Chief warns crackdown could be coming as weed is still illegal Regina police are well aware stores selling marijuana are up and running around the city. And while cannabis is set to become legal this summer, Chief Evan Bray is clear: selling the product is still illegal. It's a message he says will be actively communicated with the public in coming weeks, and it is one those working at or running dispensaries in the city have likely already heard. Bray wants the illegality of dispensaries to be clearly known. [continues 560 words]
It's not so black and white ... it's this whole grey spectrum based on many factors. As the legalization of marijuana approaches, there are still many questions about how the government plans to regulate the drug. Michael Szafron, an assistant professor with the U of S School of Public Health who has been researching risk factors and demographics of marijuana usage in Canada prior to legalization, spoke Tuesday at a lecture and panel discussion about some of the lesser known negative aspects of recreational use. [continues 415 words]
Chief says pot shops still against law and service will be speaking to store owners Regina's police chief again put marijuana dispensaries "on notice" that they're breaking the law, warning they could face criminal charges in the weeks to come. "In the next six weeks, prepare yourself for some headlines," Regina police chief Evan Bray told an audience gathered at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday. He said police actions will follow an education campaign, set to begin in about a week and a half. [continues 460 words]
Young people are going to lose one of their last remaining ways to stick it to The Man How will marijuana legalization affect us? If only there were a way to see the future, to look into a crystal bong, so to speak. Well, we can, more or less. It's been legally sold in Colorado for four years. Has it turned people there into zombies? Is there more general giggling than there was before? The sky hasn't fallen. Various studies indicate that teen consumption hasn't increased (in fact, it's gone down, according to trusted news source leafbuyer. com). Traffic fatalities continue on a downward trend. That's what happens when everybody drives three miles an hour. And with $230 million going into the treasury in 2016, tax revenues are so high they can't feel their face. [continues 557 words]
The reluctance of the Saskatchewan Party government to come forward with a fulsome policy on legal cannabis sales speaks to the discomfort this conservative-minded administration is having with the subject matter. But it also demonstrates how this party's leadership race - and perhaps other political considerations - have shut down the business of governing for some time now. The kindest grade one can give Monday's government announcement on legal marijuana sales is "late" and "incomplete." It avoided answering even the most basic question: At what age will one be able to purchase marijuana in Saskatchewan, come its legalization on July 1. [continues 573 words]
With legalization right around the corner, one P.A. resident wants to help educate people on the benefits of marijuana Mike McCaul is not your average cannabis activist. McCaul, who moved to Prince Albert from Calgary in 2008, first began using marijuana to help alleviate severe back problems. He rarely uses cannabis these days as his injuries have healed, but his passion for helping others understand the medical benefits remains. "It's the education aspect and the health aspect, the benefits of it," McCaul explained. "Legalization is right around the corner, but I'm trying to help people understand that there is a medical side to it." [continues 326 words]
Corrections officials have antidote available for potential overdoses Fentanyl has been found within all the province's adult correctional centres, a provincial spokesman has confirmed. The drug has made the news repeatedly, blamed for a rash of deaths throughout the country. As with other trends in the illegal drug world, Saskatchewan has been far from immune, having witnessed a number of deaths and non-fatal overdoses related to this and other opioids. Drew Wilby, spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, said one other pattern has proved true here - that what's available on the streets is also available in jail. [continues 516 words]
Until province reveals its full plans, revision of bylaws is stuck in limbo The landscape for legal marijuana in Saskatoon remains hazy, even though the provincial government released part of its plan. On Monday, Mayor Charlie Clark told reporters he welcomed more clarity from the province, but could not guarantee the city's complex regulatory regime will be in place for July 1, the federal government's target date for marijuana legalization. Clark spoke after a city council committee discussed possible bylaw changes that will depend on the provincial rules. Saskatchewan remains the only province that has not released its plan for legalized marijuana. [continues 543 words]
Regina's mayor is faulting the province for "drip, drip, dripping " information on marijuana regulation, and for failing to provide the clarity the city needs to craft its own plan. Despite his issues, he said Regina will not take advantage of the province's offer to "say no to a licence." The province announced Monday that cannabis will be sold through licensed private retailers and regulated through the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. But Mayor Michael Fougere said he still has questions about how the move will affect Regina. [continues 561 words]
City on deck for seven outlets, with retailers selected in a lottery Saskatchewan is planning to allow private retailers to sell cannabis products, once they are legalized this summer by the federal government. Regina will be able to have six retailers, while Saskatoon can have seven. About 60 stores, which must be stand-alone shops and will also be able to sell products online, will be located in 40 communities throughout the province. The Saskatchewan Party government is allowing communities with a population of at least 2,500 to be eligible for a cannabis retailer. [continues 482 words]
