London is one of just three Southwestern Ontario cities selected to get at least one government-run marijuana outlet by the summer. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the agency responsible for running the new dispensaries, announced the first 14 confirmed cities Friday. The province plans to open 40 stand-alone stores and an online service to sell recreational cannabis by July 1, when the federal Liberals are expected to legalize the drug for recreational use. The number of stores will grow to 150 by 2020. [continues 306 words]
The following is in response to the story Ontario introduces pot legislation with steep fines for illegal dispensaries. To the editor: This is a self-serving move by the Kathleen Wynne government to ensure illegal pot dispensaries don't cut into its pot revenues. Wynne seems to be making up rules on the fly, some of which will handcuff law enforcement. Trying to police the law that anyone can grow four pot plants, a gift to organized crime, be allowed to carry 30 grams of pot and only smoke the drug in their own homes will be difficult to enforce. [continues 92 words]
To the editor: I fail to understand where the federal government is going with its stand on marijuana. First, they said they are going to make it legal and will set up regulations on how to purchase it, as well as locations where you can buy it. Now I hear they are going to spend more than $300,000 to educate people about the negative health effects of using marijuana. I can appreciate their desire to do this, but isn't that like closing the barn door after the horses have got out? Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to spend the money on education before they legalize it? I really don't believe the government has thought this through. But I believe it is a big smokescreen for a tax grab, as well as another ploy to try to get the votes in the next election. Gary Oswald London [end]
Structure is meant to be temporary solution as temperatures drop, while Toronto officials race to get indoor location approved Toronto's illegal, activist-run overdose-prevention site in the city's Moss Park now has the use of an insulated, heated, military-style medical tent, complete with a generator - all courtesy of the provincial government. The khaki tent, which measures about three by eight metres, was erected Thursday by Ontario's Emergency Medical Assistance Team, a unit usually deployed for community evacuations or "mass-casualty events." [continues 860 words]
Does Trudeau back harm reduction or not, ask Sandra Ka Hon Chu and Richard Elliott Implementing needle and syringe programs in federal prisons could prevent numerous new HIV and Hepatitis C virus infections each year, saving tens of millions of dollars. Five years ago, we started a constitutional court case, because it was clear that, despite the evidence, the previous government would never agree to implement these health services in federal prisons. But the Trudeau government has repeatedly declared its commitment to harm reduction and evidence-based policy, to Charter rights, and to the health and welfare of vulnerable Canadians. Prison-based needle and syringe programs reflect all of these. [continues 585 words]
Charges against two men dismissed over unlawful strip searches by North Bay police Drug charges were dismissed against two men after a Superior Court judge criticized North Bay police officers for their "blatant disregard for Charter rights." Ontario Superior Court Justice Norman Karam presided over the pre-trial application last month that was brought forward by the accused - Ryan Fray and Raymond Oppong. Karam said the accused were unlawfully detained and strip searched, breaching their Charter rights, following an invalid arrest. [continues 810 words]
Government will work with harm-reduction workers operating pop-up site Ontario is dispatching its Emergency Medical Assistance Team to set up a tent in Moss Park to provide a heated and insulated space for safe injections. "This is an overdose crisis. People are dying and, today, Minister Eric Hoskins and the Ontario government have stepped up," Councillor Joe Cressy said Wednesday night. The tent will be set up Thursday and replace a temporary site run by the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society (TOPS). The ministry will work with TOPS staff, Cressy said. [continues 517 words]
Talks to move Toronto's illegal popup supervised drug-use site inside a nearby homeless centre have failed, but the harm-reduction activists who have been setting up their tents in an east-end park every evening say they plan to stay put. The crowdfunded, volunteer-driven Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA) has operated its controversial pop-up site in Moss Park near Sherbourne and Queen Streets since August, with tacit approval from police and city officials amid a growing number of opioid overdose deaths. [continues 706 words]
