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]
In 2016, the world drug prevention community met at UNGASS in New York to reconfirm their commitment and ratification of the long-standing drug conventions. I was in the General Assembly when the minister of health for the Government of Canada stood to announce Canada's plan to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in the spring of 2017. I can report that the world was less than pleased. Canada's move to legalization will take our country offside of these global agreements and out of step with our international partners. [continues 158 words]
Saskatchewan Government looking to privatize marijuana Saskatchewan's government is not interested in operating pot shops. Instead, they want to concentrate on regulating the product. "We do not want to be in any ownership or marketing," said Don Morgan, Saskatchewan's Justice Minister. "We want to be responsible for ensuring that there's a regulatory scheme in place and we want to make sure it's a confidently, well-run regulatory scheme, but we don't want to own it, market it or warehouse it ourselves." [continues 555 words]
With 7 1/2 months until marijuana becomes legal in Canada, a group of Saskatchewan researchers hopes to help inform the complicated policy-making process the provincial government faces in the months to come. The Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), based at universities in Regina and Saskatoon, has released a report, Legalizing & Regulating Cannabis in Saskatchewan. The provincial government is responsible for setting up all of the details of a legal cannabis industry, and should have most of the work in place by June 30. [continues 379 words]
With 7 1/2 months until marijuana becomes legal in Canada, a group of Saskatchewan researchers hopes to help inform the complicated policy-making process the provincial government faces in the months to come. The Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS), based at universities in Regina and Saskatoon, has released a report, Legalizing & Regulating Cannabis in Saskatchewan. The provincial government is responsible for setting up all of the details of a legal cannabis industry, and should have most of the work in place by June 30. [continues 607 words]
Marijuana trafficking charges against three people involved in a downtown Saskatoon medical marijuana dispensary that was raided by city police two years ago have been dropped. Instead, the dispensary - the Saskatchewan Compassion Club - pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking in Saskatoon provincial court on Thursday and agreed to pay a $6,500 fine plus a $1,950 surcharge. "Obviously, I'm relieved and pleased to have the process come to an end and to have justice ultimately served in the proper manner," said Compassion Club owner Mark Hauk. [continues 634 words]
As a province, Saskatchewan is not known to be on the cutting edge as a national trendsetter. When it comes to the opioid crisis, we should be thrilled to be behind the curve. Recent stories about opioid deaths should prompt officials in Saskatchewan to ramp up activities to prevent an increase in deaths here. In Abbotsford, B.C., five people ages 40 to 67 died of overdoses in a nine-hour period on Friday. The two women and three men all died alone. [continues 357 words]
Urban governments in Saskatchewan are getting "anxious" about the provincial government's plans to deal with legalized marijuana, according to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA). The association on Tuesday called on the provincial government to start consulting about its plans for when the federal government follows through on its promise to legalize recreational cannabis in eight months. SUMA president Gordon Barnhart said the pending legalization of marijuana looms as one of the chief concerns expressed during seven regional meetings held last month. [continues 245 words]
Clinical coordinator at Vancouver's largest supervised injection site says P.A. should open similar facility Prince Albert should open a safe injection site before a bad situation gets worse, says a senior staff member from Canada's first legal facility for injecting drugs. Tim Gauthier, clinical coordinator at Vancouver's Insite, was the keynote speaker at the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's HIV Education for Change event on Wednesday. He said he was shocked when he heard how many drug users in the Prince Albert area are contracting HIV through needles. The numbers convinced him that the city needs to expand its harm reduction programs. [continues 1807 words]
The Access and Privacy Branch of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice is examining concerns around the province's survey on recreational marijuana use after a University of Regina professor identified potential vulnerabilities within the online tool. Marc Spooner, a professor who specializes in qualitative and participatory action research, originally raised concerns about the fact anyone in Canada - and potentially around the globe - can take the survey. He argues the survey is "invalid" as a tool for consultation on public policy in Saskatchewan, as there's no way to determine who has been taking the survey, or if it's been compromised by a form of hacking called "freeping " where an online measure is hijacked by a certain group or those with a specific agenda. [continues 617 words]
Police asking for more time before marijuana legalized, Troy Cooper tells chamber Police Chief Troy Cooper has gone from doubtful to critical on Ottawa's marijuana plan, rejecting some key parts of the legislation and saying he's "nervous" about next summer's legalization deadline. Cooper has long seemed hesitant over marijuana legalization. Thursday, the day of his speech to the Chamber of Commerce, was perhaps his clearest expression of frustration over the pace of the federal plan - which foresees legal weed by July 2018. "We've asked, as a police service, please give us more time," he told the audience of local business leaders gathered at the Wildlife Federation building. [continues 614 words]
Inside Saskatchewan
