Nearly 2,000 Revellers Light Up at Annual 4/20 Rally Close to 2,000 people gathered at the Legislative Building grounds on Sunday, their eyes impatiently on the time, awaiting for 4:20 p.m. to strike. A countdown, followed by boisterous cheering and a cloud of smoke marked Winnipeg's effort in the annual 4/20 celebration, the pro-marijuana rally that is recognized worldwide. An interview with Bill Vander-Graff, a retired cop and licensed medical marijuana user, came to an abrupt halt at 4:20 so he could relish in the festivities. [continues 358 words]
Marijuana to be legalized in Manitoba; following Colorado footsteps In the wake of a court decision that allows medical marijuana users to continue to grow their own pot, Manitoba will become the first Canadian jurisdiction to follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Washington, the Sun has learned. Policy-makers have been closely watching events in Colorado and the income the state is harvesting due to the legalization of marijuana. Manitoba, long known to be a test market for many distributors and products, will soon be used to test legalization of marijuana in Canada, sources said. [continues 207 words]
Pro-pot advocates marched from city hall to the legislature on Saturday to promote grow-your-own medical marijuana. After a legal reprieve Friday, a group of 25 people braved the chilly air to raise awareness of new Health Canada rules that are posed to stop people from being able to grow marijuana in private residences. Organizer Steven Stairs, who is also CEO of the Marijuana Party of Canada for Kildonan/St. Paul, said they also wanted to raise awareness on the recent action taken by police against area head shops. [continues 210 words]
Smoke Shop Owner Takes Steps to Weed Out Minors, Appease Residents A Winnipeg head shop has vowed to keep minors out of its stores in a deal that will likely prevent future police raids. The Winnipeg Police Service raided The Joint on St. Mary's Road and Hemp Haven during a January crackdown, since some of the stores' products can be used to consume marijuana. WPS says the action followed complaints from 10 nearby schools. But during a Monday meeting of police, The Joint, school officials and a city councillor, the store committed to take several measures to ensure those concerns are addressed. [continues 381 words]
I keep hearing Conservative attack ads on the radio against Justin Trudeau's stance on pot, which is the only thing I like about the man. He is a famous name, unproven, and I believe he has no business running a party, let alone the country. However, as more states in the U.S. are legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, it is worth noting that it's less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. Properly regulated, its sales would be a huge revenue source for the government. [continues 78 words]
City Plans To Open First Medical Marijuana Facility In Manitoba PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE - A green light has been given for a medical marijuana facility to open in Portage la Prairie. Medical Manitoba Green Inc. received conditional use approval for their facility, which will be located in an old sewing factory. "Think what you might about marijuana and the use of it, this is a legislated thing and we're going to go ahead with it," said Portage Mayor Earl Porter. "This is the first one in the province and it might be the only one. This is an opportunity that's gonna come knocking once, so we're going to grab it." [continues 185 words]
Head Shop Owners Say They Run Legitimate Business but City Isn't Helping The Save the Head Shops group is afraid their legitimate businesses are about to go up in smoke. With shops facing scrutiny and police pressure, Hemp Haven owner Jeremy Loewen called a press conference to address the problems. "The Joint was raided and they took everything inside his store," Loewen said Tuesday. "Eight months went by, they went back and arrested two people in that store. Then, about a week and a half after that, I was arrested in my store. Then, it just started escalating and they started going to other stores, saying, 'Look, you've got to close your doors, and if you don't close your store, we're going to close it for you.'" [continues 316 words]
The city using the excuse that head shops are causing safety concerns in neighbourhoods to justify their harassment of the owners of head shops is a load of bull if I ever heard one. Head shops are no more of a threat to families, children, etc. than bars, liquor stores, or even the convenience store, or any other business that provides an adult product or service, which are readily available in almost every neighbourhood in the city. This is nothing short of harassment and an attack on small business owners and their livelihood. As a homeowner and taxpayer (who lives quite close to a head shop) I demand that the persons involved cease and desist this unprofessional behaviour and monumental waste of taxpayer funded resources which could be used for better things than harassing small businesses who contribute to the economy. Vostok Hazard (Except those other business have no hint of connection to illegal drugs.) [end]
OTTAWA - An addiction worker behind Canada's first crack pipe vending machines has shot back at the government's lack of support, saying if they "really cared about people, they would at least fund detox and treatment programs." Vancouver's Drug Users Resource Centre set up a pair of vending machines that sell crack pipes for a quarter as part of a harm reduction strategy. Vancouver's Drug Users Resource Centre (DURC) set up two vending machines that sell crack pipes for a quarter. They were installed six months ago but made headlines recently, prompting Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney to issue a swift and emphatic response. [continues 148 words]
A Crackdown by the Man Is Totally Harshing Local Head Shop Owners' Buzz After paying taxes and operating in the city for years, owners of local head shops claim a police crackdown is unfairly weeding them out. "I'm a legitimate business. I have been here for 12 years in the community," said Jeremy Loewen, owner of Hemp Haven. That's why Loewen said he felt shocked to be arrested and charged with possessing goods obtained by crime and selling an instrument for illegal drug use on Jan. 27. [continues 400 words]
The war on drugs, especially marijuana, has been an abject failure. Larry Comeau, in his letter, states Obama is being irresponsible by claiming pot is no more harmful than alcohol. I agree, alcohol kills at least 6,000 Canadians every year, marijuana, zero. Another fallacy, brought on by the anti-pot faction, is the "stepping stone drug" myth. I contend most teens drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, before they try marijuana. Another point the naysayers ignore is through legalization, comes taxation. The estimates, from B.C., put the value of marijuana cultivation, at $2-$10 billion dollars, making it one of B.C.'s top three industries. All that tax, could be used to fix our crumbling infrastructure, and prop up our failing health care system. We spend at least $400 million dollars a year, fighting this ridiculous war, while close to 60% of Canadians agree it's time to rethink our strategy concerning incarceration versus addiction treatment. If you don't believe that we can fi! nd a viable solution to this dilemma, look no further than Portugal, and what they have discovered, since they ended this un-winnable and costly war. David Reid (Canada will watch closely what is happening with legal pot in Colorado.) [end]
