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]
Legalizing a drug like marijuana will not stop young people from using it, it will increase consumption. Kevin Page, the Parliamentary budget officer, estimates 600,000 new users will start using marijuana if it becomes legal in Canada. Marijuana is extremely dangerous for user aged 14-25 since the teenage brain is developing. I love my family; we don't use drugs, I love my city, Charlottetown, I don't want the citizens using drugs. Same goes for my province and great country Canada. [continues 140 words]
UPEI engineering students have designed and developed a THC breathalyzer device A group of UPEI engineering students has come up with a way to help detect levels of marijuana in drivers. The students designed and developed a prototype, handheld THC detection device. But before they consider taking the product or a technological aspect to market, they have some unfinished business to take care of. "We're going to concentrate on graduating first. And then after that, we'll see what happens," said Bryce Stewart of Wood Islands. [continues 684 words]
There's a dirty little secret about legalized marijuana, one that could become an issue in neighbourhoods across the country. Well, maybe it would be better to describe it as a stinky little secret, but one that's likely to become very familiar - and maybe too familiar. Weed, both smoked and unsmoked, is more pungent than it once was. It's gone through decades of horticultural experimentation to strengthen its kick. And there's likely to be a lot more of that pungent to go around once smoking a joint isn't a criminal offence anymore. [continues 555 words]
The recent announcement by the provincial government that marijuana use will be restricted to private residences to help limit its impact on communities and public health ignores the rights of children to protection from second-hand smoke in their homes. Marijuana smoke is a recognized carcinogen and as with exposure to tobacco smoke, can cause serious health risks for those involved. Nearly one-third of deaths from tobacco second-hand smoke exposure are children, many of whom are infants. Pamela McColl, Vancouver [end]
The federal Liberal Trudeau government has been exposed as to why marijuana is being legalized, so called. The feds and provinces have been busy "cutting up the cash" to pay for the new healthcare and policing expenses which will be generated by the "weed." Why generate the need for new expenses by the indiscriminate use of marijuana? Governments have gone mad. Garth E. Staples, Charlottetown [end]
Opposition Tories press for details on rollout of government-run cannabis stores The province appears to be keeping details of its business plans for selling legal pot in P.E.I. close to its chest for the time being, promising more specifics in the coming months. The Opposition Progressive Conservatives pressed for more details on government's plans, announced last week, to sell legal cannabis in government-run, standalone stores operated by the P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission. On Friday, Finance critic Darlene Compton questioned Finance Minister Allen Roach on what the start-up costs would be for these stores. She also wanted to know how many stores will open in P.E.I. and what the projected revenues will be for the province? [continues 490 words]
It's funny how quickly a criminal enterprise can turn into a legitimate business opportunity. As a federal Conservative politician, even as late as 2015, Julian Fantino was opposed to the legalization of marijuana. In 2004, he even compared weed to murder in an interview with the Toronto Sun, saying, "I guess we can legalize murder too and then we won't have a murder case. We can't go that way." Now, he's partnered with former RCMP deputy commissioner Raf Souccar to open a medical marijuana business, Aleafia Total Health Network. [continues 407 words]
The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission is a good choice for managing Prince Edward Island's new marijuana stores. The LCC is well equipped for developing policy and providing oversight. It is also good that the provincial government has decided its pot sales will be conducted from different storefronts than its liquor sales. It just gets the right message out there: If it is not good for the PEILCC to sell liquor and pot from the same premises, it's not good for a consumer to mix liquor and pot. [continues 148 words]
Trudeau still "working with provinces" on legal pot Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is still working with the provinces when it comes to how legal marijuana administration costs will be funded. During a visit to P.E.I. Thursday, Trudeau said discussions are ongoing on legal cannabis with the provinces after premiers were cool to the idea of splitting the revenue of a proposed excise tax 50-50 with Ottawa. "We continue to work with all provinces and territories and municipalities to ensure we bring in a strong legalized framework around cannabis in order to protect our kids, in order to keep the criminal organizations and gangs from making the billions of dollars in profits that they are," Trudeau told reporters in P.E.I. Thursday. [continues 151 words]
I am writing in response to the upcoming legalization of marijuana across Canada. As a young adult who will experience the impact of this major decision, I do not agree and I hope the government comes to the realization that this will ruin lives. Legalization of marijuana will result in easier access to the drug, causing an increase in usage. If you consider the underage drinking problem with alcohol, we will have the same issues with underage marijuana usage. This worries me specifically for minors, as studies have shown that marijuana usage can affect brain development as well as causing death in brain cells. [continues 130 words]
Marijuana legalization opponents say long-term health and social costs will be significant Legalize and tax marijuana and the budget will balance itself. Marijuana advocates from stoners to recreational users to the prime minister have tried to convince us of this for years. But they're all wrong. It makes some sense that a product so commonly used should be regulated rather than criminalized, sending its newly enabled taxation revenues to the public coffers. Unfortunately, recent federal announcements and the examples of two American states tell us that a fiscal boon from legal pot is nothing more than reefer madness. [continues 522 words]
Inside Prince Edward Island
