I have not heard any reporting on what type of drug education our children are receiving in schools. Considering the high number of deaths due to drug overdoses just this year alone, that is 500 in B.C. in the last three months, I would like to know if the schools have any drug prevention education and if so, what is the message?

Recently the granddaughter of a friend of mine who is in Grade 7 stated that her teacher said, "if you're going to do drugs, do it safely" =2E

[continues 256 words]

Letter writer Cristina Adam asserted that abstinence-based drug education is the best, adding that "in no uncertain terms there is NO way to take drugs safely." ("Letter: Say no to drugs the best message," May 3)

Alas, the "drug abuse resistance education" and "Just say 'no'" messaging Adam recalls from her youth was found to be ineffective, if not counter-productive. DARE graduates and those exposed to such simplistic messaging were actually more likely to experiment with drugs.

While nothing in life is absolutely safe, some drugs, some means of ingestion and some situations are more hazardous than others. For example, cannabis is safer than alcohol, vaping is safer than smoking and having a beer at home after work or school is safer than drinking and driving.

[continues 128 words]

OTTAWA - When Robert was 18, he was arrested by Montreal's police for possession of a small amount of hashish, an event that would upend his young life.

The charge brought him 30 days in jail, and the conviction ended his part-time job as a translator.

"Back then, you smoke a joint, you would get arrested," said Robert, who asked that only his first name be used because of the continuing stigma of his criminal record. "Then the cops would put you in a car, then pull over and give you a couple of shots in the head. You get slapped around just because of smoking."

[continues 1936 words]

43.5 per cent of study participants who used marijuana as a substitute for alcohol decreased the frequency of their drinking.

Authorized medical marijuana patients who began using cannabis to help reduce their drinking report experiencing a reduction or even discontinuation of alcohol use, notes new research out of the University of Victoria.

The finding reflects feedback from 2,102 patients registered with Tilray, a medical cannabis research and production company in Canada. The input was received as part of the Canadian Cannabis Patient Survey 2019, which gathered details on patient demographics, patterns of weed use and self-reported use of prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs before and after starting medical cannabis.

[continues 612 words]

In July, the Canadian province of British Columbia experienced its fifth straight month with more than 100 overdose deaths - and its third above 170 lives lost.

Globally, the World Health Organization reports approximately 500,000 deaths from drugs, over 70 percent of them tied to opioids. In Canada, from January 2016 through December 2019, more than 15,000 people died from apparent opioid-related causes. In 2019 alone, there were over 21,000 "suspected opioid-related overdoses" across nine provinces and territories, excluding Quebec (for which data wasn't provided). The opioid crisis clearly persists at home and abroad.

[continues 696 words]

Like myself, I suspect many citizens of Lethbridge were alarmed by the finding of misappropriated funds within ARCHES, and the subsequent withdrawal of provincial funding to their supervised consumption site (SCS). As an RN who has worked for a number of years in harm reduction, I am reeling for our clients and their families in terms of how this will impact them.

One thing is clear - the inappropriate management of funds within one agency does not refute decades of empirical research behind the effectiveness of harm-reduction interventions in mitigating drug-related health and social issues. This financial audit was not intended to evaluate the effectiveness of harm-reduction services provided to people who use drugs. To conflate findings of financial mismanagement with lack of effectiveness in harm reduction would only further exacerbate drug-related health issues.

[continues 116 words]

A recent poll suggests 51 per cent of British Columbians are buying all product legally

B.C. has had a difficult road to getting cannabis users interested in purchasing from legal retailers over their neighbourhood dealer, but a recent poll suggests that the province may finally be winning the battle over bud.

A Research Co. poll released earlier this month found that 51 per cent of B.C. respondents who have consumed cannabis in the past six months have bought all of their products from licensed retailers. That's an 18-point increase from a similar survey conducted in October 2019.

[continues 176 words]

If the idea of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs once sounded radical, the coalition of people who now espouse the idea would certainly seem to be strange bedfellows.

On July 9, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called on the federal government to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs; B.C. Premier John Horgan asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do the same in a Jul. 20 letter. Benjamin Perrin, the top criminal justice adviser in Stephen Harper's "tough-on-crime" administration, recently wrote a book in support of decriminalization, and major publications, including The Globe and Mail, have published editorials urging the same.

[continues 823 words]

Listen to the police

Let's talk about decriminalizing all drugs

We're having a national conversation about policing and criminal justice. Examining our drug laws is a natural extension of this debate

More than nine years ago, writing about the war on drugs, this editorial board encouraged the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper to get bolder with decriminalizing cannabis.

"By any reasonably broad metric," we wrote then, the war on drugs "has been an abysmal failure. According to estimates by the UN - by no means a liberal organization when it comes to drug policy - worldwide consumption of opiates rose 34.5 per cent from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27 per cent, and cannabis by 8.5 per cent. In achieving that abject failure, tens of thousands of people have been killed."

[continues 809 words]

SMITHS FALLS, Ontario - When Canada became the first major industrialized nation to legalize recreational marijuana, visions of billions of dollars in profits inspired growers, retailers and investors, sending the stock market soaring in a so-called green rush.

A year later, the euphoria has vanished.

"No one wants to invest in it now," said John-Kurt Pliniussen, a professor of marketing at the Smith School of Business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

That is because those who have invested have generally lost money. During the first year after legalization, the value of shares in Canada's six largest marijuana companies tumbled by an average of 56 percent, according to stock price data.

[continues 1313 words]

There's no getting around it: Year one of legalized cannabis in Canada was a dud.

It was an unmitigated disaster for many investors. The bubble burst, and the shares of most large Canadian marijuana producers dropped by at least 50 per cent. The public markets are largely closed to the industry; at the moment, there's simply no appetite for more pot stocks.

The Trudeau government's goal wasn't to make shareholders or investment banks rich, though. It was to whittle down the black- market marijuana business. Giving cannabis users a place to buy regulated marijuana would generate new tax revenue, open up new business opportunities and reduce the burden on police and the courts.

[continues 2267 words]

It is indeed sweet victory to see the B.C. Liquor Corp. selling cannabis.

In the B.C. election of 2001, I, as a B.C. Marijuana Party candidate, was arrested at the behest of the Victoria Hillside liquor store for campaigning for legal cannabis.

Some advice about marketing would be in order.

As a Realtor of 30 years, I can offer some pointers. Analyze the prevailing market and emulate it. At present, in the "friends" market, you can smell before you buy. If you don't like it, you can bring it back.

[continues 90 words]

Canada has been at the forefront of cannabis research, education and regulation for the past 2 decades, yet uncertainty remains about how the drug should be used in medicine. Physicians lack evidence-based information and formalized training about cannabis, which stems, in part, from the drug's previously illegal status that hindered research. Among the public, however, many perceive cannabis as a natural and safe medical treatment. Patients increasingly seek advice about cannabis from physicians, request prescriptions or experiment with cannabis for medical problems on their own. However, physicians must adhere to good medical practice regardless of public pressure and provide counselling to patients based on up-to-date knowledge and evidence. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada more research should be forthcoming, but the evidence base remains weak.

