Gonzo Nieto and the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy Aim to Change Global Drug Policy "I experienced my own death," said Gonzo Nieto. It was the summer before he was leaving for university. Taking his parents car and picking up a few friends, they went to the local head shop and bought a bong, a torch flame lighter and a bag of Salvia. Salvia Divinorum, is a plant that when smoked leaves a person in a haze of hallucinations. It's often the choice for people experimenting because until recently, it was been legal to buy from head shops. [continues 857 words]
Racism and Ignorance Are Behind Illicit Drug Prohibition The federal Liberal government's campaign pledge to legalize marijuana has come under scrutiny as the long-standing debate over drug prohibition continues. The focus of this debate is often on avoiding usage among youth, or on the health and social effects of cannabis. What is often overlooked is the racist roots of laws that prohibit the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs, which continue to disproportionately target poor people of colour both in Canada and the U.S.. [continues 926 words]
Cannabis can be used to treat more than 40 different medical conditions Montreal's first medical cannabis clinic, which opened in 2014 at its location on Amherst Street, provides a clean, modern environment where patients can get prescriptions and support in moving away from pharmaceutical drugs. Two glass cases stand in the window, showing off a variety of vaporizers of all shapes and sizes. Medical marijuana is expected to impact the future of health and affect pharmaceutical companies. Sante Cannabis does not directly distribute cannabis to patients, but has nine part-time physicians to assess patients on their eligibility to receive a medical marijuana prescription. [continues 863 words]
Dear Editors of The Link, Gonzo Nieto got an arrow-splitting bullseye ("Rules To Roll By" volume 36, issue 19), discussing the future rules regarding cannabis. Actually, it amounts to simply changing the rules from regulations stemming from the black market to government regulations because either way cannabis is cultivated, sold and being used by responsible adults across North America, like it has been for decades. The level of contempt citizens have for cannabis prohibition demands the end of the farce. At the very minimum, until government creates their regulations, they should put a moratorium on caging responsible adults who choose to use the relatively safe, extremely popular God-given plant. Truthfully, Stan White, Dillon, Colorado [end]
Focuses on addiction and economic impacts On Jan. 27, students discussed cannabis legalization at an open forum held at the Yellow Door, led by the McGill chapter of the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP). Their goal as an organization, according to their website, is to discuss the negative impacts of drug policies on individuals and communities. The forum began with a video showing an interview with two professors from McGill University, Dr. Mark Ware, a director of clinical research at McGill University Health Centre and Dr. Ken Lester, a professor of Finance in the Desautels Faculty of Management. Ware started the video by disproving the widely held assumption that the effects of cannabis are worse than tobacco. [continues 543 words]
A Speculative Look at a Canadian Cannabis Policy With a federal government elected on a platform of legalizing cannabis, Canada stands to set an example on the international stage by being the first G7 country to fully regulate the production, sale and possession of a plant that has been at the heart of so much controversy-frankly, it's about time. That a government could get elected with this mandate is cause for hope and cautious celebration, but many questions remain open, and the way our policymakers navigate them will determine whether we set an example for other countries to follow, or if we botch the whole thing. [continues 575 words]
Justin Trudeau should be setting the right tone for young Canadians, Kevin Richard says. A little over a decade ago a wandering federal government stuck its finger to the wind to see what would carry them back to power in the next election. It openly dithered with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana only to make a half-hearted attempt that was doomed to fail. As a result of this irresponsible attempt to gain popular favour, police officers commonly encountered confused young people who believed that decriminalization was all but a done deal. Unfortunately, many of them now have criminal records. [continues 562 words]
Since being voted into power in the spring of 2014, the Quebec Liberal government has been zealously deploying polarizing "austerity" measures, chopping services to the public in a tunnel-visioned pursuit of its political Holy Grail: a balanced budget. Significant cutbacks to health and education in particular, and the detrimental impact they have had on both the Quebecers who use these services and those who deliver them, have quickly become a consequential part of the public discourse in the province, with few of us remaining unaffected, directly or indirectly, by this new regime. [continues 679 words]
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, A little over a decade ago a wandering federal government stuck its finger to the wind to see what would carry them back to power in the next election. It openly dithered with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana only to make a halfhearted attempt that was doomed to fail. As a result of this irresponsible attempt to gain popular favour, police officers commonly encountered confused young people who believed that decriminalization was all but a done deal. Unfortunately, many of them now have criminal records. Considering, therefore, the still-present legal implications of its use, and considering the ever-present health implications of its abuse, I ask, sir, that your government tread carefully so as not to make light of what is a serious issue. [continues 511 words]