The City of Toronto and the province are asking the federal Minister of Health for the "immediate approval" of a proposed indoor supervised drug-use site at an east-end homeless centre where an illegal outdoor site has been operating for months. In a letter to Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor dated Oct. 31, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins say the illegal site, set up in Moss Park near Sherbourne Street and Queen Street East, has saved many lives since it was launched in August by reversing overdoses in a neighbourhood that had been hit by an increase in such deaths. [continues 660 words]
Is the word marijuana racist? It's a long-standing debate in the cannabis world, but the question is now slipping into the mainstream as the drug is on the edge of becomingly legal for recreational use. Many people aren't aware of the history of the term marijuana, which is linked to campaigns in the U.S. in the 1930s to demonize the plant by associating it with Mexican immigrants. Halifax Coun. Shawn Cleary recently created controversy when he declared he would no longer use the word. "Let's do what we can to not perpetuate racism," he said on Twitter. [continues 502 words]
The name of the government agency that will sell pot to Ontario has been revealed: the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But neither does LCBO, the name of the provincial liquor monolith that sells us whiskey and wine. That acronym is so well known in Ontario that today no one bothers to spell it out. Will the acronym for the new marijuana agency - OCRC - become just as familiar? It has a certain slurry symmetry. It could lend itself to a nickname. How about "Ock-Rock," suggests Trina Fraser, an Ottawa lawyer who specializes in cannabis business law. [continues 633 words]
Why are Ottawa politicians, and by extension the Ottawa Police Services, continue to condone the use of illegal hard drugs by allowing the pop-up safe-injection site to remain open? With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's push to legalize marijuana, am I assuming the Liberals' next step will be to legalize all illegal drugs? This may be the plan, to have a drug-induced and dumbed-down electorate. Don Day Ottawa (Even the Trudeau Liberals might not have the guts to go there) [end]
TORONTO - Businesses that illegally sell recreational marijuana after the government of Ontario sets up its own shops could be fined up to $1 million under legislation tabled Wednesday. One of the main aspects of the proposed law, which would take effect once the federal government makes the drug legal in July 2018, is to crack down on the array of illegal dispensaries, Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said. "We are going to work very hard towards that," he said. "We have put very strict penalties in that regards. . . . We feel very comfortable that the regime that we will put in place will be a significant deterrent for these illegal businesses." [continues 311 words]
A 22-year-old Sudbury man will learn Dec. 6 how long he is going to jail, if at all, for selling a drug that contributed to another man's death. "Given the uniqueness of the case, it isn't possible for me to do this (give a sentencing decision) today," Ontario Court Justice Randall Lalande said about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday after a multi-hour sentencing hearing for David Mealey. Mealey pleaded guilty back on July 11 to a charge of trafficking MDA, a derivative of the Ecstasy drug. A pre-sentence report was ordered. [continues 1123 words]
Forty retail shops will open by next summer, with 150 provincewide in 2020 The province's new marijuana monopoly will be known as the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. Attorney General Yasir Naqvi launched the OCRC - a subsidiary of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario - in sweeping legislation Wednesday at Queen's Park that takes effect when Ottawa legalizes recreational weed next July 1. "That is the legal name of that company. There will be branding that we'll do . . . a visual logo, etc., that we will announce in the future," said Naqvi, noting OCRC-run retail shops will sell bongs, rolling papers and other paraphernalia. [continues 487 words]
I had no idea. Curious to find out what goes into the making of the medical cannabis I vaporize and inhale most nights to dull the pain and let me sleep, I spent an afternoon at the recent Grow Up Cannabis Conference in Niagara Falls; five hours in absolute awe at the immense reach of this vast new Canadian industry. Because using recreational marijuana will no longer be a criminal offence come next July, the entire industry all across Canada is showcasing its products. [continues 631 words]