[continues 887 words]

Dear Editor:

Contrary to Joe Fries' editorial "Abstinence works best" (Courier, Aug. 16), Rhode Island treats addicted prison inmates with methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Like methadone, buprenorphine is an opioid agonist, or replacement opioid. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that blocks opioid receptors.

The benefits of opioid substitution therapy are well-established, in and out of prison. It reduces crime, prevents overdoses and the spread of infectious diseases, denies profits to criminal gangs, allows addicted individuals to function normally within their families, jobs, and communities, and gets them off the hamster wheel of raising money by hook or by crook to pay criminal gangs for illicit opioids of unknown potency and purity.

[continues 176 words]

More than half of all Canadians believe drug treatment should focus on abstinence, rather than opioid replacement therapies, according to poll results released this week.

Research Co. found 57% of those surveyed were in favour of programs that aim to get people off drugs entirely, rather than programs that supply people with free dope to help keep them healthy and out of trouble.

It's unclear from the results if people's attitudes towards drug treatment are shifting, but it's clear that a majority of the population supports an approach that doesn't enable addicts.

[continues 235 words]

Re: "Legalizing pot is proving to be a public-health disaster," column, Aug. 11.

Lawrie McFarlane's verdict is premature. Legal regulation in Canada isn't analogous to legalization in Colorado, for among other reasons, Colorado allows advertising and initially allowed edibles and extracts with inadequate labelling, packaging and dose limitations.

Yes, emergency-room visits from adverse reactions spiked in Colorado following legalization, but this was due in part to inexperienced tourists from prohibitionist states, and consumers feeling more inclined to seek help once they no longer feared arrest. Panicked patients are typically discharged (the wiser) on the same day, with no lasting ill effects. Such visits remain far less common and severe than visits related to alcohol, pharmaceuticals and tobacco.

[continues 101 words]

Re: "Legalizing pot is proving to be a public-health disaster," column, Aug. 11.

In his opinion piece on cannabis legalization, Lawrie McFarlane cites a short-term increase in the numbers of adolescents visiting emergency rooms for cannabis in Colorado - a jurisdiction with a commercialized approach to cannabis legalization - as evidence that Canada's much more restrictive public health-oriented approach to legalization has failed.

However, as scientists who have carefully considered how to best measure the public-health impacts of cannabis legalization, we would suggest a thorough and ongoing analysis of Canadian data is needed to understand the effects of the new regulatory landscape. Although cannabis-related hospital visits should be a priority, we also need to ask important questions about underlying causes: if we see an increase, how much is due to increasing use among youth, and how much could be related to shifting trends in products/modes of administration (e.g., a shift towards high-THC concentrates, increased edible consumption)?

[continues 114 words]

It's becoming increasingly obvious that legalizing marijuana consumption was a colossal public-health blunder.

A good part of the evidence comes from south of the border, where several states legalized pot much earlier than Canada. This has allowed time for robust scientific follow-up - follow-up that is beginning to reveal a frightening picture.

Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2012, and recreational use in 2014. One result is that emergency hospital visits by adolescents with marijuana-related symptoms have jumped from 84 a year in the pre-legal era, to 500 in 2018.

[continues 557 words]

The Canadian cannabis industry is booming.

From giant industrial operations such as Canopy Growth to smaller "luxury"=9D cannabis retailers, to an array of cannabis "lifestyle"=9D brands and "cannabis brand consultancy"=9D firms, the industry is a lucrative fronti er for those seeking wealth in a rapidly growing market.

And oh, is there wealth to be had. Canadians spent $1.6-billion on legal weed in 2018 - double the total spent on medical cannabis the year before - despite the fact that non-medical cannabis was legally available only after Oct. 17. Statistics Canadaa's National Cannabis Survey from the first quarter of 2019 found that use of non-medical cannabis has increased among men and people aged 45 to 64. The survey reported that 646,000 people tried cannabis for the first time in the prior three months, half of whom were aged 45 or older.

[continues 1623 words]

VICTORIA - B.C.'s largest First Nation is accusing the provincial government of stalling its application for a retail cannabis licence while it races to open its own public store in the community's prime retail location.

The Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island are in the sixth month of trying to get approval for two retail store licences from the provincial government. As the Cowichan wrestle with a wall of red tape, and are repeatedly rejected for nation-to-nation talks with the province, the B.C. government is competing against the First Nation for the municipal rights to open a store in the community's largest shopping centre.

[continues 715 words]

If you've got the munchies for cannabis edibles, you'll have to go to the liquor store.

The province has tapped the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. - which already sells dried and fresh cannabis, cannabis oil and cannabis accessories - - to sell edibles, extracts and topicals.

"The NSLC has done a good job in preparing and implementing our new retail model as recreational cannabis was legalized across Canada," said Karen Casey, the minister responsible for the NSLC, in a news release Monday.

[continues 244 words]

TORONTO - Adam Ash, 37, wasn't the least bit shy in explaining why he was at the Hunny Pot Cannabis Co., a four-story boutique on Queen Street West in the middle of the city's downtown district.

"Marijuana," the Toronto resident said midday on a recent Monday, a little bewildered as to why someone would even bother asking.

Glass containers of marijuana flower were laid out on tables throughout the shop, amid glass cases of rolling papers, pipes, bongs, grinders and vaporizers. Employees known as "bud tenders" worked the floors, ready to provide advice and recommendations for picking just the right strain.

[continues 803 words]

The 2011 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Vancouver's Insite clinic clearly established 1) that supervised consumption sites are part of health-care services that should be made accessible to people who use drugs, 2) that these sites contribute to reducing the harms associated with drug use, and 3) that denying access to these sites increases the risk of death and disease.

In addition to saving lives every day, these sites act as an essential point of contact for people to access much-needed health-care services that have been proven effective to reduce overdoses, blood-borne infections (hepatitis C and HIV), infections (i.e., skin, soft tissue, heart and blood infections) and other medical complications. They also help connect people who use drugs with social services and support to address housing and food insecurity, mental health issues, trauma and isolation.

[continues 595 words]

Howard Dean, the former Democratic candidate for president, and Michael Steele, the ex-head of the Republican National Committee are joining the advisory board of Tilray Inc., the Canadian cannabis grower, the company has announced.

Backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, Tilray was briefly worth more than $28 billion -- valued at more than Twitter or CBS -- in September after it became the first cannabis company to be listed on an American stock exchange. The company made a second splash this year when it was chosen by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to provide a small amount of marijuana for a study at the University of California, San Diego.

