal Farmacy on Main Street East at Kenilworth Avenue around 1 p.m. Tuesday, where they seized $20,000 worth of marijuana and marijuana products, including edibles. Owner Shane Hansen wasn't in at the time, but he got a call from his wife and came down right away. "They left all my other staff alone, which was good. I came down. They didn't handcuff me. Honestly, the cops get a really get bad rap, but they were as respectful and cordial and polite as they could be." [continues 320 words]
Sudbury drug strategy applauds move by feds to make its easier to open safe-injection sites Officials with Sudbury's Community Drug Strategy have applauded a by the federal government to make its easier to open safe injection sites, though they aren't sure if such a facility is needed in Sudbury. Health Minister Jane Philpott has announced the Liberal government will adopt a public-health approach to its drug control strategy, while she unveiled proposed new measures that would open the door to more supervised injection sites in Canada. [continues 929 words]
These life-saving places that promote public health will mostly be in existing centres A woman uses the public bathroom of a Toronto community centre to inject heroin. She figures it's safer than injecting on the street - it's clean and she won't be robbed. And if she overdoses, she hopes someone will find her soon enough to help her. This scenario is a reality for many users, and it's just one of many reasons Toronto is working toward opening the three supervised drug injection services that were approved by Toronto city council in July 2016. [continues 714 words]
Big difference between healers and dealers, people at weekend event near Meaford hear This was not your ordinary cooking class. Barb Mahy was making her basic "canna chocolates," a simple mix of semi-sweet chocolate, coconut butter and a cannabis tincture mix with glycerine and water which she melted and poured into moulds. About a dozen people sat at tables and chairs to watch the demonstration Saturday upstairs in The Barn, a wellness co-operative in a refurbished barn along Highway 26 between Meaford and Thornbury. Along with 20 vendors and five practitioners, the co-op has an education mandate fulfilled with events like this. [continues 949 words]
Re "Task force recommends legalizing mail order, storefront pot sales" (Canadian Press, Dec. 13): The Liberals have consistently stated two guiding principles to justify their rush toward legalization of marijuana. The first was to protect young people and the second was to push organized crime out of the market. Unfortunately, these recommendations will do neither. In fact, as it applies to protecting our youth, these recommendations actually expose them to more risk. They have ignored the Canadian Medical Association recommendation of 25 years of age, they ignored the CMA's watered-down minimum of 21, and have decided on 18. So much for evidence-based decision making by this Liberal government. [continues 161 words]
The release of the federal task force report on the legalization of marijuana has given new meaning to enjoying a green Christmas. With the government indicating that it is moving full steam ahead with this initiative, is it not worth asking one more time: Why are we legalizing marijuana? The usual answer I receive is that alcohol is legal. I think about that analogy every time I visit the liquor store, especially on a Friday afternoon. Surprisingly, I am not filled with national pride as I watch the stressed-out office workers anxiously clutching their bottles; the students bragging how "wrecked" they are going to get that weekend; or the down-and-out person counting out change for a single can of beer. How many of us are imbibing as a form of self-medication in order to deal with stress and anxiety? Have we learned nothing from our growing awareness around mental illness and the temptation to use intoxicants to try to cope with an increasingly overwhelming world? No, I am not arguing for prohibition. I am simply asking the reason why we are adding another drug to the list of socially acceptable ways of getting impaired. As a nation, we seem to have lost sight of what problem we are trying to solve. [continues 611 words]
In an uncertain legal climate, vendors sell THC-infused goodies praised by the ailing There is more to weed than rolling a joint and smoking it. The various potions, potencies and procedures involved in preparing cannabis-infused wares and edibles might please any chemist, while the business aspect of it might make it seem like Christmas every day to many a manufacturer. This was demonstrated on a frosty Sunday evening as over 30 vendors set up stalls for a Green Market, "Nuit Verte," at a "secret location" to sell weed-infused products to more than 400 eager customers. [continues 423 words]
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" - - Robert Browning One thing the Trudeau government cannot be accused of is lack of reach. Its ambitions have carried it into endeavours the Harper government did not attempt to reach or had no interest in reaching. These range from climate change to a process of reconciliation with First Nations from Senate reform to a shift of some of the tax burden from middle-to high-income earners from the appointment of a gender-equal cabinet to increased consultation with the provinces and from overhaul of the electoral system to the legalization of marijuana. [continues 564 words]
When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun? This issue - the legal age for buying and consuming cannabis - is the biggest single challenge facing the federal Liberals as they rewrite the law on this popular, but potentially harmful, drug. A federal task force this week provided 80 recommendations for opening up the market for recreational pot. Most of the suggestions, which include permitting storefront and mail-order sales as well as allowing individuals to buy or carry up to 30 grams for personal use, are both reasonable and workable. [continues 411 words]
Revenue will be reinvested into control measures Marijuana will not be the pot of Colombian gold at the end of the rainbow for the cash-strapped provincial treasury. That was the message at Queen's Park on Wednesday in the wake of a federal task force report on implementing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge to legalize recreational marijuana. Finance Minister Charles Sousa, who hopes to eliminate the province's $4.3-billion deficit in the 201718 budget, insisted the government is not expecting weed cash to be rolling in. [continues 336 words]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned to legalize pot in the 2015 election campaign. This federal task force report on the subject released this week offered no quick fix to the complex issues surrounding legalization, and the sensible recommendation that the Liberals proceed slowly. The 106-page report made more than 80 recommendations - including restricting pot sales to those 18 and older, banning sales near schools, banning pot advertising and branding (similar to tobacco products) and a new, proposed Cannabis Control Act to police illegal production and trafficking. [continues 278 words]
Inside Ontario