A vegetable farmer looking to sell a piece of land has been put in a bind as Norfolk council looks at rules for marijuana grow operations. Bill Nightingale Jr. of Nightingale Farms, a large scale producer of asparagus, beans, peppers among other crops, built a greenhouse on 215 Windham Road 10 North, Delhi last year with the aim of growing organic cucumbers. Hydro prices increased to the point the facility was no longer viable so the operation applied for a farm split that would allow the sale of 7.9 acres of land, which includes the new 2.9-acre greenhouse and a single-detached dwelling. The package is listed for $3 million. [continues 476 words]
KITCHENER - Kitchener will be one of the first cities in Ontario to get a provincially run recreational cannabis store. On Friday, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced standalone store locations for 14 municipalities in anticipation of the federal government's intention to legalize cannabis by July 2018. "In light of our size, the fact that we're the eleventh largest region in the country, I'm not surprised that we're one of the first communities," said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, in response to the announcement. [continues 485 words]
ONTARIO HAS NAMED Hamilton as one of the first 14 cities where the province will set up government-run marijuana stores by July 2018. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which will run the shops through a subsidiary, said Friday the stores will also be located in Barrie, Brampton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan and Windsor. The LCBO said its representatives, along with staff from Ontario's Ministry of Finance, will meet with the municipalities in the coming weeks to determine the exact locations. The LCBO is posting updates on the process at lcbocannabisupdates.com. [continues 419 words]
Ontario has named the first 14 cities where it will set up government-run marijuanastores by July, 2018. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which will run the shops through a subsidiary, said on Friday the stores will be located in Barrie, Brampton, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan and Windsor. The LCBO said its representatives, along with staff from Ontario's Ministry of Finance, will meet with the municipalities in the coming weeks to determine the exact locations. [continues 371 words]
Weed rules still hazy: Councillor There are still many concerns to address as the provincial government moves forward this week with its anticipated marijuana legislation, Councillor Cesar Palacio says. Palacio, chairman of the Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) Committee, said that one such issue is the question of who will oversee and enforce the growing of pot plants on private property and the possible exposure of children to this product. The federal government has set a limit of four marijuana plants per household. [continues 380 words]
While attending the public meeting on cannabis with the four local members of Parliament earlier this month, I was struck by the scaremongering rhetoric on display from the front. Cambridge MP Bryan May, KitchenerCentre MP Raj Saini, Kitchener SouthHespeler MP Marwan Tabbara, and K-W MP Bardish Chagger, who sponsored the forum, led a 30-minute presentation on the proposed cannabis laws, including the legislation that will impose blood content driving limits onto cannabis users once the product becomes legal in July next year. Taking comments from the audience afterward, it was clear that there were more questions for them than they had answers. [continues 578 words]
With the coming legalization of recreational marijuana, the Ontario government has stumbled toward readiness like a teenager cramming for a big exam. To begin with, the government decided to grant itself a monopoly over legal sales, a move that was widely criticized for failing to meet market needs, thereby ensuring a thriving black market would remain intact. That pill was followed by a spoonful of sugar for the law-and-order crowd when Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca unveiled their proposal for stiffer impaireddriving penalties that would "ensure that Ontario's roads remain safe after July 1st, 2018." [continues 678 words]
Cannabis sales to be handled by subsidiary of LCBO after legislation passes, Wynne says Ontario's forthcoming cannabis legislation should spell the end of the illegal marijuana"dispensaries" that are still operating, warns Premier Kathleen Wynne. Attorney General Yasir Naqvi will table a bill on Wednesday that will outline the provincial rules surrounding recreational marijuana when the federal government legalizes cannabis next July 1. The premier said Monday there would be no surprises in the new law, which will restrict weed consumption to those19 and older and confine its use to private homes. [continues 282 words]
Ottawa's largest permanent supervised injection site could be open in a Lowertown trailer as soon as this weekend. The trailer, to be operated by Ottawa Inner City Health and located outside Shepherds of Good Hope on Murray Street, will be open 24/7 and serve a population of between 100 and 150 injection drug users, said Inner City Health executive director Wendy Muckle. Ontario's Health Minister Eric Hoskins has endorsed the site in a letter to federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, his office said Monday. [continues 546 words]
