It's about time the Ontario government beefed up legislation to include new penalties for drug-impaired drivers. As the use of narcotics, both prescribed and illegal, becomes more prevalent, their use is having an impact on our roads. Ontario must deal with drugs and driving in the same fashion as with drinking and driving-with tough laws. And so the government's announcement Tuesday is appropriate. It is proposing amendments to its distracted driving bill that would include new penalties for drug-impaired drivers. [continues 278 words]
OTTAWA- The NDP and Liberals say the Conservative-dominated health committee report on marijuana is biased, inherently flawed, and omits evidence that contradicts Conservative ideology. The health committee's report, called "Health Risks and Harms of Marijuana," recommends the government try to prevent marijuana use in Canada as well as raise awareness to the drug's harmful effects. Health committee chairman and Conservative MP Ben Lobb did not return QMI Agency's request for comment on Tuesday. The NDP and Liberals rejected the committee's majority report. New Democrats on the committee said testimony "that did not support (the Conservatives') pre-conceived views about marijuana ... was dismissed and eliminated." [continues 105 words]
HEALTH: Scientists at Lawson Health Research Institute find marijuana use increases abnormal brain activity While some think a marijuana joint is an antidote for depression, the opposite may be true, a study by researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute in London shows. Using an MRI that detects brain activity, scientists found that youth who both suffer from depression and use marijuana had more abnormal activity than those who face either of those separately. "Some people Elizabeth Osuch have suggested that marijuana may be an effective treatment for depression. Our results suggest that this conclusion is premature," said Elizabeth Osuch. "These findings suggest that depressed youth increase their risk of functional brain abnormalities through the use of marijuana and that more research into these effects is needed." [continues 128 words]
CitizenMarc is no pot puff piece. The documentary on marijuana activist Marc Emery, written and produced by Canadian filmmaking couple Roger Evan Larry and Sandra Tomc, is being released Friday in 13 Canadian cities, including London at Landmark Cinemas. While Emery is known for his public crusade to legalize marijuana, don't write this documentary off as a made-for-stoners special. The well-researched film traces Emery's activism roots back to his days operating City Lights Bookshop on Richmond St. in London. [continues 351 words]
So far Tory attack ads on Justin Trudeau have not hurt the Liberal leader, but their effect may yet come Ever since Justin Trudeau won its leadership in early 2013, the Liberal party has led in the polls. The latest average of all polls shows the Liberals at 39% of popular support, the Conservatives at 32% and the NDP trailing with 19%. Canadians seem to be enamoured with Trudeau's sunny disposition, his good looks and his positive approach to politics. It's made him the No. 1 target of the Conservative attack machine. [continues 816 words]
Regarding Brian MacLeod's thoughtful column Clear the smoke and regulate pot like booze (Aug. 21). Lost in the debate over marijuana is the ugly truth behind marijuana prohibition. North America's marijuana laws are based on culture and xenophobia, not science. The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican migration during the early 1900s. Writing under the pen name Janey Canuck, Emily Murphy warned Canadians about the dread reefer and its association with non-white immigrants. The yellow journalism of William Randolph Hearst led to its criminalization in the United States. [continues 148 words]
The stoners are getting creative and we're not so sure that's a good thing. The marijuana industry is attracting a lot of attention these days. Back in March the Financial Post ran an article headlined "Your 5-Step Primer to Investing in Pot." Former Ontario health minister George Smitherman, among others, is currently developing a business to be a licensed medical marijuana producer. In other words, it's big business. But the industry is also pushing the boundaries and expanding in some questionable ways. [continues 287 words]
Editor-In-Chief Stands Firm Amid Call For His Resignation Sex, drugs and drinking games? Those topics, subjects of a Western University student newspaper guide for first-year students, have several organizations calling for an apology and retraction. One local activist is calling for the resignation of The Gazette's editor-in-chief after 3,000 copies of the paper's annual frosh issue hit the streets last week. The issue includes an article headlined So you want to date a teaching assistant. "When I read it, I was completely disgusted," said Kevin Godbout, president of the Society of Graduate Students, which represents teaching assistants. [continues 292 words]
NDP Leader Says It Doesn't Make Sense To Criminalize Marijuana Users OTTAWA - NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said he believes the decision to smoke weed is a personal one and not something with which the Criminal Code should concern itself. Officially, the NDP's position is in favour of decriminalization, though Mulcair says more stakeholder consultation is needed to understand the implications of changing marijuana laws. Speaking at the Canadian Medical Association's general meeting Wednesday, Mulcair said it doesn't make sense to criminalize weed smokers. [continues 178 words]
A reasoned political debate about marijuana is almost as impossible as debating abortion laws or climate change. Still, some voices have more influence, and right now one of them is Justin Trudeau's. The Liberal leader wants marijuana legalized. This comes after his opinion "evolved" from the more moderate stand of decriminalization. This has flummoxed the federal Conservatives because Trudeau's position leans toward where more Canadians are and against the natural tendencies of a tough-on-crime government. Unless you're using it for medicinal reasons, marijuana is bad for you. Lethargy, short-term memory loss and the damaging effect on lungs if you smoke too much are among the more commonly agreed-upon effects. [continues 510 words]