Marijuana is a cash crop with gigantic profit margins that are made possible only by prohibition laws. Canadian consumers will be the victims of pricegouging if the legalization of marijuana does not allow a free open market that allows private enterprise to compete in the establishment of a fairmarket value for the herb, yet the government is not even contemplating the establishment of an open market and has restricted production of marijuana to a big-business model. Government policy objectives are said to focus on preventing access to pot by minors, by restricting marijuana production to a few "big business" producers and by restricting sale and distribution to provincial liquor board monopolies. Such policy will do nothing to eliminate the black market, which is the source of the marijuana that is sold to minors by teenage drug dealers. Note that there are no teenage "drug dealers" selling corner-store tobacco to minors. [continues 122 words]
Re: "Those middle-class tax cuts are going to cost an extra 1.2 billion a year" (John Ivison, Dec. 9) The Liberal government better fast-track the legalization of marijuana. The taxes generated will certainly be sufficient to cover any future deficits. The more you smoke, the more the middle class will benefit by the taxes generated. Smoke on and get Canada out of its debt! Joe Rabinovitch, Westmount [end]
Activists in Quebec expect new federal government to approve plans MONTREAL - Quebec healthcare workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit-drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. [continues 619 words]
Advocates of Quebec sites expect approval from Liberals Quebec health care workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. [continues 290 words]
A Montreal police officer, who was charged on Thursday with drug trafficking and other criminal offences, will face a judge on Friday to seek bail. The Montreal Police Department suspended Philippe Bonenfant, a patrol officer with downtown Station 21 with six years' service, without pay after he was charged at the Montreal courthouse, said Cmdr. Khanh Du Dinh, who handles community relations for the Montreal police. Bonenfant faces charges of trafficking ecstasy and speed, counselling someone to commit a criminal act, possession of a prohibited weapon, which in this case is a pair of brass knuckles, and fraudulent use of a computer, Dinh said. The latter charge concerns the use of the Quebec police information centre, a database housing information for use only in the course of police work, he said. [continues 221 words]
Activists in Quebec Expect New Federal Government to Approve Plans MONTREAL - Quebec healthcare workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit-drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. [continues 620 words]
MONTREAL - Quebec healthcare workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit-drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. The chairman of the health centre expected to house Montreal's first legal injection site said he has "no doubt" the new Liberal health minister will approve the application after months of what he calls Conservative "stalling." [continues 584 words]
MONTREAL - Quebec health care workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. The chairman of the health centre expected to house Montreal's first legal injection site said he has "no doubt" the new Liberal health minister will approve the application after months of what he calls Conservative "stalling." [continues 328 words]
Health: Activists in Quebec Expect New Federal Government to Approve Plans MONTREAL - Quebec healthcare workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit-drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. [continues 620 words]
Quebec health care workers and politicians say they expect the new federal government to approve their application for supervised, illicit-drug injection sites in Montreal, which will make the city the second in Canada to host the controversial harm-reduction program. But some are warning the strict law passed before the Conservatives left office will mean potential injection site operators will have to navigate a complicated legal maze aimed at preventing these sites from opening. The chairman of the health centre expected to house Montreal's first legal injection site said he has "no doubt" the new Liberal health minister will approve the application after months of what he calls Conservative stalling. [continues 578 words]
A recent survey by Forum Research tells us that, in the last year, almost one of five Canadians used marijuana for recreational purposes, a proportion that would almost double in the coming year if the wacky weed were legalized. For the business minded, this would represent a potential market of about 8 million people. In addition, the same survey reports that a full 59 per cent of us support the legalization, control, and taxation of the plant. We've come a long way, it seems, but it's taken a very long time. [continues 886 words]
Alvin Powell delivered his hard-line message on the perils of drug addiction Monday to students at John Abbott College in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. But afterward the 6-foot-5 former football player also had some words of advice for parents who may not even know their child is abusing drugs. "Parents are always the last to know," said Powell, who battled his own addiction to drugs and alcohol for years before finally getting clean and sober. "God bless them, parents are working, trying to make their homes the best they can be. But they're not understanding what's really going on. And these kids, because of their computers, they have their Master's degree in deception. They'll look right in their parents' faces and lie to them. They set things up to fly under the radar undetected. [continues 513 words]
Reefer Riches Provides Useful Primer on Fledgling Legal Marijuana Industry If election promises pan out, reefer madness could soon be sweeping this dominion. In which case, the documentary Reefer Riches should be mandatory viewing for all parties. Talk about timing: Toronto director Cynthia Banks serves up a surprisingly balanced and informative peek into the legalized pot business in Colorado and Washington, and indicates what beckons should Canada follow the weed lead of those states. Reefer Riches, which makes its world premiere Thursday at 9 p.m. on the new CBC series Firsthand, is neither an out-and-out endorsement nor a condemnation of legalized marijuana. It simply offers an incisive fact-check with insights from authorities on the subject. [continues 986 words]