A Brantford man who has battled drug addiction for more than 40 years hopes the city follows through with safe injection sites as part of its strategy to combat substance abuse. But Randy Roberts, 53, said there is also a need for the treatment of trauma as part of a program to treat substance abuse. "I want people to remember that we're all hurting," he said. "There has been a lot of work done on this and for most addicts the root cause of their addiction is childhood trauma -- physical, psychological, sexual abuse." [continues 701 words]
TORONTO - Municipalities in Ontario will find out in the coming weeks where the government wants to locate the first batch of provincially run cannabis stores once recreational marijuana is legalized next summer. In a letter to local authorities sent Friday, Finance Minister Charles Sousa said Ontario's store roll out aims to achieve the right geographic distribution across the province and to reduce the number of illegal marijuana dispensaries that have opened since the federal government announced its plans to legalize pot. [continues 546 words]
The owner of a medical marijuana dispensary in Gloucester has apologized after emails were accidentally sent to 24 patients that revealed the names and addresses of all the store's customers. "Some people were obviously upset, for good reason," said Charlie Cloutier, owner of Greenworks Medicinal on Canotek Road. Staff phoned all the people who received the email to apologize and ask them to delete it, he said. The email contained the names and addresses of about 250 people who are registered customers at Greenworks. [continues 348 words]
Employers plan for workers using cannabis recreationally As Canada edges toward full legalization next year, businesses are trying to determine how to deal with employees' use of recreational cannabis. Bill Duncan of Cannamm Occupational Testing Services, which offers employment drug testing and other occupational health mentoring, is hosting a seminar in Mississauga on Nov. 7 to help bosses adapt to the shifting landscape. "Most companies have a policy on alcohol, even though it is legal. They're now realizing that they're going to have to look at something similar for marijuana," Duncan said. [continues 271 words]
A vegetable farmer looking to sell a piece of land has been put in a bind as Norfolk council looks at rules for marijuana grow operations. Bill Nightingale Jr. of Nightingale Farms, a large scale producer of asparagus, beans, peppers among other crops, built a greenhouse on 215 Windham Road 10 North, Delhi last year with the aim of growing organic cucumbers. Hydro prices increased to the point the facility was no longer viable so the operation applied for a farm split that would allow the sale of 7.9 acres of land, which includes the new 2.9-acre greenhouse and a single-detached dwelling. The package is listed for $3 million. [continues 474 words]
The recent announcement of the smoking ban and the growing prominence of the Breathe Easy Campaign has fractured the McMaster community Some seem adamantly opposed to the legalization of weed and its association with an academic community, others feel that we should take a more open-minded perspective. The most interesting feedback were the students who conveyed a stance against excluding weed from the McMaster smoking ban. Given that Canada has made room for marijuana by legalizing it federally in Canada, making room for the substance on campus should also be considered. [continues 635 words]
The stigma needs to be addressed and I'm here to address it In light of a protest promoting medical marijuana on campus, we should reconsider our attitudes and understanding towards weed. The Breathe Easy campaign, on a provincial and national spectrum, seems to have a positive impression on certain audiences. However, on others such as myself, the campaign is not a positive one. Marijuana has long held a stigma comparable to smoking cigarettes but far more dramatic. But Christopher Lawson, the local activist who was responsible for the 4:20 protest on Oct. 6, was onto something. [continues 500 words]
WATERLOO REGION - Potential locations for supervised injection sites in Waterloo Region will be made public by January, as Waterloo Region Public Health begins a feasibility study into whether the harm reduction service is needed here, what concerns the community might have and how to address them. A supervised injection site would provide a safe, clean place for people to use their own drugs under the care of trained staff. Its goals would be to reduce overdose rates and overdose deaths; reduce transmission of diseases from shared needles; help drug users connect to other health and social services, including drug treatment; and reduce drug use in public places and the amount of unsafely discarded needles and other litter. [continues 567 words]
