P.E.I. students moved by powerful anti-impaired driving presentation Jordan Gillis knew it was a bad idea to get into the car. The person offering to drive him home had been smoking pot - enough to impair his ability to drive safely. Jordan could simply have turned down the ride. He did not. That drive to his home in Fredericton took five or 10 minutes, the 15-year-old recalls. And how well did the impaired driver drive? "I didn't think too good, actually,'' says Jordan. [continues 491 words]
Recently I watched on TV the story of a recovering drug addict. The turmoil this person had endured was a terrible saga of what an addict goes through and the difficult road to a life of depending on drugs to get through your days. Watching this story brought to mind the marijuana issue that we are about to embark upon in Canada. I am surprised there are not more organizations speaking out against this drug and all the adverse effects this will have on our peoples. I know, you're saying, "why speak out, they (the government) will do it anyway," but when we don't demonstrate we're really giving it a blessing. I believe bootlegging the drug is better than legalizing it because when we legalize it we're giving a green light. [continues 66 words]
Summerside's first marijuana retail store will be on Granville Street The first legal cannabis retail store in Summerside will be located at 425 Granville St. - the former location of the city's short-lived foray into Starbucks coffee patronage. The first legal cannabis retail store in Summerside will be located at 425 Granville St. - the former location of the city's short-lived foray into Starbucks coffee patronage. The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission (PEILCC) announced Wednesday the future locations of two of four planned, provincially-owned, cannabis retail outlets. The second was 509 Main St. in Montague. [continues 432 words]
It's just another example of how complicated things are going to be as provinces roll out their marijuana rules. Several provinces have decided that marijuana smoking has to be done on private property. Ontario's rules are so tight that weed smoking has to take place in private residences. But what happens if your private residence is an apartment? Here's a part of a Canadian Press story out of Toronto. "(The province is) not going to allow marijuana to be smoked in public areas, so where the heck are people going to smoke marijuana? Well they're going to do it in their apartments," said John Dickie of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations. "The problem is, just like when they smoke tobacco, the smell goes to neighbouring apartments. Buildings are not hermetically sealed." [continues 346 words]
I just read Rob Cunningham's letter about cigarettes and cancer. And sir, what about the addition of pot by our government? It won't be good for people who will be forced to smell that marijuana stuff. Why is the Canadian Cancer Society doing nothing about that? You should be our protector against that addiction. Our government is not helping people. On the contrary, I think that it will be more dangerous than cigarettes are. What about the brain, with pot; the effect stays in the body for close to a week. Read this from a report by Surete du Quebec last week. Micheline Leclerc, New Glasgow [end]
Despite criticism from a consumer advocacy group, the province is wise to proceed cautiously with regulations governing the pending legalization of marijuana. Islanders should be able to legally light up July 1 but there are hints from Ottawa of a delay by several weeks. More information on P.E.I.'s regulations was released last week, adding details to plans announced in early December. Most of the provincial rules seem reasonable, and based on recent polls and analysis, caution is advisable. [continues 440 words]
Consumer Choice Center says four retail outlets, three suppliers not enough A consumer advocacy group says P.E.I. has not planned enough recreational marijuana sales outlets to deter people away from buying the product illegally. David Clement, North American affairs manager with the Consumer Choice Center, says if the goal of legalization is keeping black market marijuana out of the hands of Islanders, P.E.I. will need to have more outlets and more companies supplying the pot. "Our concern is having only four stores is not accessible enough," said Clement, who works out of Toronto for the organization that's based in Washington. [continues 458 words]
Consumer Choice Center says four retail outlets, three suppliers not enough for consumer access A consumer advocacy group says P.E.I. has not planned enough recreational marijuana sales outlets to deter people away from buying the product illegally. David Clement, North American affairs manager with the Consumer Choice Center, says if the goal of legalization is keeping black market marijuana out of the hands of Islanders, P.E.I. will need to have more outlets and more companies supplying the pot. [continues 455 words]
Province announces marijuana will be sold in stand-alone stores in Charlottetown, Summerside, Montague and West Prince There will be four initial locations for marijuana sales in P.E.I. as the provincial government announced Tuesday more preliminary directions for cannabis legislation. The retail sites will be in Charlottetown, Summerside, Montague and West Prince, although specific locations have not yet been determined. "We haven't been totally specific on exact locations, (but) we know the areas that we are looking at,'' said Finance Minister Heath MacDonald. "We are striving to have capacity in those areas.'' [continues 660 words]
Inside Prince Edward Island
