Welcome back to a new school year. A very important discussion that needs to take place in your home is the old drug talk. Parents play a key role in reducing teen substance abuse. More than half of all Canadian kids will try drugs at least once between Grades 1 and 12, but many will choose not to experiment. Please talk openly with your child about substance abuse and set a no-use rule for all drugs and alcohol. Remember, with the advent of newer drugs like fentanyl talking to our kids about illicit drugs is more important than ever. [continues 489 words]
The City's Texture Is Dulled by the Passing of One of Its Most Colourful Characters This city's election campaigns will never be the same without Michael Baldasaro, who sadly died this week at age 67 after a brief bout with cancer. For decades the pot-smoking bushy-bearded Church of the Universe minister was the undisputed king of Hamilton's political fringe, a forerunner in a field which in recent years has become much more crowded. Whether sporting his towering Cat in the Hat stovepipe or crocheted Rasta skull cap, Baldasaro's presence and off-beat commentary provided a welcome touch of comic relief which never failed to entertain voters at town halls and candidates' debates. [continues 500 words]
'True champion of Hamilton': mayor Hamilton's own prince of pot and effervescent candidate for political office is being remembered as a kind and colourful soul dedicated to making his city a better place. Michael Baldasaro, a longtime advocate for marijuana legalization, died Thursday morning in hospice after a short battle with cancer. He was 67. Baldasaro, a minister in the Hamilton-based Church of the Universe, made it his mission to help the downtrodden and disadvantaged, said congregant Rev. Juliet Boyd. [continues 1035 words]
Old marijuana shop is not in compliance with new rules One of Vancouver's oldest medical-marijuana dispensaries is vowing to defy the order to lock up shop by midnight Friday after being refused under the city's new regulatory regime. "We're not going to close," said Dana Larsen, the founding director of The Medicinal Marijuana Dispensary. "We've not been approved yet," he added, pointing out that the non- profit society operates two dispensaries - one at 880 East Hastings, which opened in 2007, and another at 1182 Thurlow at Davie, opened in 2010. [continues 498 words]
Marijuana Party founder Dana Larsen, busted less than two weeks ago on a national pot-promoting tour, said he feels right at home in Halifax. "It's coming along really nicely here," he said in an interview before a speech at the High Life Social Club on Spring Garden Road. "It's getting some new dispensaries opening up. I suspect that the dispensary revolution will spread across the Maritimes." Halifax Regional Municipality has denied business licences to operators such as Tasty Budds Compassion Club. The operator has appealed the decision to the UARB and opened a second location. Farm Assist's operator has been charged with trafficking. [continues 227 words]
Trudeau promised to make marijuana legal. Where's that at? Instead of "Hump Day" on April 20, thousands of Canadians will celebrate "Hemp Day" through the annual 4/20 protest against pot prohibition. With the Trudeau Liberals committed to legalizing cannabis, spirits should be high. But the fact remains that unless you're a licensed medical user, if you possess or share marijuana at the protest, you're breaking the law. Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief who's the government's point man on the file as parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, made that crystal clear in a recent CBC interview. [continues 1689 words]
Police say they were forced to bring in extra officers to a pot rally for the arrest of a marijuana activist because the crowd had become agitated. "The crowd became aware of that occurring, then a number of people came out and it =C2=85 elevated the incident somewhat as people were becoming upset," Calgary Police Inspector Mike Bossley said Thursday after Dana Larsen was charged. "That really required additional response from the police just to make sure that it stayed as a peaceful event." [continues 334 words]
There's a whiff of change in the air, so to speak, says Grace McGregor. The board chair and Area C director for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) was speaking about the complex medical marijuana issue often splashed across the country in media headlines. The subject hit home last week when Brian Taylor, a Grand Forks councillor and long time medical cannabis activist, provided insight to the medical marijuana juggernaut in a presentation to regional directors during the Feb. 25 board meeting in Trail. [continues 997 words]
Brockville police chief warns of 'putting the cart before the horse' with legalization The Liberal federal government needs to ensure all is in place to prosecute crimes relating to marijuana abuse, such as drug-impaired driving, before legalizing the drug, Brockville police chief Scott Fraser said Thursday. Echoing the concerns of other Canadian police chiefs, Fraser said police forces now have only limited ability to enforce laws against driving while impaired by marijuana. "With the legalization issue, it's like putting the cart before the horse," Fraser told the police services board. [continues 477 words]