A pilot project was launched Tuesday to provide the first outdoor after-hours needle disposable drop box, with the aim of curbing the high rate of hepatitis C, locally. The sharp disposal kiosk is located on the property of AIDS Support Chatham-Kent at 67 Adelaide St. S. in Chatham, which has partnered with the ChathamKent Public Health Unit to provide a safe place to dispose of needles. When looking at best practices of other communities where these types of sharp disposal kiosks are available, it's a program that's been tested, said Steve Pratt, harm reduction program manager with AIDS Support C-K. [continues 284 words]
With the legalization of pot scheduled for next year, a cannabis delivery company is advertising its services by distributing hot pink flyers to city mailboxes amid complaints questioning its methods. Riverdale resident Pauline Stanley received an advertisement late last week from Weedora, offering seven free grams of marijuana with the purchase of one ounce of a "high end" strain. Interested parties would reach out via text message for service. Stanley, a mother of two children, aged 9 and 14, reached out to the company under an alias to gather more information. She said prices for an ounce - with names such as "Chemo Kush," or "UK Cheese 2.0" - are $150 to $250. [continues 350 words]
KL municipal officials have mixed views on proposed Crown corporation to manage marijuana sales in Ontario KIRKLAND LAKE - The province's proposal to create a Crown corporation to manage the sale of marijuana in Ontario has received a mixed review from Kirkland Lake's top elected municipal officials. Ontario Minister of Finance has written a letter to mayors and councillors across the province in regards to cannabis legislation. In the letter Charles Sousa states "our government is proposing to retail cannabis through a government-operated Crown Corporation, as a subsidiary of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). This approach would meet the standards of control and social responsibility that Ontarians expect, while responding to consumer demand and displacing the illegal market." [continues 807 words]
The solution lies in public education, not punishment, writes Terry Lake. Recently, I attended a meeting hosted by We the Parents, a Kanata organization trying to address the challenge of addictions and the very real tragedies that befall affected families. I saw grieving parents struggling to understand both the complexities of addiction and the way our health and criminal justice systems are responding to it. Understandably, many who attended were looking for straightforward, actionable solutions to this crisis. They were met with a response by one former senior police officer that those selling drugs should be given harsher sentences. While it may seem appealing to go after the dealers instead of the user, in fact, many dealers are themselves struggling with addiction and using whatever tools are at hand, including selling drugs, to cope with that addiction. [continues 590 words]
Students, teachers, families part of plan to combat pervasive problem A new strategy focused on getting drug-addicted high school students the help they need was launched Monday at LaSalle's Villanova, one of the many area secondary schools where police say the problem is pervasive. Principal Amy Facchineri said the Windsor Essex County District School Board decided to initiate the program at Villanova because of a growing problem with drug use by students everywhere and an advisory from LaSalle Police last spring. [continues 517 words]
ALDERVILLE - There are different opinions on whether a marijuana dispensary located on Alderville First Nation is legal. The Medicine Wheel Natural Healing - Indigenous Healing Through Medicinal Cannabis is located on County Road 45 in Alderville, north of Cobourg. It had a "soft" opening in June and has been doing a brisk business since then. Owner Rob Stevenson, who lives on Alderville First Nation and belongs to the Bear Clan, said in a interview on the business's Facebook page that it is a holistic healing centre and "creating a economic boom for the community," and also helping people "rise up from poverty." [continues 996 words]
Neron is asking Town of Moonstone to amend its licensing bylaw to allow sale of marijuana. MOONSTONE - A long-time user and advocate of medical marijuana has revealed plans to open a dispensary in his home town of Moonbeam. "I am asking the town to make an amendment to their business licence bylaw to include marijuana dispensary so I can function legally," said Robert Neron, who intends to make a presentation to Moonbeam council on Nov. 6. A number of cities across Canada already allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate through municipal licensing agreements. Most of the medical marijuana dispensaries currently operating in Canada are located in British Columbia. [continues 502 words]