[continues 149 words]

OTTAWA - The federal government's crackdown on drug-impaired driving has taken a big step forward, as the Justice Department is set to give its blessing to Canada's first roadside saliva test.

Once in use, police officers will be able to swab a driver's mouth to test for the presence of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Roadside saliva-testing devices were authorized by Bill C-46, a massive overhaul of Canadaa€™s impaired driving laws that passed in June.

[continues 705 words]

CHESTERVILLE, Ontario - Inside garage-sized containers at one end of a cavernous warehouse in a former Nestle factory south of Ottawa are rows of marijuana plants stacked atop each other, basking in the unearthly glow of grow lights.

They belong to Hamed Asi, an Ontario businessman who calls them his "vertical farm." He has no background in growing marijuana, or in any kind of agriculture. His other line of business is installing office furniture; cubicles, filing cabinets and desk chairs fill the opposite end of the warehouse.

[continues 1065 words]

The legalization of marijuana for general consumption is a devastating, immoral attack by the Trudeau government against the best interests of all of Canada'€™s vulnerable and marginalized citizens, especially our young people, who are ill-equipped to handle it (What A Long Strange Trip It Will Been, editorial, June 21).

Surviving in modern society demands vigilance, sobriety, discipline and competence on all fronts. Marijuana use discourages these necessary virtues. There should have been a national referendum before this profound decision was made. There are no adults in charge any more.

Peter Best, Sudbury, Ont.

[end]

VICTORIA - On the day Canadians can legally buy and use recreational marijuana, the clock will start ticking for cannabis dispensaries already open across the country, say politicians and pot industry insiders.

On Oct. 17, provincial licensing, monitoring and approval regulations on legal marijuana retail standards will become law and the cannabis business will get real for marijuana shops currently operating outside the rules.

"These are the same people who cried for legalization," said Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang. "Now they've got it, and they have to play by the rules."

[continues 659 words]

Seldom a day goes by when financial pages don't highlight new developments in the marijuana industry.

So, this is who we are today. Former B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake is now on the corporate board of a major marijuana company. Former Toronto police chief and current MP Bill Blair is a point man on marijuana legalization. Former B.C. Solicitor General and West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed is a consultant for marijuana companies. The list of government and policing honchos who have jumped on the bandwagon is substantial.

[continues 757 words]

They might be reluctantly legalizing cannabis. But they'll never stop thinking they know better than us how we should live

The Canadian government announced this week that marijuana would be legal for recreational in just under four months, by Oct. 17, 2018. The intervening time will be used to get legal distribution networks established and give provinces and police forces time to prepare for the transition.

And, the government probably hopes, for Canadians to decide they're not so into this marijuana stuff, after all.

[continues 377 words]

OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the government will look at ways to make things fair for those who have criminal records for marijuana possession after legalization comes into force.

Goodale says the question of pardoning individuals with criminal records for possessing marijuana is legitimate and one the government will pursue once the law takes effect. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior

[continues 236 words]

CALGARY - A report presented to city council on Monday recommends allowing marijuana consumption in designated spaces at festivals and events.

The report, which council had yet to address as of press time, says making an exception will help to move second-hand smoke away from people who don't want to partake, while responding to "the current realities of cannabis consumption at festivals and events.

Earlier in June, when council floated the possibility of modifying bylaws to allow space for event attendees to smoke marijuana, Calgary Folk Music Festival executive director Sara Leishman raised concerns about the additional expense that events would have to take on "with no opportunity to recoup costs through sales of sponsorship."

[continues 108 words]

VICTORIA - The economic cost of substance use in Canada in 2014 was $38.4 billion, or about $1,100 for every Canadian, says a report released Tuesday.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction partnered with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research to examine the data and estimate the harms of substance use based on health, justice, lost productivity and other costs. article continues below Trending Stories Death of Comox Valley teen traced to toxic shock syndrome Metal table smashed on head of officer confronting intruder More people in capital travelling by bus, bike and on foot School board backs $73M option to save Vic High exterior

[continues 258 words]

With the legalization of cannabis only a few months away, one of Canadaa€™s top medical organizations is warning women about the risks the drug poses if used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, marijuana use can lead to preterm birth and low birth weight, as well as lower IQ and hyperactivity after a child is born.

a€œWe want to make sure women understand just because ita€™s legal doesna€™t mean ita€™s safe,a€ said Jocelynn Cook, chief scientific officer with the SOGC. a€œThe science does suggest there are effects on pregnancy and on fetal development.a€

[continues 309 words]

CALGARY - City council approved changes on Monday to allow areas in Calgary where people can smoke or otherwise consume marijuana in public.

The city's Cannabis Consumption Bylaw prohibits public consumption in all forms, even after marijuana becomes legal in October. Changes to the bylaw will allow designated consumption areas both around the city and at festivals and events.

The city says there are currently no proposed designated cannabis consumption areas for Calgary's public spaces, but councillors can now begin identifying potential sites.

[continues 100 words]

MONTREAL - For one of Canada's largest legal cannabis companies, the vote in Parliament this week to legalize recreational marijuana use represents a broad opportunity to develop new products, including marijuana infused drinks.

The hope, said Adam Greenblatt, a manager with the company, Canopy Growth, "is that in five years time people will be drinking cannabis drinks at a cocktail party as if drinking a good wine."

Matteo Rossant, 21, a business graduate at Concordia University in Montreal, also envisions an expansive future, one in which he sells maple syrup, lollipops and jelly treats made with cannabis.

[continues 1041 words]

OTTAWA - Recreational marijuana use in Canada will be legal in the coming months after legislation cleared its final hurdle Tuesday night, marking what officials here say is a "wholesale shift" in how the country approaches cannabis use.

Canadian officials say other technical steps remain before they can unveil on what day the legislation, introduced over a year ago, comes into force.

When the legislation kicks in, Canada will be the biggest national government to legalize cannabis. Drug-policy experts have said they expect countries in Europe and elsewhere to look to the Canadian experience for guidance on cannabis legalization.

[continues 394 words]

TORONTO - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday marijuana will be legal nationwide on October 17.

Trudeau said in Parliament that the government is committed to better protecting Canada's youth and hopes to take money away from organized crime.

The Senate gave final passage to Trudeau's bill to legalize cannabis on Tuesday. The country will become the second in the world to make pot legal nationwide.

"The legislation is transformative," said Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, adding it "marks a wholesale shift in how our country approaches cannabis, leaving behind a failed model of prohibition."

[continues 403 words]

The costs and benefits of cannabis and cannabis policies are difficult to calculate, but cannabis legalization will remove many impediments to research.

A recent study finding an association between chronic cannabis use by young people and diminished life outcomes acknowledged "while we controlled for multiple potential confounds, it is possible that there are other explanatory mechanisms that have not been accounted for ... in the current study."

