The House of Commons has passed a bill that critics say will impede the operations of supervised consumption sites such as Vancouver's Insite and will endanger severely addicted Canadians. Bill C-2, the Respect for Communities Act, consists of a host of new regulations that will make it much more difficult for a community service provider to open one of the harm-reduction sites. The new legislation will also complicate the process by which existing sites have to apply annually for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to operate. [continues 554 words]
This week, the Harper government showed Canadians they're serious about "respecting communities," but not quite as serious about respecting the health of every Canadian living in those neighbourhoods. Earlier this week, the House of Commons passed Bill C-2, known as the Respect for Communities Act, a piece of legislation that will add more red tape and bureaucratic hurdles to the implementation of new supervised injection clinics in Canada. Putting these restrictions in place, and the Conservative Party's continued opposition to these clinics, flies in the face of numerous studies and research supporting its existence. [continues 670 words]
Today concludes The Gazette's four-part perspective on the world's boldest public policy experiment with commercialized recreational and medical pot. The Gazette created a special project team made up of editorial staff and a seasoned reporter to look into these claims and compare them to information compiled after a year of legal recreational marijuana sales in Colorado. We wanted to examine whether claims of legalization are on a path to realization. We also looked for stories that have not been reported to create a clearer picture of the state of the industry. [continues 501 words]
It's known as wax, shatter, honey oil or, simply, BHO - butane hash oil. Making it is legal in Colorado, but the process of extracting highly potent hash oil from marijuana plants using butane is highly dangerous. And it might be going on next door. Proponents of Amendment 64 said legalizing recreational sales and use of marijuana would stifle the black market in Colorado. That is not the case; crime statistics indicate we have more to learn about the long-term effects of legal pot on public safety and other concerns. [continues 725 words]
The legalization of marijuana has forced police officers to violate federal law, say a group of sheriffs who are suing Colorado over the drug. It has dramatically affected the officers who have to patrol the streets - delivering them a new set of complex problems. Proponents of Amendment 64 said legalizing recreational sales and use of marijuana would stifle the black market in Colorado. That is not the case; crime statistics indicate we have more to learn about the long-term effects of legal pot on public safety and other concerns. [continues 693 words]
Marijuana isn't just for smokers - especially under the law established by Colorado's Amendment 64. The state constitutional amendment that legalized the drug's recreational use permits possession of up to 1 ounce of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient that produces a euphoric high. Proponents of Amendment 64 said legalizing recreational sales and use of marijuana would stifle the black market in Colorado. That is not the case; crime statistics indicate we have more to learn about the long-term effects of legal pot on public safety and other concerns. [continues 384 words]
Of all the misunderstandings about marijuana's impact on the country, perhaps none is greater than the belief that America's courts, prisons and jails are clogged with people whose only offense was marijuana use. This is the perception, but statistics show few inmates are behind bars strictly for marijuana-related offenses, and legalization of the drug will do little to affect America's growing incarceration numbers. "It's this myth that won't go away and gets repeated by people who should know better. Unfortunately, no one reads public records," said Ernie Martinez, Denver-based at-large director for the National Narcotics Officers Association Coalition. "But the truth is there - and it looks a lot different than the story pushed by marijuana-legalization advocates and amplified in news media." [continues 1576 words]