Restrictions on smoking in Saskatoon should include marijuana once legalization takes effect, and the province needs to release its plan as soon as possible, a new city report says. The report, which proposes possible areas that need to be addressed once the Saskatchewan Party provincial government releases its strategy, is on the agenda for a city council committee meeting on Monday. "It is essential that the province's plan for cannabis be released as soon as possible to ensure that any local regulations that city council may wish to pursue are appropriate and relevant under the provincial regime that will be put in place," the report says. [continues 375 words]
This past year has seen massive changes in Saskatchewan's health care landscape. Postmedia reporter Pamela Cowan spoke with Health Minister Jim Reiter about the impact of some of those changes on residents now and in the future. Q When marijuana is legalized in July, are you concerned about increased addiction or drugged driving in the province? A There's been some work done in Justice, work done with the Crowns on the best way we can deal with it, but I'm very concerned about the safety aspect. We're concerned about mental health and addictions right across the piece. It's a priority for us and it will continue to be a priority for us. [continues 739 words]
Re: Rogue nations need not apply (SP, Nov. 18) Pamela McColl's letter is legally correct, but morally and practically wrong. While Canada did sign the various treaties that constitute the worldwide prohibition of drugs, that prohibition has been a spectacular failure. After being banned for 70 years, prohibited drugs are more plentiful, cheaper, and more widely used than ever before. While McColl fears for our children because of the legalization of marijuana, she might look at the jurisdiction that has had the longest history of re-legalized access to marijuana. [continues 142 words]
Clark says municipalities will have extra costs for policing, services Mayor Charlie Clark says cities like Saskatoon will face the toughest financial challenges when marijuana is legalized in six months, and he wants to make sure sufficient resources exist. Clark said he welcomed the news from the federal government this week that 75 per cent of the expected $400 million in revenue from taxes on marijuana will go to the provinces. Now, Clark said he would like a clearer picture from the provincial government on how that will work in terms of funding the municipal response to legalized cannabis. [continues 314 words]
"You've come a long way, baby." This is the famous slogan of the Virginia Slims brand - a long, slim cigarette marketed to women as a sign of the progress of feminism and freedom for their gender. Society has also come a long way in its thinking around the marketing of products like tobacco, and campaigns that make it seem glamorous. We have learned that slick marketing images that ran through previous decades did not just influence adults. The Marlboro Man and images like it captured the imagination of kids, romanticizing smoking for another generation. [continues 351 words]
Tenants hoping to grow legal marijuana plants in their homes might soon have to deal with a new kind of drug enforcement - from their landlords. The province introduced legislation Tuesday to give landlords the right to prohibit the use, sale or growing of marijuana inside rental units. It's only one part of a string of amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that empower landlords in Saskatchewan. Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters he doesn't intend for the rules to affect the possession of dried marijuana, but only live plants and smoking. [continues 573 words]
Non-smoking buildings can extend rule to marijuana under new legislation Tenants hoping to grow legal marijuana plants in their homes might soon have to deal with a new kind of drug enforcement - from their landlords. The government introduced legislation Tuesday to give landlords the right to prohibit the use, sale or growing of marijuana inside rental units. It's only one part of a string of amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that empower landlords in Saskatchewan. Justice Minister Don Morgan told reporters he doesn't intend for the rules to affect the possession of dried marijuana, but only live plants and smoking. [continues 615 words]
Detection tools not available yet The Government of Saskatchewan announced Tuesday that there will be a zero tolerance policy for people who drive while impaired by drugs. Earl Cameron, executive vice president of Auto Fund, said the decision was made after the federal government passed new laws in anticipation of marijuana legalization. "It's because of the three new federal laws, we want to make sure that our administrative sanctions that we have now, for impaired driving, mirror these three new charges," he said. [continues 446 words]
Many unanswered questions remain with regards to forthcoming legislation Reactions are coming in from a number of quarters after the provincial government released the results of its survey on marijuana on Thursday. Specifically, the government asked how cannabis should be sold and regulated once it is legalized in July. Acting deputy mayor and city councillor for the City of Moose Jaw Crystal Froese said it is good the province is reaching out to residents. "I am glad to see that the province is engaging our citizens in a survey," she said. The councillor added that the legalization of marijuana is one that will have a large impact on the city and community and that she was happy to see some of the trends that came to light. One of those questions was about where people should be allowed to light up. [continues 349 words]
Province gauges views in survey Saskatchewan residents believe the legal age of consumption for cannabis should be 19, according to the results of the provincial government's online survey. More than 45 per cent of the 25,974 responses to the question of legal age believe the province should make the legal age of marijuana consumption match the legal age of alcohol consumption in the province, while 27.5 per cent believe the legal age should be 18. Some 18.9 per cent of respondents believe the age should be set at 21 and 7.8 per cent believe the legal age should be over 21. [continues 374 words]
Inside Saskatchewan
