Politicians here haven't said anything blatantly insane, uninformed or stupid. That's a win As Canada hurtles towards the legalization of marijuana next year, the provinces and territories have begun outlining their regulations for the drug. So far, the regimes we know about have been a decidedly mixed bag. Ontario and Quebec have gone full narc. Quebec is flat-out banning home-grown plants - even though federal rules allow for four per person. Ontario is planning absurdly harsh punishments for any lingering grey-market dispensaries that might compete with its government retail monopoly, which will only see 40 stores to start. [continues 946 words]
A significant majority of Yukoners are behind the federal government's plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use A significant majority of Yukoners are behind the federal government's plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use and believe it's acceptable to occasionally use the drug for exactly that reason. Those findings are in the results from the Yukon government's most successful survey ever in terms of participation numbers. Nearly 3,200 responses to the introductory section of a YG public engagement survey on cannabis legalization were filed. [continues 686 words]
Territorial government still deciding between private, public, hybrid models, Silver says The Yukon's premier says he is confident the territory will have at least one brick-and-mortar shop selling cannabis when the drug becomes legal across Canada in July. "There will be, in the Yukon, your ability to at least go into the liquor store here in Whitehorse - at the bare minimum," Silver said Oct. 4 after returning from the first ministers' meeting in Ottawa. "We believe as we move forward we will have some kind of distribution ready to go at that time." [continues 774 words]
Territory will likely have 'phased-in approach' to new weed laws The territorial government wants to know what the public is looking for in upcoming marijuana legislation. In an online survey, open until Sept. 30, the government is asking Yukoners to answer questions about where cannabis could be consumed in public, how it will be sold, the legal age for consumption, and whether any changes need to happen to the territory's occupational health and safety or driving laws. It's all being done in anticipation of the federal legalization of recreational cannabis on July 1, 2018. [continues 535 words]
The Yukon government plans to have its own cannabis legislation in place when marijuana becomes legal across Canada in July 2018. The territorial law could pave the way for a retail weed market in the territory, though the justice minister said it's too early to confirm whether the Yukon legislation will support brick-and-mortar dispensaries. The purpose of the Yukon's legislation will be "to keep Yukoners safe, to restrict access to cannabis to youth, and remove profits that are related to organized crime," said minister Tracy-Anne McPhee. [continues 452 words]
The Yukon and British Columbia experienced the highest rates of apparent opioid-related deaths in Canada last year. According to a new national report from the federal government, the territory and province had a rate of over 15 deaths per 100,000 population compared to a national rate of 8.8 in 2016. "I don't think it's a surprise," Dr. Brendan Hanley, the Yukon's chief medical officer, told the Star of the findings this morning. He noted that the territory's high rates are driven by the five deaths officially linked to fentanyl since April 2016. [continues 624 words]
Inside Yukon Territory
