An American fugitive who was dubbed the Godfather of Grass because of run-ins with the law involving the large-scale production of marijuana will be detained in Montreal for at least another week while authorities decide when he will be deported.

John Robert Boone, 73, was arrested by Montreal police Thursday afternoon at a shopping centre, at the corner of Ste-Catherine St. W. and Atwater Ave., putting an end to a police search that lasted eight years. He had been sought by the Kentucky State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service since 2008. He was detained at the Riviere-des-Prairies Detention Centre where he had a hearing Friday afternoon before an adjudicator with Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board.

[continues 457 words]

Re: "'Prince of Pot' defiant after arrest in Montreal" (Montreal Gazette, Dec. 19)

I am dumbfounded that even my brightest friends call Marc and Jodie Emery's move to open six marijuana dispensaries and get arrested a brash move. It's really just a well-crafted publicity stunt - cheap advertising.

But there's something much less talked about: How will we protect our kids in a legalized marijuana environment?

Fact: 90 per cent of adult addicts started off by smoking marijuana before the age of 18.

[continues 90 words]

Marc Emery, the so-called Prince of Pot, remains defiant about flouting pot laws in Canada despite his arrest in Montreal on Friday.

Emery was one of 10 people arrested when police raided the Cannabis Culture shops around town. Emery was released from detention Saturday. After his arraignment, he flew back to Toronto the same day.

He is scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on Feb. 15.

Although it has been reported he was slapped with three charges - drug trafficking, possession for trafficking, and conspiracy - Emery said he was only charged with two offences.

[continues 199 words]

Police seize 18 kg of marijuana, confiscate cash and equipment

Montreal police arrested Canada's self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot" Friday night and seized 18 kilograms of cannabis a day after the splashy opening of six illegal marijuana dispensaries across the city.

Dozens of officers raided the stores at supper hour, arresting 10 people and confiscating an undisclosed amount of cash and equipment relating to the sale of marijuana. Police would neither confirm nor deny that they nabbed Marc Emery, but his wife Jodie posted a video of him being taken away.

[continues 740 words]

Say what you will about his methods, but Canada's self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot" knows how to make an entrance.

Throngs of admirers stood in the snow Thursday and cheered Marc Emery on as he rolled up to the opening of an illegal marijuana dispensary on Mont-Royal Ave. He held court in the shop for half an hour as he made an impassioned case for the legalization of pot - logic-based arguments honed over a career of marijuana advocacy.

[continues 989 words]

Chain sells to recreational users who are over 19 years of age

'Prince of Pot' ready to set up shop in Plateau Canada's self-described "Prince of Pot" is expanding his chain of illegal marijuana dispensaries into Montreal as of Thursday, according to sources.

A blogger made the announcement on marijuana advocate Marc Emery's online magazine last week. His wife, Jodie, posted a cryptic tweet on Dec. 8, counting down the days until the dispensary's Montreal debut.

Two sources close to Emery have confirmed he intends to open as many as three dispensaries in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood.

[continues 546 words]

At the risk of being accused of pulling a Hillary Clinton and playing fast and loose with the truth let me say this; I have never smoked marijuana, and if I did I never inhaled. Okay, if I inhaled it was only by accident. Except for that one time I was offered a toke from a totally awesome young thing and I took it just to be polite.

Anyway, what I did or did not do when I was young and foolish can't be proven anyway, since thankfully back then we didn't take selfies. Besides, all the potential witnesses to my escapades are now either in a seniors' home or at the point where they need to leave a memo on the fridge door just to remind them to take the grocery list when they go shopping.

[continues 493 words]

One of Justin Trudeau's flashiest policies has been his promise to legalize marijuana. Taking advantage of 4/20 this past April, his government announced that it will be instated in the spring of 2017-only one year later. We're halfway through that time, and his policy remains vague and shallow.

Trudeau is waiting on results from the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, but the lack of information this close to its proposed implementation is unsettling. One of the most glaring gaps is that the Liberal government's website doesn't explain how it plans to keep the drug out of the hands of youth-it offers no details, and only asks for a signature in support. When discussing how legalization should be accomplished, Trudeau must clarify how he intends to protect youth from excessive marijuana use and be committed to educating them on the adverse health effects and safety risks.

[continues 668 words]

Quebec city is near the top of the list when it comes to getting busted smoking pot

Pot smokers in Gatineau are more likely to be charged for possession of marijuana than those in virtually any other major Canadian city.

Only Sherbrooke, Que., had a slightly higher rate of pot possession charges last year, according to data collected by Postmedia as part of a project examining Canada's move to legalize recreational marijuana.

The federal government has promised to introduce legislation in the spring. In the meantime, pot laws remain in force, although how they are applied varies dramatically across the country.

[continues 362 words]

Pot smokers in Gatineau are more likely to be charged for possession of marijuana than in virtually any other major city in the country.

Only Sherbrooke, Que., had a slightly higher rate of pot possession charges last year, according to data collected by Postmedia as part of a project examining Canada's move to legalize recreational marijuana. The federal government has promised to introduce legislation in the spring. In the meantime, pot laws remain in force, although how they are applied varies dramatically across the country.

[continues 632 words]

Dispensary works in 'legal grey zone' awaiting new federal law

The smell is unmistakable.