Oddly, one of the confounds the study neglected to control for is the self-medication of emotional and psychological problems such as ADHD and PTSD, which typically stem from childhood trauma: abuse, neglect, abandonment or, in some cases perhaps, an emotionally unavailable father.

[continues 86 words]

In 2012, Washington State voted to legalize marijuana. By 2014, the world's first system for legally growing, processing and retailing cannabis was operating.

As Canada prepares to go live with pot sales in a few months, what can we learn from four years of practical, hands-on experience in the western United States?

The first take-away is that all the fretting about the impact on children and teens is largely unwarranted.

Before legalization, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students in Washington State said they had smoked pot in the previous month. Four years of legal doobies later, 17 per cent of Grade 10 students say they have smoked pot in the previous month.

[continues 663 words]

Manitoba's Justice Minister is calling for federal legislation to confirm that provinces can ban the home growth of marijuana plants.

"I think that is clear that is provincial jurisdiction to make that decision. (But) I believe the federal (Justice) Minister made some comments that were a little concerning, so we wanted clarification on that," said Justice Minister Heather Stefanson, following a speech to Manitoba Chambers of Commerce members on cannabis legislation Thursday. "We've called (for) some clarification from the federal government. If they could put it specifically in legislation, that would be best."

[continues 341 words]

People who have post-traumatic stress disorder but do not medicate with cannabis are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and have suicidal thoughts than those who use marijuana, new national research says.

Based on cross-country data from Statistics Canada, the observational study by researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Substance Use shows that Canadians with PTSD who use medicinal cannabis are 60 per cent to 65 per cent less likely to have major depressive episodes or thoughts of suicide compared with those who do not treat their symptoms with medical marijuana. The study is the first national-scale indication of the effectiveness of cannabis at mitigating the hallmark symptoms of PTSD. It was presented on Thursday at the annual conference of the Canadian Public Health Association in Montreal.

[continues 486 words]

The government's leader in the Senate, Peter Harder, slammed the committee's removal of the provision

OTTAWA - In a controversial move that may set up another showdown with the House of Commons, a Senate committee voted on Wednesday night to remove random alcohol testing from the government's impaired driving legislation.

The provision would allow police to demand a breathalyzer test from any driver regardless of whether police had reasonable grounds to believe the driver had consumed alcohol. Currently police need that reasonable suspicion to make the breathalyzer demand, which drivers are punished for refusing.

[continues 625 words]

TORONTO - An aging construction worker arrived quietly in the building's basement, took his seat alongside three other men and struck his lighter below a cooker of synthetic heroin.

A woman, trained to intervene in case of an overdose, placed a mask over her face as his drug cooked and diluted beneath a jumping flame. He injected himself, grew still and then told of the loss of his wife who died alone in her room upstairs - an overdose that came just a few months before this social service nonprofit opened its doors for supervised injections.

[continues 1757 words]

Open letter sent to federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her B.C. counterpart David Eby

Jessika Villano sells a potent array of dried cannabis, oils, salves and even bud-infused bath bombs at Buddha Barn Medicinal Society - all grown and processed by small-scale British Columbia producers.

Villano doesn't want that to change when marijuana is legalized later this year, and she's among the proponents of local craft cannabis who are pushing the federal and provincial governments to ensure its survival.

[continues 600 words]

Edmonton police will need about $1.4 million in ongoing and one-time funding to prepare for marijuana legalization this summer, a report to the police commission states.

Cannabis is set to become legal in Canada this summer and with it comes higher policing costs, the Edmonton Police Commission heard Thursday.

Police officials outlined a laundry list of new technology and training needed to enforce legal weed laws. Last month, the city approved $1.4 million in one-time and ongoing funding to help the police service deal with the impact of legal weed.

[continues 538 words]

Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's how pot affects your body and mind

When neurologist Frances Ames began testing the effects of a single dose of cannabis sativa on a group of her medical colleagues who were, on the whole, "articulate and fairly stable people," the onset of abnormal sensations "was always abrupt and immediate." One was sustained hilarity. "The whole idea of the experiment," Ames reported in 1958 in the Journal of Mental Science, "would suddenly seem enormously amusing." Researchers have long been intrigued by the intoxicating effects of the world's most popular illicit drug. Here's everything you need to know about how pot affects your body and mind.

[continues 1328 words]

Some time this summer, marijuana will be legal in Canada. It's already legal in Washington state and has been for four years.

But Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth warned this week that there's a significant problem looming at the border crossing, because it's still going to be illegal there.

It makes no sense whatsoever, but the U.S. federal government controls the border crossing, and marijuana is still nominally illegal in the U.S. federally.

"People [meaning, cannabis users] are going to naturally assume, on either side of the border, that they cross back and forth because it's legal in each jurisdiction,a" told the house. "But the reality is it will not be legal at that federal border crossing."

[continues 626 words]

It'€™s all about harm reduction and improving community health outcomes

No doubt some Hamiltonians are chuckling to hear city council is considering banning sugary drinks from city buildings to protect people's health.

With good reason.

The proposed ban by the public health department lands at the same time the city is moving ahead with opening its first safe injection site for drug addicts.

It's more than a little ironic that the city may be cracking down on sugar while enabling the use of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine.

[continues 581 words]

Cannabis sales likely won't prove a financial bonanza.

Those counting on help from cannabis sales to balance the provincial budget are in for a disappointment.

As far as Statistics Canada can tell, cannabis prices in this country have been dropping for the past three years, perhaps the past dozen years. Since weed-market watchers in the United States have found roughly the same thing, it's probably true.

Canada's provincial treasurers, along with private investors in the cannabis trade, may still be able to turn a profit, but the bonanza that used to beckon has probably evaporated already.

[continues 618 words]

OTTAWA - A Senate committee says Ottawa should put off legalizing marijuana for a year until Canada and First Nations can negotiate tax sharing, produce culturally appropriate education materials and ensure First Nations are able to regulate for themselves whether they want pot to be legal in their communities or not.

The Senate Aboriginal Peoples committee released a report Tuesday after studying the impact the government's legalizing pot bill could have on Indigenous communities.

While Ottawa plans to make pot legal sometime this summer, the committee says Indigenous

[continues 320 words]

We are already seeing construction workers smoking during their breaks, one industry rep said at a gathering

Contractors, building owners and construction company owners say they are worried about the repercussions of the imminent legalization of cannabis and think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

The Corporation des proprietaires immobiliers du Quebec, the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation (APCHQ) and the province's two largest construction unions - the FTQ-Construction and the Conseil Provincial - debated on Monday the impact of the anticipated legalization during a summit of Quebec's construction industry that took place in Montreal.

[continues 85 words]

Canada'€™s real estate industry organization is calling for a moratorium on growing recreational marijuana at home until the government sets out nationwide regulations for the practice.

Ottawa'€™s proposed marijuana legalization regulations allow Canadians to grow up to four marijuana plants at their residences. Medical users are already allowed to grow at home after a federal court ruled in 2016 that the government cannot ban patients from growing their own cannabis.