QUEBEC - The new federal government's promise to legalize marijuana is raising concerns among Quebec's political class. Some cabinet ministers didn't hide their discomfort when asked Wednesday about the prospect of legalized pot in the near future after the Liberal victory in this week's federal election. Public Security Minister Lise Theriault says questions of public safety are paramount and must prevail, adding that many people share that concern. "We should be worried, definitely, it's something that can really upset a lot of people, including me," Theriault said. [continues 135 words]
QUEBEC - The new federal government's promise to legalize marijuana is raising concerns among Quebec's political class. Some cabinet ministers didn't hide their discomfort when asked Wednesday about the prospect of legalized pot in the near future after the Liberal victory in this week's federal election. Public Security Minister Lise Theriault says questions of public safety are paramount and must prevail, adding that many people share that concern. "We should be worried, definitely, it's something that can really upset a lot of people, including me," Theriault said. [continues 134 words]
"I'm curious!" That was Alexander Shulgin's simple answer to the question of why he had dedicated much of his life to the exploration of psychedelic drugs. The American chemist who died in 2014 at the age of 88 was famous not only for synthesizing a large number of mind-altering substances, but also for experimenting with them on himself, his wife and friends. He worked within the context of existing laws because the compounds he synthesized had not existed before and therefore were legal at the time he made them. [continues 646 words]
Coderre Says Move Is About 'Public Safety' Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre didn't hold back during a joint news conference with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on Thursday, promising to ensure proposed drug-injection sites open in the city - even over federal objections. The mayor, who met Trudeau to discuss issues including safe injection sites, has previously said he would give the federal government until the end of the summer to approve four locations in Montreal. Coderre made it clear he will move ahead regardless. [continues 401 words]
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre didn't hold back during a joint news conference with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau Thursday, promising to ensure proposed drug-injection sites open in the city - even over federal objections. The mayor, who met Trudeau to discuss issues including safe injection sites, has previously said he would give the federal government until the end of summer to approve four sites in Montreal. Coderre made it clear he will move ahead regardless. "I will do it anyway," Coderre said. [continues 441 words]
They are beneficial not only to drug users, but also to the community as a whole, Jennifer Laura Lee says. Having visited a safe-injection site in Europe, I can say with great certainty that I would be grateful for, not fearful of, the establishment of such sites in Montreal. As part of McGill's Comparative Health Systems Program, I visited one of the longest standing and most effective safe-injection sites in the world, in Switzerland, the birthplace of the safe consumption room itself. "Quai 9" stands alone in a sea of luxury stores and four star hotels, only a few blocks away from scenic Lake Geneva (a thriving tourist hot spot). Yes, a safe-injection site exists in the heart of Geneva's ritzy commercial district, and the city has yet to implode. Surrounding streets are not rife with crime and violence. Dirty needles do not litter the sidewalks. Neighbouring stores, banks, and restaurants have carried on, business as usual, for years. [continues 458 words]
Rocket launcher, guns, drugs among items sent as parcels, a 2012 RCMP report says OTTAWA- Canada's police chiefs want legal authority to seize mail in transit to stem the flow of illicit drugs, fake medicine and weapons through the postal system. In a recently passed resolution, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police say contraband is being sent through the mail "with impunity" because the law forbids officers from swooping in until a parcel arrives at its destination. This poses a "significant challenge" for police, who must find "alternative ways to work within or around" the system to apprehend criminals, the chiefs say. The resolution calls on the government to amend the legislation governing Canada Post to provide police with the ability to obtain a judge's approval to "seize, detain or retain parcels or letters" in the mail stream. A November 2012 report the RCMP prepared for the chiefs' organized crime committee revealed that firearms, grenades, a rocket launcher, stun guns, dangerous chemicals and drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana were sent through the mail. [continues 83 words]
Drug use is a health issue, not a matter for the police and courts, Michael Ashby says. When will Canadians find the courage to legalize cocaine? What about all the other drugs, for that matter? Since marijuana has become an election issue, we should stop wasting time and just talk about all drugs at once. Anyone who's given sober thought to the social consequences of drug prohibition knows that drug use should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one. But for over 100 years we've gone in the wrong direction, wasting mind numbing amounts of time and resources policing normal (if not ideal) human behaviour. [continues 495 words]
A Legal Cannabis Industry Could Be Subjected to Sensible Regulations, Nazlee Maghsoudi and Dan Werb Say. With cannabis policy reform gaining traction, predictably dire predictions about regulated markets have followed. You may have heard that cannabis regulation is the first step in an inevitable slide toward an unchecked, out-of-control "Big Marijuana" industry driven only by profit. Vox even referred to this concern as the "best argument against marijuana legalization." But claims that cannabis policy reform will lead to Big Marijuana underplay the level of government control that is made possible under regulation. [continues 529 words]
Inside Quebec