Analysis of 50 cases sheds light on how people often suffering from poverty or other disadvantages were tarred by test results indicating that they were drinkers or drug users In an Elliot Lake, Ont., courtroom in 2011, a woman fighting for custody of her step-grandchild tried to convince the judge that Motherisk's results were bogus. The Children's Aid Society of Algoma had submitted Motherisk's tests of the woman's hair, which were positive for cocaine and opioids, as proof she had recently used drugs. The woman, identified by the court as L.G., argued the lab must have miscalculated because she had been clean for several months. The judge was not swayed. [continues 2243 words]
As legalized pot looms, an ER physician argues we're unprepared for a serious health syndrome 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 does not 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? [continues 656 words]
A grandparent's prayer on the move to legalize marijuana use In speaking of how we were all united in so many simple but important ways on this earth, John F. Kennedy once said: "Our basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." What follows is this mortal grandfather's prayer for his grandchildren. For as it is true that we all cherish our children's future so do we hold so dear that of our grandchildren. In a way, we perhaps see them as our envoys into a future time. As they give us hope for a better world, our heart aches with longing for a world of many tomorrows that will at least be safe and welcoming for them. [continues 507 words]
Schools want say in where dispensaries are located The Toronto District School Board wants a say in how close the city and province will allow legal marijuana dispensaries to set up near schools. The board plans to send a letter to Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne requesting they be consulted on any decisions on the regulations for pot sales. Ottawa plans on legalizing pot by next July and the city and province are in discussions on where marijuana will be sold and used. [continues 244 words]
Trustees at the Toronto District School Board want a say on the location of shops that sell marijuana to make sure they're "as far away from schools as possible." With legalization less than a year away, they're seeking assurances that the school board will be consulted in all discussions about regulations concerning retail stores and medicinal marijuana dispensaries in the city. The request, outlined in a motion passed unanimously at a board meeting this week, comes as school boards across the country start to wrestle with the implications of cannabis legalization, which the federal government is aiming for next July. [continues 633 words]
For 17 months, Toronto police and bylaw officers have been cracking down on illegal pot dispensaries, raiding more than 200 locations, laying hundreds of criminal charges and issuing thousands of dollars in fines. Their attack has been relentless, yet the city still has an estimated 65 shops open for business at any given time. The campaign, code-named Project Claudia, began with a headline-grabbing first round of raids in May, 2016, and has now cost millions of dollars in police, staff and court time. [continues 1607 words]
Hair testing by Motherisk was presented as evidence in a murder case. It was deemed not up to forensic standards, tossed out and even mocked by the judge. That was in Colorado - 22 years before the Motherisk scandal blew up Twenty-two years before controversy shuttered the Motherisk lab, before its hair-strand drug tests were deemed unreliable, before the outcomes of thousands of child protection cases were called into question, a Colorado court threw out Motherisk's evidence in a hearing that foretold the crisis that is now playing out across Canada. [continues 2352 words]
After admitting the medicinal pot in his possession had been illegally supplemented by some non-medicinal pot, a Sarnia man again pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug possession - but to a different judge. These "additional facts" temporarily put to rest a legal conundrum and likely a Canadian first - whether a lawful prescription becomes unlawful due to use - that delayed a decision on the drug possession charge originally expected in August. Anthony Francis Barr, 27, of St. Clair Township near Sarnia, had previously pleaded guilty to both driving while impaired and to possessing marijuana. While convicted and fined $1,000 for the impaired driving charge by Justice Mark Hornblower, Barr's prescription for marijuana to deal with an anxiety condition made the possession charge hazier. [continues 409 words]
When did Ottawa become such an unlawful city? I can't believe that illegal pot shops and injection sites are allowed to operate. Why do the police and the city not have the gumption to shut them down? What about taxpaying residents who want safe access for their families to this park? Their rights are being violated by the very people who are supposed to protect them. This is not right. Sue Warren, Ottawa [end]
Inside Ontario
