The stigma needs to be addressed and I'm here to address it In light of a protest promoting medical marijuana on campus, we should reconsider our attitudes and understanding towards weed. The Breathe Easy campaign, on a provincial and national spectrum, seems to have a positive impression on certain audiences. However, on others such as myself, the campaign is not a positive one. Marijuana has long held a stigma comparable to smoking cigarettes but far more dramatic. But Christopher Lawson, the local activist who was responsible for the 4:20 protest on Oct. 6, was onto something. [continues 500 words]
Many Canadians can hardly wait for the day that the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal. As a doctor, I'm far less enthusiastic. I worry about two things: the experimental nature of marijuana in medical practice, and the public health consequences of legalized marijuana. Before you write me off as overly prudish or an anti-marijuana conservative, let me say that I'm not opposed to legalized marijuana in principle. I'm just paying attention to the evidence, or rather, the lack of it. My concern is that as marijuana becomes more easily available, Canadians may become more inclined to self-medicate with this drug. [continues 632 words]
Staff report to be considered today by Kelowna city council recommends marijuana be sold at private, public stores subject to municipal zoning Marijuana should be sold at privately owned pot shops as well as government-controlled stores, Kelowna officials say. But municipalities should be able to control the number of pot shops, as well as set regulations covering their size and location, says a report going to city council today. City officials also suggest an unspecified minimum distance be set between liquor stores and pot shops. [continues 357 words]
Province receiving input on legalized marijuana rules Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenue as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from Port Coquitlam and View Royal, on Vancouver Island, for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. [continues 514 words]
The solution lies in public education, not punishment, writes Terry Lake. Recently, I attended a meeting hosted by We the Parents, a Kanata organization trying to address the challenge of addictions and the very real tragedies that befall affected families. I saw grieving parents struggling to understand both the complexities of addiction and the way our health and criminal justice systems are responding to it. Understandably, many who attended were looking for straightforward, actionable solutions to this crisis. They were met with a response by one former senior police officer that those selling drugs should be given harsher sentences. While it may seem appealing to go after the dealers instead of the user, in fact, many dealers are themselves struggling with addiction and using whatever tools are at hand, including selling drugs, to cope with that addiction. [continues 590 words]
Ontario's proposed liquor-style monopoly would keep black market, cost taxpayers We need a made-in-B.C. solution to cannabis legalization that pays attention to public health and safety, but also considers economic development in B.C.'s mature cannabis industry. Speaking to the recent meeting of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said it was "important to get it [cannabis legalization] right." "We are unique in B.C.," the minister said, adding that we have a "long, established history." [continues 714 words]
Real estate agents are worried about damage to home interiors with the proliferation of legal medical marijuana grow-ops in residences, even before marijuana is legalized in Canada. Peter Squire, vice-president of the Winnipeg Realtors Association, said members of the Canadian Real Estate Association were in Ottawa last week to meet with federal MPs. One of the chief topics discussed was Bill C-45, the law to make cannabis legal across Canada in July. "(The association) does have several concerns about the implications and consequences of personal cultivation for homes and homeowners," he said, noting damage from mould is a major issue. [continues 472 words]
With legalization on the horizon in Canada, dispensaries are marketing marijuana as a cure for what ails you - including cancer. Do the claims hold up? Adriana Barton takes a closer look at the science behind cancer and cannabis In a lab at the University of Nottingham in England, brain-cancer specialist Richard Grundy is growing cells from children's brain tumours to see if cannabidiol - a compound in marijuana - can kill them. Brain-tumour cells rarely thrive outside the body, though, so he'll be lucky if half a dozen cell clusters survive long enough to study the hunch. Even if the compound snuffs out cancer cells in the lab, there's no guarantee it would do the same in humans. "But," he said, "one has to start somewhere." [continues 1562 words]
ALDERVILLE - There are different opinions on whether a marijuana dispensary located on Alderville First Nation is legal. The Medicine Wheel Natural Healing - Indigenous Healing Through Medicinal Cannabis is located on County Road 45 in Alderville, north of Cobourg. It had a "soft" opening in June and has been doing a brisk business since then. Owner Rob Stevenson, who lives on Alderville First Nation and belongs to the Bear Clan, said in a interview on the business's Facebook page that it is a holistic healing centre and "creating a economic boom for the community," and also helping people "rise up from poverty." [continues 996 words]