Regarding the editorial Emery's high hopes a political downer? (Aug. 15). Nice to see that reefer madness is still alive and well and living in London Ontario. I refer of course to your lopsided tirade against Marc Emery. Most of the anti-Marc media I have read recently seems to be nothing more than an attempt to discredit the person, neatly side-stepping the actual issue, which is the ridiculous continuation of prohibition. I say more power to you Mr. Emery. Paul Blakey Sechelt, BC [end]
When are our politicians going to get things right? When in London, Justice Minister Peter MacKay said his party was not in favour of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in "No plan to decriminalize pot, MacKay insists" (Aug. 14). If the federal government is against legalizing and decriminalizing pot, why doesn't it change the law on alcohol? It is a more dangerous drug than pot. Whenever I see or hear of a person charged with impaired driving, it is alcohol - not pot. [continues 91 words]
Even if the Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, were to win 100% of the seats in the next federal election, marijuana would not be legalized. Under Canadian legislation, for a bill to become law, it must pass both the House of Commons, and the Senate. Right now, the Conservatives have a majority in both houses. Prime Minister Harper has been appointing young people to the Senate, ensuring a Conservative majority in the Senate for several decades. So if the Liberals want to get any legislation passed, they will have to work with the Conservatives, regardless of Trudeau's promise. Liberal prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien appointed Liberals to the Senate. Now it's Prime Minister Harper's turn. Trudeau will have to learn to live with it. He can blame his father. Scott Boa Ingersoll [end]
You have to give Marc Emery credit: After more than four years in a U.S. prison, he can still draw a crowd. Better yet (from his point of view), he can still wrangle the news media. The "Prince of Pot," as journalists and his disciples have dubbed him, has certainly earned that nickname. A native Londoner, he has spent most of his adult life championing the cause of cannabis policy reform. He lit joints on the steps of police stations and city halls across the country. He sold marijuana seeds, home-grow books, bongs and other paraphernalia from storefronts in at least two provinces, encouraging others across Canada to do the same. He launched a cannabis-themed magazine. He founded a legal assistance centre for those seeking to challenge existing drug laws. He started Pot-TV, a video channel devoted to marijuana culture and politics. [continues 664 words]
Regarding the article New world (Aug. 13). How nice to see Marc Emery make the front page. It's so important, when dire global news threatens our very way of life. So he is supporting Justin Trudeau for prime minister. Ah, yes, legalizing marijuana must be top priority for the leader of our country. Gwen Black London [end]
Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay landed in the Prince of Pot's hometown Wednesday and made it clear his government won't loosen marijuana laws. MacKay, in London for a community roundtable on justice issues, made his government's position on pot clear the day after activist Marc Emery's return to Canada after serving time in a U.S. jail for selling marijuana seeds MacKay answered media -questions on a wide range of -topics: [continues 323 words]
Marc Emery may think of himself as a marijuana messiah, leading the long-suffering to deliverance from pot laws they believe unfairly punish them and restrict their freedom to smoke up. No stranger to ego, Emery may even believe he's the chosen cannabis crusader. But Canada's self-styled "Prince of Pot" - just released from a U.S. prison, after doing 4 1/2 years for selling marijuana seeds into the U.S. from Vancouver - makes a poor martyr for the kind of electoral backlash he imagines he will now inspire against the federal Conservative government he vilifies. [continues 289 words]
MARIJUANA ACTIVIST: Marc Emery, known as the Prince of Pot, fears his notoriety may cause problems for wife Jodie, seeking the Liberal nod in Vancouver East OTTAWA - Marijuana activist Marc Emery promises to campaign for the federal Liberals, but he says the party doesn't seem to want anything to do with him. One day after his release from U.S. prison, Emery said the Liberals' anxiety about him is causing problems for his wife, Jodie Emery, 29, who is running for the Liberal nomination in the Vancouver East riding. [continues 250 words]
Marijuana activist and former Londoner Marc Emery is out of U.S. custody, back in Canada and still committed to the fight to legalize pot - but much has changed in the 4 1/2 years he's been away The world Marc Emery left in 2010 is very different than the one he came home to Tuesday. Yes, marijuana was legalized in several American states while the pot activist sat in U.S. federal prison for selling cannabis seeds from his Vancouver business. Canadian law has changed, too, with medical marijuana dispensaries dotting the streets of major cities, including on the very block he'll go home to when he and his wife fly home to British Columbia this week. But perhaps the biggest shock Marc Emery is in for is a personal one. When he was extradited to serve his American sentence, his wife, Jodie Emery, was learning how to run the couple's store, maybe prepared to do some media interviews while her husband - the public face of the pot legalization movement in Canada - served his time. Now, the tables have turned. It's Jodie Emery who's the public face of pot reform. It's Jodie Emery who's seeking the Liberal nomination in Vancouver East. It's Jodie Emery who has tried to make! sure everyone knows the Emerys support Justin Trudeau and his federal Liberal party, the only major party to publicly support pot legalization. It's Marc Emery - a self-described egomaniac - who has become a political liability to the movement. His welcome back to Canada Tuesday was jovial, with more than 100 pot activists greeting him as he stepped out of the customs building in Windsor after a 12-hour day in shackles. He'd travelled by plane, then van, from a detention centre in Louisiana. [continues 717 words]
Regardng the article Ground shifting rapidly on pot prohibition (Aug. 7) So Canada pothead prince, oops, sorry, Prince of Pot and convicted drug distributor Marc Emery wants to be a federal Liberal politician, for no other reason than to promote the legalization of marijuana in Canada. What a great role model for young Canadians who may aspire to a political career. Perhaps Emery should start his political career with the provincial Liberal government. It appears that party has been high on something for a decade. Gordon Jardine London [end]