However, the Canadian Real Estate Association said the ban it is requesting applies to home cultivation for recreational users when marijuana legalized later this year.

[continues 636 words]

The Senate seems determined to slow the Liberal government's timeline for marijuana legalization and Justin Trudeau seems just as determined to deliver his legalization on time - give or take a few weeks.

The prime minister will get his way, but that doesn't mean the Senate, and Indigenous leaders, are not flagging some important issues.

Opposition Conservatives would like nothing more than to push the rollout of legal recreational pot into an election year, the better to take political advantage of the inevitable stumbles that will come with such a momentous move.

[continues 649 words]

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn't backing down from his government's much-maligned timeline for legalizing marijuana, despite a growing chorus of calls from senators, Indigenous leaders and others to delay the plan for up to a year.

Trudeau says the plan to make recreational pot legal by this summer will go ahead without delay.

"We're going to continue to move forward. We're going to bring in legalization as we've committed to this summer on schedule," Trudeau said Thursday.

[continues 504 words]

Canada is squandering first-mover advantage with cannabis, the most significant consumer product launch in history, at a time when our economy is starving for growth.

How do you choke on $60 billion-plus of growth opportunity and hundreds of thousands of purposeful jobs? You roll it into the hands of the federal government, and they then shotgun it out to ten provinces, three territories and all the bureaucrats and bulls* that comes with this plan. There is no efficiency or scale.

[continues 355 words]

"You can't help dead people - that's the point of injection sites"

There you go again, being a "bleeding heart." A recent letter writer is correct. Injection sites are encouraging and abetting druggies in their bad habits. There is no point to safe-injection sites.

And if they die, as they surely will if they don't kick their habit, why should I give a hoot?

They chose to live on the edge as they do. Suffer the consequences! They know better, and yet refuse to accept the inevitable. Stop or die!

And you should stop trying to be the social conscience of your readers.

(Look, we're not fond of illegal drug use. But caring about what happens to our fellow citizens - especially the weakest - is important in a civilized society.)

[end]

Doug Ford says he is "dead against" supervised injection sites and believes the focus should be on drug rehabilitation instead.

And if elected premier of Ontario in June, the Progressive Conservative Leader says he will do everything he can to fight the opioid crisis and get people who are struggling with addiction the help they need.

"If your son, daughter, loved one ever had an addiction, would you want them to go in a little area and do more drugs? I am dead against that," Mr. Ford said Friday. "We have to help these people. We can't just keep feeding them and feeding them."

[continues 541 words]

Heather D'Alessio remembers drug education in high school that consisted mainly of dire warnings about the consequences of using any of them.

She was smoking pot by Grade 9, so she disregarded the advice.

"Most of the time, they would give us these fact sheets on cannabis. Then we'd all take it out to the corner and get high and laugh at it because we thought it was stupid."

Who uses cannabis?

Governments and public health advocates are now launching new education campaigns to warn young people about the health risks of marijuana, which will soon be legal across Canada.

[continues 1132 words]

The Liberal Party of Canada has voted in favour of removing criminal penalties for the personal possession of drugs.

It'€™s one of a number of policies that the party selected as priorities at a convention in Halifax on Saturday (April 21).

Members also voted in favour of universal pharmacare, decriminalizing consensual sex work, and expanding medicare to cover mental-health issues.

A total of 15 policies were selected to become official party priorities.

However, a policy'€™s status as a party priority does not mean that party leaders have to include it in the document where it really counts: the party'€™s campaign platform for the next federal election.

[continues 495 words]

Toronto's municipal licensing and standards department is reviewing city bylaws to see if changes are needed to deal with the "potential impacts" that people growing legal marijuana may have on neighbouring tenants or properties.

Mark Sraga, director of investigation services for the licensing department, said he doesn't anticipate cannabis home-grow operations to have a significant impact on municipal bylaws when the law permits people to grow the drug this summer.

"Under Health Canada rules, people are allowed to grow medicinal marijuana in their houses," he said. "I don't see how growing four plants necessarily having any impact considering the fact I've seen some personal designation grow licences for hundreds of plants."

[continues 275 words]

Some remain skeptical the proposed Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) will achieve one of its primary objectives: protecting youth from cannabis-related harms. Some feel the minimum age should be higher than the minimum age for alcohol, worried that those under 25 seem more vulnerable to dependence and health problems linked to long-term, heavy use.

Critics of the proposed minimum age may be overlooking another primary objective: displacing the black-market. Young adults aged 18 to 24 represent one third of the market. The act attempts to strike a balance between keeping marijuana away from minors and cash away from criminals.

[continues 629 words]

Premier Kathleen Wynne has ordered that school boards be given a say in where provincial marijuana stores are located, noting that boards are likely to know "where their kids go at lunchtime (and) where they go after school."

Her demand came after the announcement that Toronto's first outlet of the Ontario Cannabis Store would be located in Scarborough, 450 metres from Blantyre Public School. The Toronto District School Board said it had asked to be consulted about the location, but never was. Concerned Blantyre parents discussed the news at a school council meeting last week.

[continues 1490 words]

Doctors who treat youth have serious concerns about the legalization of marijuana.

With universities and schools providing few details around strategies for marijuana legalization, doctors who treat youth have serious concerns about the inevitable increase in use and the impending impacts of what can be a dangerous drug.

Dr. Chris Wilkes, Alberta Health Services head of child and adolescent psychiatry, said educators "need to ramp it up" in terms of creating environments to ensure safety and informing youths about the health effects of marijuana.

[continues 805 words]

The decision isn't without controversy, but city council was wise to ban the use of marijuana in public places.

When the federal government legalizes cannabis later this summer, Calgarians won't be able to smoke, vape or eat products made with the substance in public spaces, unless they're a medical marijuana user.

That's led critics of the decision to complain that people who live in multi-family dwellings may not be able to use the drug.

"It's not an insignificant group of people - 36 per cent of Calgarians are renters," Coun. Evan Woolley said when the restriction was being discussed by council. "And effectively, we are saying there is no space for you to consume cannabis, and that's a problem for me."

[continues 311 words]

MONTREAL-In the rush to marijuana legalization, cities across the country are harnessing their limited powers to delay the opening of retail pot stores, dictate where they can operate or ban them outright-at least temporarily.

There was uproar from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Toronto District School Board after finding out the city's first retail cannabis store would open just 450 metres from a school, in a strip mall where students often eat lunch.

But it's the scenario many local politicians are fighting to prevent.

[continues 982 words]

Canada is moving closer to the legalization of recreational Cannabis this summer. Federal legislation is awaiting Senate approval and all the provinces have developed their implementation approach. Governments across the country rarely agree on anything. But as we embark on this change, they have been unanimous in agreeing that their top policy objective is the protection of youth.