Neron is asking Town of Moonstone to amend its licensing bylaw to allow sale of marijuana. MOONSTONE - A long-time user and advocate of medical marijuana has revealed plans to open a dispensary in his home town of Moonbeam. "I am asking the town to make an amendment to their business licence bylaw to include marijuana dispensary so I can function legally," said Robert Neron, who intends to make a presentation to Moonbeam council on Nov. 6. A number of cities across Canada already allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate through municipal licensing agreements. Most of the medical marijuana dispensaries currently operating in Canada are located in British Columbia. [continues 502 words]
Trustees at the Toronto District School Board want a say on the location of shops that sell marijuana to make sure they're "as far away from schools as possible." With legalization less than a year away, they're seeking assurances that the school board will be consulted in all discussions about regulations concerning retail stores and medicinal marijuana dispensaries in the city. The request, outlined in a motion passed unanimously at a board meeting this week, comes as school boards across the country start to wrestle with the implications of cannabis legalization, which the federal government is aiming for next July. [continues 633 words]
For 17 months, Toronto police and bylaw officers have been cracking down on illegal pot dispensaries, raiding more than 200 locations, laying hundreds of criminal charges and issuing thousands of dollars in fines. Their attack has been relentless, yet the city still has an estimated 65 shops open for business at any given time. The campaign, code-named Project Claudia, began with a headline-grabbing first round of raids in May, 2016, and has now cost millions of dollars in police, staff and court time. [continues 1607 words]
After admitting the medicinal pot in his possession had been illegally supplemented by some non-medicinal pot, a Sarnia man again pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug possession - but to a different judge. These "additional facts" temporarily put to rest a legal conundrum and likely a Canadian first - whether a lawful prescription becomes unlawful due to use - that delayed a decision on the drug possession charge originally expected in August. Anthony Francis Barr, 27, of St. Clair Township near Sarnia, had previously pleaded guilty to both driving while impaired and to possessing marijuana. While convicted and fined $1,000 for the impaired driving charge by Justice Mark Hornblower, Barr's prescription for marijuana to deal with an anxiety condition made the possession charge hazier. [continues 409 words]
It must have been a busy meeting. A couple of weeks ago, Canada's federal and provincial justice and public safety ministers met in Vancouver for two days of meetings. They talked about delays in the criminal system and reforms to the Criminal Code over mandatory minimum sentencing provisions. About changes to the bail system and simpler and faster court proceedings. They talked about national security legislation and the safety of Canadians, about the legalization of marijuana and the nuances of home cultivation, and the health and safety effects of the drug, both on adults and the particular risks for young people. There was discussion about changing the rules on drunk driving to make it easier for police officers to require drivers to submit to breath testing, and on and on. [continues 361 words]
John De Villa and his wife, Maxine, are afraid he'll lose access to the cannabis products that keep him seizure-free. The otherwise healthy software technician wasn't born with epilepsy, didn't drink or smoke, and hadn't taken as much as a Tylenol in decades. During the course of the next eight months, he would suffer a total of 12 grand mal seizures. Doctors would later tell him the effects on his brain were equivalent to what one would experience after a series of back-to-back concussions. [continues 1408 words]
Nearly 50 First Nations communities - including at least two in the Timmins area - are investing in medical marijuana. Matachewan and Wahgoshig First Nations are among the shareholders in DelShen Therapeutics, which is a licensed medical marijuana producer. Jacob Taylor and Jonathan Araujo of the Pontiac Group have been helping to connect Ontario First Nations groups with the medical marijuana company for the past two years. "This plant is a medicine, and our focus with DelShen Therapeutics has always been a medical focus, where other companies have a recreational focus," explained Araujo. [continues 467 words]
There are concerns that once pot is legalized for recreational use, it'll be flying off the shelves at such a rate that those who justifiably need it for pain - medical users - won't be able to get their stash. Cannabis growers have been expanding their operations as fast as possible, and Health Canada is issuing more licences, but it still might not be enough to meet the coming demand. Some analysts expect a countrywide shortage once the cannabis market goes legit in July 2018. [continues 310 words]
There are concerns that once pot is legalized for recreational use, it'll be flying off the shelves at such a rate that those who justifiably need it for pain - medical users - won't be able to get their stash. Cannabis growers have been expanding their operations as fast as possible, and Health Canada is issuing more licences, but it still might not be enough to meet the coming demand. Some analysts expect a countrywide shortage once the cannabis market goes legit in July 2018. [continues 311 words]
Lawyer argues charges laid against Marek Stupak, who operated the Social Collective in Toronto, should be thrown out The law under which the owner of two medical marijuana dispensaries was charged last year was unconstitutional because a valid program making medicinal pot readily available did not exist at the time, an Ontario court heard on Thursday. As a result, charges of possession for the purposes of trafficking and having proceeds of crime laid against Marek (Mark) Stupak should be thrown out, his lawyer Alan Young said. [continues 562 words]