There must be a small mountain of pot lying somewhere in a back room of the storefront office on St-Laurent Blvd.

That thick, skunky aroma - strong enough to trigger memories of a misspent youth - is apparent the moment patients are buzzed through the front door of Fondation Marijuana.

A whiteboard by the reception desk advertises strains with names like Grand Daddy Purps, Jean Guy and Blue Magic.

[continues 2168 words]

Project for Supervised Facilities Was Approved After Local Consultations

More than a year after Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre called for the urgent implementation of supervised drug injection sites, local advocates are stuck waiting for a project experts agree has life-or-death consequences.

"We've been saying it and resaying it for many years now," said Martin Page, general director of Dopamine, a group based in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve that helps the homeless and addicted. "Supervised injection sites are a positive for everyone in the community."

[continues 517 words]

Montreal researchers have found a new role for cannabinoids. The active ingredient in marijuana - which is also naturally present in the human body - seems to improve night vision in vertebrates.

The study by a multidisciplinary team including researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute looked at changes in tadpole retinas after exposure to cannabinoids.

"We didn't believe what we were seeing - exactly the opposite of what we expected," said neurologist Ed Ruthazer, of the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University, and the paper's senior author.

[continues 409 words]

The chief executive of Jean Coutu Group Inc., one of the country's largest pharmacy chains, said Tuesday he is open to selling medical marijuana but won't lobby the federal government to do so.

"We're not going to actively pursue this," Francois Coutu said following the company's annual general meeting at its new headquarters and automated distribution centre in Varennes, Que.

Mr. Coutu said he doesn't know how profitable the sale of medical marijuana would be for the company, which operates 417 stores in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. "I haven't focused on that because it's going to be a long way before this is happening," he said. "There are a lot of question marks that are unanswered at this point."

[continues 152 words]

It's not right to give people criminal records for an act soon to be legal, Marcus A. Sibley says.

The Liberal government has appointed a nine-member task force that will develop recommendations for a comprehensive plan on marijuana legalization and regulation. The move to research and invest in sensible marijuana reform comes at a time when minor possession offences continue to be enforced and police raids on unlicensed pot shops have expanded across the country.

Unfortunately, the government has rejected the possibility of immediately decriminalizing marijuana possession.

[continues 567 words]

Since his election on October 19 last year as Canada's 23rd Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has ushered in an astounding shift in Canada's political atmosphere. No longer are we enjoined by an angry, suspicious, and hateful government to live in fear and loathing of those who might trigger our xenophobic tendencies because of different beliefs, customs, or even methods of preparing foods. We are no longer asked to spy on our neighbours and rat out 'suspicious behaviour or, God help us, have 'Barbaric Practices. Age-old habits of homophobia and loathing of other gender identities are no longer encouraged by a fundamentalist leadership and scientists are no longer gagged, filtered, and silenced, Natives are no longer ignored or despised by government and generally, the air of oppression that hung over the country during the Harper decade has vanished into thin air.

[continues 965 words]

Re: "How Portugal solved its drug woes" (NP Montreal, June 20)

Legalizing the use not only of marijuana but that of heroin and cocaine as well, accompanied by an intensive treatment program, seems to have paid off.

The experiment could perhaps be pushed further by making drug peddling unprofitable. Make these drugs available at little to no cost at rehabilitation centres, the drugs provided by licensed suppliers.

Savings in law enforcement and legal proceedings should easily offset the cost of such a program, and violence associated with the illicit drug trade would be significantly diminished.

Marcel Hebert, Lancaster, Ont.

[end]

Re: "How stoned is too stoned?" (NP Montreal, May 18)

An Australian government study of impairment of pilots concluded that "residual effects of cannabis can persist for up to 24 hours. These effects include persisting difficulty with psychomotor tasks and interference with cognitive function."

The Trudeau government seems intent on increasing access to marijuana, but a government that is pledged to implement evidence-based policy should recognize that allowing for more people to drive impaired without police being able to easily measure their degree of impairment runs contrary to public safety.

Sorry for the buzzkill, but are you really okay with the driver you encounter at the next intersection being not sober enough to pilot a plane but intoxicated enough to risk the lives of your family and fellow motorists?

Michael Wiener, Dollard-des-Ormeaux

[end]

Last week, on April 20 no less, the federal government announced that legislation legalizing and regulating the recreational use of marijuana will be ready next spring. It's been a long time coming.

The history of marijuana prohibition is a long and complicated one, but its origins can be summarized as a part of a widespread movement of white middle class progressives who believed in the benefits of social engineering based on ethnic, class, and Victorian moral grounds. It was a movement designed to 'uplift' society and advocated for things like women's suffrage, improved working conditions, and public health and education reform. Sadly, they also supported things like eugenics, and forced sterilization, and residential schools.

[continues 969 words]

Projet Montreal Candidate Appeals for Calm As Demonstrations Planned

Why Jean-Pierre Bony was in a Montreal North apartment that was raided by police last week, or what exactly his role in the alleged drug ring bust was, isn't what matters most, said Projet Montreal borough mayor candidate Kerlande Mibel on Tuesday.

What matters, Mibel said, is knowing why the 46-year-old was reportedly shot in the head with a rubber bullet while he was trying to run away.

[continues 556 words]