We know what the approaches and commitments have been from various governments, so we are in a good position to know whether their actions reflect their words. So far, the simple answer is no.

[continues 629 words]

Two very different things, both related to marijuana, happened in Toronto last week. One mattered, and pointed to some of the challenges still ahead with the legalization of marijuana later this year. The other was the proverbial tempest in a teapot.

Allegations that workers were smoking pot on the job, forcing Metrolinx to shut down work on a section of the $5.3-billion Crosstown LRT project, was a serious matter.

But the uproar over the Toronto location for one of Ontario's first government-run pot shops, which continued this week with comments from Premier Kathleen Wynne, is way out of proportion.

[continues 541 words]

VANCOUVER - A government prohibition against mixing cannabis and caffeine makes little sense, say some research scientists. There is only speculation that the combination might pose a risk.

The practice, so common in the legendary pot capital of Amsterdam that cannabis dispensaries are called "coffee shops," appears unlikely to be coming to Canada anytime soon.

"It seems like the overriding philosophy for a lot of this is: ban anything that might be a concern," said M-J Milloy, research scientist with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use. "Then it's easier to un-ban … rather than trying to do it the other way around."

[continues 591 words]

On the eve of 4/20, CBC is hosting a panel to give kids and parents the information they need before anyone tokes up.

Titled 4/19, the free evening event at Vancouver Technical secondary hosted by CBC's Gloria Macarenko is aimed at informing teenagers and their parents about the medical, social and legal impacts of cannabis use for youth, with legalization in sight.

Experts range from youth workers and police officers to lawyers and scientists, covering all aspects of this hazy issue.

[continues 410 words]

VANCOUVER - Vancouver city councillors agreed the city's approach to harm reduction may appears extreme to those who haven't experienced the overdose crisis' impacts first-hand.

But Coun. Hector Bremner told StarMetro he thinks those skeptical of harm reduction simply haven't had an opportunity to learn how it really works.

"The average person going about their day to day life, worrying about their family and putting food on their table is not necessarily deeply involved in these issues," Bremner said. "And so they go with what they feel, or what they know, or what's the societal norm.

[continues 440 words]

"The 4/20 marijuana event will take place again this year in Sunset Beach Park, against the wishes of the elected park board commissioners. The board continues to have significant concerns about the event's impact on residents, the park and facilities that serve our community.

"The park board does not believe this event is an appropriate use of park space because it violates our no smoking by-laws and has negative consequences for park users and infrastructure. The Board has declined to give organizers a permit as the event does not meet our criteria for issuing a special event permit.

[continues 222 words]

Studies show controlled drug use can reduce consumption of street drugs

As the opioid crisis rages on across North America, a number of recent studies are pointing to cannabis and prescription heroin as viable options in curbing the consumption of lethal street opiates, reducing long-term medical and policing costs and extending the lives of users.

An analysis of opioid prescriptions in the U.S.published on Monday by the American Medical Association showed a significant decrease in opioid prescriptions in states that have adopted some sort of cannabis legislation. Using data from 2010 to 2015, the analysis counted 3.7 million fewer daily doses of opioids prescribed in states that allow weed dispensaries, while states that allow only home cultivation saw a decrease of 1.8 million daily prescribed doses.

[continues 715 words]

More than half the charges laid against London marijuana dispensary staffers and operators swept up in a series of raids on the illegal businesses in the past two years have been withdrawn, court records examined by The Free Press show.

London police have launched seven raids in three separate crackdowns on city pot shops since August 2016, resulting in 49 charges against 15 people.

But court records show 25 of those charges - mostly for possession for the purposes of trafficking - were later withdrawn and resolved through peace bonds, a non-plea order requiring the person to be on good behaviour for a set period of time.

[continues 773 words]

Veterinarian Katherine Kramer remembers an 18-year-old cat she recommended be put on hemp-based cannabidoil (CBD).

"It had heart disease and pancreatitis so painful the traditional amount of pain medication knocked him out and he had no quality of life," says Kramer, a veterinarian at Vancouver Animal Wellness Clinic. "So, I contacted the [medicinal marijuana] Compassion Club."

Kramer says with not much to lose, the owner agreed to work together and very soon the cat was eating and playing again.

[continues 421 words]

When Justin Trudeau promised to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, he no doubt felt it would be one of his easiest and most rewarding tasks as Canada's new and uber-cool prime minister. He vowed to make it a priority and change the laws within two years.

Fast-forward to last month, almost 2 1/2 years later, and Bill C-45, to legalize cannabis, faced an unexpected pushback from a Senate that threatened to send it packing. Trudeau took this chance to warn his supposedly independent senators that their job description didn't call for them to defeat bills proposed by the very government that had bestowed upon them their most honourable appointments.

[continues 574 words]

OTTAWA - Last month, at a city council meeting in Kelowna, B.C., the ranking RCMP officer was giving his quarterly update on policing when a councillor posed a question about marijuana.

"I know that when I go out for the evening, I can have a beer, and I know the alcohol content in that beer," said Coun. Ryan Donn. "I know that one would be a good limit for myself to have before getting in a car and driving.

"When I think about cannabis, I really, truly have no idea," he went on.

[continues 1462 words]

Nelson Police executed a search warrant on a downtown medical marijuana dispensary and arrested five employees.

Five employees at MMJ marijuana dispensary, 752 Vernon Street, were taken into custody Tuesday morning, March 20, without incident.

Charges against the employees are pending, said a release from NPD Chief Constable Paul Burkart, adding that all five were released from custody Tuesday afternoon.

Until charges are formally laid, Burkart said the NPD will be making no further comment as the investigation is ongoing. A further update can be expected in the next week.

[continues 267 words]

The Town of Oliver is setting aside a hearing to "hash out" some details in local bylaws prior to the legalization of the sale of recreational marijuana.

Council on Monday "decimated," as Coun. Larry Schwartzenberger put it, a staff recommendation to restrict cannabis sales via zoning bylaws in Oliver, as well as a $15,000 ask to hire a consultant to determine the wishes of the community.

"We will be able to approve or disapprove an application. If something is in the commercial zone that's too close to a park or school, we will just not approve it," Schwartzenberger said.

[continues 259 words]

Sex-ed, pot and Brown

There's no dust on Doug Ford.

Just a day after being elected head of Ontario's PC party, Ford has announced he'll repeal the Liberal's sexed curriculum, hand marijuana sales back to the people and make a decision on permitting Patrick Brown to run as the PC candidate in the riding of Simcoe North.

While political pundits are licking their pencils in anticipation of analyzing Ford's every move, the newly elected leader is already out there working the crowd and winning over voters.

[continues 416 words]

Guns, gangs unit member has pleaded not guilty

A suspended Hamilton police officer fed drug traffickers sensitive information and favours in return for cash payments, a Crown attorney said Monday during his opening address to a Toronto jury.