Ill People Can Grow Their Own, Federal Court Says The Federal Court of Canada lit a fire under Liberal marijuana legalization plans Wednesday, declaring the old Tory medical pot scheme unconstitutional. In a stinging indictment, Judge Michael Phelan said the Conservatives' 2013 regulations on medical marijuana violated the liberty and security interests of the charter. "The access restrictions did not prove to reduce risk to health and safety or to improve access to marijuana - the purported objectives of the regulation," wrote Phelan, who heard evidence in the case last spring in Vancouver. [continues 600 words]
Marijuana Party member Dana Larsen wishes politicians a 'Merry-Juana Christmas and Hempy New Year' COBOURG -- A late Christmas present of medical-grade marijuana at the Cobourg office of Northumberland-Peterborough South MP Kim Rudd sparked a call to the police. The MP, who also represents Orono and Newcastle in Durham Region, is the latest in a string of Liberal MPs to receive a package from Dana Larsen -- a founding member of the Marijuana Party. Mr. Larsen reportedly mailed each of the 184 federal Liberal MPs a gram of dried marijuana along with a copy of his new book Cannabis in Canada - The Illustrated History. Also receiving pot were two MPs in Durham, Ajax's Mark Holland and Whitby's Celina Caesar-Chavannes. [continues 668 words]
MEDICAL MARIJUANA: Pot activist sending out special delivery Liberal MPs will soon be getting some interesting and fragrant mail. Pot activist and former B.C. NDP leadership candidate Dana Larsen is sending a special package to the 184 politicians. It will contain Larsen's and illustrator Patrick Dowers' new book Cannabis in Canada: The Illustrated History - as well as a gram of medical-grade marijuana. "It's not legal to mail people weed ... but most of Canada's marijuana laws are made to be broken, so that's just another one," said Larsen, who added he is not worried about legal backlash for the 6.5 ounces that will be sent out. [continues 290 words]
VANCOUVER - Liberal MPs will soon be getting some interesting and fragrant mail. Pot activist and former B.C. NDP leadership candidate Dana Larsen is sending a special package to the 184 politicians. The manila envelope contains his and illustrator Patrick Dowers' new book Cannabis in Canada, the Illustrated History - as well as a gram (about $12-$15 worth) of medical-grade marijuana. "It's not legal to mail people weed ... but most of Canada's marijuana laws are made to be broken, so that's just another one," said Larsen, who added he is not worried about any legal backlash. [continues 311 words]
Cannabis graphic novel includes gram of marijuana One morning this week, when I opened my mail at work, one of the books sent for review caught my attention. It was a large graphic novel, Cannabis in Canada, written by Vancouver marijuana activist Dana Larsen and illustrated by Patrick Dowers. It was the smell that really grabbed me. Inside the book was a small brown paper envelope containing a gram of marijuana, which dispersed the telltale scent of weed throughout the office. [continues 536 words]
Re: "LCBO sales of pot would make sense: Wynne," Dec. 15 Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne should be seeking advice only from provincial voters about marijuana regulation and taxation, as property and civil rights are provincial jurisdiction and legal marijuana is property. As for the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union's recent comments about wanting in on marijuana sales, it amazes me how yesterday's persecutors and prosecutors want a piece of the action today. Several provincial elections ago, while I was running as a candidate for the B.C. Marijuana Party, the BCGEU store clerks had me arrested for campaigning in front of the Hillside liquor store and handing out flyers. What hypocrisy. Chuck Beyer Port Alberni [end]
Government-run weed store is a wrong-headed approach, marijuana advocates say after labour leader prompts talks Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it's more of the same prohibition. In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it. "If they do legalize it, then it's a drug," Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. "So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled." [continues 548 words]
The recent police raid on the Saskatchewan Compassion Club set off a war of words between the club's operator and police. The case against the dispensary's owner and the club's employees is still before the courts, but on Tuesday Saskatoon police issued a news release in "an attempt to clarify public statements" made by the medical marijuana dispensary owner. The police maintain that Mark Hauk and three others were dealing drugs when they sold marijuana to patients at the unregulated storefront dispensary. [continues 445 words]
Liberal CFO Could Rake in Marijuana Money With Legalization He may volunteer in his role as chief financial officer with the Liberal Party of Canada, but Chuck Rifici is in line for a big pay day, thanks to one of the party's key platforms. Rifici, who has been a member of the Liberal national board of directors since 2011, is also the co-founder of Tweed Marijuana Inc., Canada's biggest full-scale producer of government-sanctioned pot producer, which is based in Smiths Falls, Ont. [continues 766 words]