Re: "Pot no more dangerous than alcohol: Obama," Jan 20. In an obvious attempt to show how cool he is, Obama is being irresponsible claiming pot is no more harmful than alcohol. As a narcotic pot can be very harmful and can lead to addiction. Think of the added impact to health systems, adding more addictions would create. Like many pushing legalizing pot, Obama is showing blissful blindness of studies showing early use of marijuana has been shown to cause psychosis later in life. Other studies have shown clearly that marijuana time and time again has been shown to be a stepping-stone drug to even more addictive narcotics like heroin and cocaine. Having someone like Obama make such an irresponsible statement is reprehensible. Larry Comeau (Like it or not, the pot debate is going to happen here very soon. [end]
Cannabis (marijuana) prohibition is one of North America's worst policy failures in history. There's no legitimate reason for Canada to continue it for another day. Cannabis prohibition produces underground markets, cartels, increased hard drug addiction rates, contempt for drug laws, eroded constitutional rights, loss of freedom, escalated prison populations, corrupt politicians, race discrimination, trillions of dollars in wasted taxes and the list is growing faster than the plant itself. The sooner Canada ends cannabis prohibition the sooner the sky will stop falling in. A sane argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist. Everyone interested in this debate is watching the events Colorado closely. [end]
If there's only one thing I dislike about the Conservatives, it's their attitude toward marijuana. Jenn Gearey's letter on behalf of Peter MacKay says the drug is illegal because of the harmful effects on users and society. That was exactly the same reasoning for the prohibition of alcohol in the 1930s. The letter says making the drug legal would make it more available to children. Making alcohol legal did not make it more available to children. The letter says criminal justice and policing systems have been improved to protect families and communities. Was this not also the case during prohibition? I support the Conservatives, but for this. It is an unreasonable policy, and it should be changed by the Conservatives, not the Liberals. David J. Still (Not sure stealing Justin Trudeau's only policy would serve the Conservatives well.) [end]
Learning from new U.S. laws Canadian policy-makers should keep a close eye on the recent legalizing of marijuana in two U.S. states before deciding on a direction in the pot debate now raging north of the border, a prominent American drug-policy expert says. Mark Kleiman, a professor with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and an adviser to Washington State on the recent loosening of its pot laws, says it will be to Canada's "advantage" to take note of how Washington and Colorado deal with the legalization of marijuana - a recreational drug many consider to be potentially addictive and a health hazard - and to take note of the successes and the challenges experienced by both states. [continues 544 words]
The Conservative Government, including Minister MacKay, has been clear: We will not decriminalize or legalize marijuana. These drugs are illegal because of the harmful effects they have on users and on society. Prime Minister Harper stated in late August, and Minister MacKay has reiterated in mid-December, that our Government would look at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police's (CACP) proposal to ticket small amounts of marijuana. The CACP has also communicated that it does not support the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana and opposes Justin Trudeau's Liberal party proposal to legalize it. To do so would make it more available to Canadian children. Our government will not relent in protecting families and communities across this country. We have strengthened the ability of police to target drug dealers and grow-ops and will continue to improve our criminal justice system. (Thanks for the letter.) [end]
Uh-oh, does someone have some 'splainin' to do? Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay is hinting the Conservative government might consider modernizing Canada's marijuana laws when it comes to possession of small amounts of pot. He told QMI Agency so in an exclusive interview this week. "That doesn't mean decriminalizing or legalizing," he said, "but it does mean giving police options, for example, to issue fines in addition to any other sanctions, or as a substitute for other sanctions," the nation's top justice official said. So far, so good - except ... Except, the same Conservative government, in a widely aired radio attack ad, made political hay this fall out of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for promoting legalizing and taxing pot. [continues 256 words]
Re: 'Feds high on justice,' Dec. 18. I don't want a ticket. I want marijuana to be legalized. The announcement by the Conservatives that they were thinking of ticketing for possession of small amounts of pot is their attempt to counter the Liberal's plan to legalize pot. To issue tickets for possession doesn't address the issue of illicit production. The illicit production of cannabis is the biggest harm we face. It's not the recreational or medical use of pot that is the problem; but rather our continued reluctance to admit we were wrong. Until we legalize pot we will continue to cause more harm. Fred Mallach (You will hear plenty of this in 2014) [end]
Clinton didn't inhale, Bush allegedly did coke, Klein apparently walked around at .08 when he ran Alberta, Rob Ford ... well, the jury's still out on that one. Now Liberal leader Justin Trudeau admits he smoked pot with some friends. Whoopty-doo. Always remember that politicians are very calculated beasts who will reveal what they want, when they want, in a very rehearsed situation. This is a very clever ploy to show his "human side" and will most likely be reflected in a minor platform of marijuana legalization when the next federal election comes up. [continues 217 words]
Pot activist denies toking with Trudeau OTTAWA - Pro-pot activist Marc Emery is offering his mea culpas to Justin Trudeau from a U.S. jail for saying he'd smoked pot a few times with the Liberal leader. But Emery said he did get high once with Trudeau in August 2003 on a restaurant patio in Vancouver, though it was Emery "doing most of the smoking." Trudeau said Friday Emery was "flat out lying" about the '09 allegations, only met Emery once, and abstained from any pot use with the activist. [continues 271 words]