Craig Ruthowsky, a former member of the Hamilton Police Service's guns and gangs unit, has pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice, bribery, breach of trust, trafficking and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

He became ensnared in a Toronto Police Service wiretap investigation called Project Pharaoh aimed at gathering evidence of drug and firearm trafficking in Toronto's west end, Crown attorney John Pollard said in Superior Court.

[continues 326 words]

The legalization of pot may be looming but that doesn't mean police are backing off their crackdown on the "grey" marijuana market.

Most recently, RCMP in Colchester County raided the Community Compassion Centre in Bible Hill. They seized cash, marijuana, marijuana derivatives and drug paraphernalia, and charged Ricky Joseph Leclerc, 51, of Upper Kennetcook.

He's scheduled to appear in Nova Scotia provincial court Friday.

"The RCMP will continue to work within the existing legislation under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act," RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said Monday in an email. "If we determine that there is a violation of the legislation, we will take appropriate action."

[continues 322 words]

A provincial government commitment to provide $ 40 million to help municipalities cover the costs of pot legalization is a starting point, says Mayor Chris Friel.

But Friel remains critical of the Ontario government's approach to the legalization of marijuana saying the increased law enforcement and safety costs are just one part of the overall picture.

"I'd say that it's a starting point because right now no one really knows what the extra costs will be," Friel said. "But again I ask: where is the public consultation?

[continues 472 words]

The drugs have started eating away at our Punjabi youth.

This disease has spread throughout North America. The desire to earn quick money without any hard work has pushed many Punjabi youth into drug trafficking.

Last year a Punjabi husband and wife were caught by the RCMP with cocaine worth $8.4 million. It was a large consignment of drugs being taken from the United States to Calgary. The couple, identified as Gurminder Singh Toor, 31, and Kirandeep Kaur Toor, 26, were arrested in connection with the cocaine.

[continues 506 words]

You can still have your say about cannabis restrictions in the community until Wednesday afternoon but concerns have been raised about people being able to submit more than one survey.

"Yes, there are no restrictions based on IP addresses as this is city policy," said Jim Genge senior planner, planning and development services.

Restrictions would make it difficult to complete the survey, including for the more than 500 who completed it at the Home and Garden Trade Show, he said. It would also restrict more than one person in a household from having a say.

[continues 361 words]

Suspended Hamilton cop Craig Ruthowsky revealed that he aided a drug dealer to cultivate his trust so he could snare a larger trafficker, his former best friend testified Tuesday.

Sgt. James Paterson, who once considered himself Ruthowsky's "best friend," confronted Ruthowsky after he was suspended in 2012 while both were working for Hamilton's guns and gangs unit.

"Craig Ruthowsky advised me that the dealer was dangling a bigger fish in front of him that he wanted to get, this major importer Officer Ruthowsky had said 'I was trying to make myself look like a dirty cop so that will trust me more, and he'd give up the bigger fish,'" said Paterson.

[continues 118 words]

News release that called for study to make personal use legal called 'a surprise'

Things started off on a pretty collegial tone Tuesday morning in Vancouver city council.

Much of the morning session was concerned with development plans for an 8.4-hectare site in south Vancouver. Councillors echoed their support for the project, and one commented on proceedings going "so smoothly." The mayor agreed, saying it was nice to conduct the meeting "without the kind of friction that can sometimes occur."

[continues 768 words]

The owner of a Bible Hill marijuana dispensary has been charged for the second time in six months with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Ricky Joseph Leclerc, 51, of Upper Kennetcook, was arrested after police executed a search warrant at the Community Compassion Centre, a marijuana storefront on Pictou Road.

Leclerc is to appear in court in Truro on March 21 to enter a plea to the charge.

The RCMP said in a news release that members of the Colchester County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit had seized a quantity of cash, marijuana, marijuana derivatives and drug paraphernalia during their search last Friday.

[continues 99 words]

The local public health agency says smoking marijuana should be banned in multi-unit buildings, including balconies

The local health unit is throwing its support behind the City of Ottawa's public health agency after they called for a ban on smoking marijuana inside multi-unit residential buildings - including on balconies.

Last week, Ottawa's acting medical officer of health recommended the Ontario government extend its proposed ban on pot smoking in common areas of condos, apartment buildings and university residences, hotels and their balconies.

[continues 400 words]

In 2018 we find ourselves battling an opioid crisis that has been years in the making. Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain and were originally derived from opium but now also include synthetic preparations.

In the mid-1990s, their use by physicians was heavily promoted by the pharmaceutical industry, leading to greater prescribing for both acute and chronic pain. Patients using opioids can develop a dependency or addiction.

There are two sources of opioids: those that are produced by the pharmaceutical industry and those that are illicitly produced. Recently, the illicit supply has become so contaminated with fentanyl (a very powerful opioid) or fentanyl-like substances that many people are at risk of an unintended acute and potentially fatal poisoning.

[continues 541 words]

Near the historic native village of Kitwancool in northern B.C., the hereditary chief of the Gitanyow frog clan has his eye on an old logging site that could be the perfect place to grow a new cash crop.

"It's already serviced with a power supply," said Will Marsden. "We see an opportunity for our people to be employed in sustainable jobs in our traditional territories."

Those jobs would be in the legal marijuana trade, coming soon to British Columbia and the rest of Canada.

[continues 740 words]

Plenty of hard work goes into training police service dogs to sniff out illicit substances

For the vast majority of the dog population, sitting, shaking their paw and possibly rolling over is more than enough to get a treat, or some time with their favourite toy.

For police service dogs Astor and Flint, some of the highest praise comes after sniffing out drugs hidden in a home or a vehicle.

The Medicine Hat Police Service is two weeks into training PSD Astor to detect drugs and to notify his handler of any illegal substances he may sniff out.

[continues 383 words]

Curtis McGowan wrestled with his opioid addiction for years, but his suspected overdose while in prison raises serious questions

On one of his many trips home from jail, Curtis McGowan beamed with pride and clutched a Dr. Seuss book.

"Mom," said the six-foot, 300-pound foundry worker, handing Michele McPherson a copy of Green Eggs and Ham, "this is the first book I ever read."

To mother and son, it was a moment filled with significance. He'd struggled with illiteracy his whole life, just like he'd struggled with drug use and mental-health problems. If he could learn to read, perhaps sobriety and serenity were not far off.

[continues 1111 words]

Last week there were two rallies organized to address the opioid crisis - one in the city and the other on the Blood Reserve. On Monday night, I attended the Community in Crisis March that started at City Hall and ended with a candlelight vigil at Galt Gardens. Several very touching speeches were given by citizens who have been impacted by the opioid crisis and are determined to fight back.

Our Mayor and local MLA Maria Fitzpatrick also provided remarks echoing the sentiment that this crisis sees no boundaries - it does not discriminate. They also reaffirmed we must continue with harm reduction efforts and band together as communities.

[continues 631 words]

Home growing expected to be addressed in House of Assembly this spring

Federal legislation, provincial legislation, contracts and regulation - - there's plenty still in the works when it comes to having legal, recreational marijuana in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In the coming weeks, more will be said on growing your own cannabis and on Canopy Growth's in-province production facility. More is also expected to be brought to the House of Assembly on marijuana in the workplace, and occupational, health and safety implications of legalization.

[continues 596 words]

It is a misnomer for the media to always mention "guns and gangs" when it comes to the violent exchange between gangs. Guns are not the problem; the problem is the control of drugs and contraband, which the gangs are fighting over.

Gangs, no matter where, will use whatever means available to get their share of the lucrative and fast-growing drug market. In my opinion, a review of the escalation of drug availability and use would be more beneficial than creating ad hoc committees to study guns and gangs.

[continues 58 words]

There's no buzzkill like bureaucracy. A new proposal by Ottawa Public Health to ban marijuana - once it's legal - from condos and apartments, seems like overreach to us.

As the Sun's Andrew Duffy reports today, Ottawa's acting medical officer of health has recommended that the province extend its proposed ban on pot smoking in common areas of condos, apartment buildings and university residences. Dr. Vera Etches said the province should prohibit smoking cannabis, e-liquids and herbal shisha products in condos, apartment buildings, university residences, hotels and their balconies.

[continues 315 words]

Same tribe, different mindsets.

On Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on the shores of Lake Ontario, dead centre between Toronto and Montreal, there are more than 20 pot dispensaries and at least 30 smoke shacks selling cheap cigarettes.

The population of Tyendinaga is 2,124.

Do the math.

At the Six Nations Mohawk Territory, however, the largest First Nations reserve in Canada with a population of 12,000-plus living on the reserve, there is a huge sign on the main highway indicating zero tolerance to illicit drugs.

[continues 543 words]

Proposed ban on balcony marijuana smoking ignites debate

Should condo owners and tenants be allowed to smoke pot in their homes and on their balconies?

Ottawa Public Health's newly released position paper has ignited debate on those questions, and set the scene for a confrontation between pot smokers who want to exercise their hard-won right to use legal weed later this year, and non-smokers who want to be protected from the effects of second-hand smoke.

Shery Dia, a writer and University of Ottawa student, supports the health unit's call for a strict smoking ban inside multi-unit buildings. She plans to move from her current apartment because of the persistent incursion of pot smoke into her fifth-floor unit of a Gloucester highrise.

[continues 610 words]

New provincial funding to help police officers detect impaired drivers is a good start, but Brockville's chief of police says they are still being left with too many unanswered questions.

The province announced Friday it is "stepping up support for municipalities and law enforcement to help ensure communities and roads are safe in advance of the federal government's legalization of cannabis."

This will be done, they said, by providing $40 million of its revenue from the federal duty on recreational cannabis over two years to help all municipalities with implementation costs related to the legalization of cannabis.

[continues 638 words]

The provincial government will provide $40 million of its revenue from the federal excise duty on recreational cannabis over two years to help municipalities with the costs of implementing legislation.

But municipalities have not yet received any more information about what that will mean exactly.

The province has said that funding will be distributed to municipalities on a per household basis with a minimum of $10,000 per municipality.

"We know municipalities will play a key role as the federal government moves forward with the legalization of recreational cannabis. This is why we engaged with municipalities early I the process," said Minister of Municipal Affairs Bill Mauro. "Our government respects the role of municipalities in the legalization of cannabis and we know we can rely on their valuable input as we continue to navigate this process together."

[continues 498 words]

The government of Ontario will give municipalities $40 million from its share of federal marijuana taxes to help cover law enforcement and safety costs associated with pot legalization, the province announced Friday.

The money - which will be provided to municipalities upfront, beginning before legalization takes effect later this year - will come from the first two years of federal excise duties on producers of recreational pot.

"This funding will ensure that Ontario's municipalities have dedicated resources for cannabis enforcement," said Marie-France Lalonde, minister of community safety and correctional services. "Ontario will continue working with law enforcement agencies to protect our communities from illegal cannabis activity, and to keep impaired drivers off the road."

[continues 184 words]

Jason Kenney stated recently that the best way to combat drug addition in general, and the opioid crisis in particular, is by controlling supply. This demonstrates that he is little more than a cynical, career politician. He will say whatever he thinks will resonate with his base in the hope of becoming the next premier.

Mr. Kenney has routinely prostrated himself at the alter of the free market, and is one who regards state intervention in the economy as devil's work. He knows that where there is a demand, entrepreneurs will invest capital with the aim of meeting that demand. In light of well-established and widely accepted market theory, Mr. Kenney should know - as I suspect he does - that the best way to address crises such as the one we are witnessing is to also address the demand side of the equation.

[continues 168 words]

Studies show legal cannabis can boost values

As Canada moves closer to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, many are speculating on how the decision will affect society and the economy. While some are concerned about health and safety effects, others are optimistic about potential new tax revenues and the prospect of bringing the sale and distribution of marijuana out of the criminal sphere.

One area that few are talking about, however, is how legal marijuana will affect residential property markets.

[continues 576 words]

The sheer volume of human suffering has been increasing exponentially in recent months as a new and deadly wave of opioids scythes through local drug users and addicts, says Const. Ryan Darroch, a 15-year veteran of the Lethbridge Police Service, and a beat cop with the downtown policing unit.

"We have not yet confirmed carfentanil (behind the recent overdoses) through our lab analysis," he emphasizes, "but we have seized carfentanil in the city. A lot of the street people we talk to in the downtown, and all over this city, refer to it as 'Car.' It almost looks like that candy Nerds. They tell us they take that carfentanil and mix it with a water solution in those little blue vials people may see on the streets on the ground. They mix that solution in little green mixing bowls, and it breaks down the opioid inside that and they may then draw that solution into a needle and inject it into themselves. Fentanyl or

[continues 622 words]

One of the most desired outcomes of opening the ARCHES Supervised Consumption Site in Lethbridge is a reduction in the number of incidents of public drug use and disposal of drugdebris in the downtown core.

While it is too early to say whether or not that outcome has been achieved, Terra Plato, CEO of the Lethbridge Public Library, stated the early signs at the Main Branch were positive.

"Like the rest of this city, the library has experienced the same impacts downtown in terms of drug debris and that sort of thing," Plato said. "The general sense, the feeling around the library, is that, yes, we have seen a positive difference since the Supervised Consumption Site has opened. But I cannot really comment on the number of needles, and that sort of thing. We just don't have that data yet."

[continues 186 words]

Health units and municipalities facing more costs, medical officer says

The Quinte region's board of health is asking Ontario for a share of the coming tax revenue from cannabis sales in order to fight expected health impacts.

"We want some of the tax money because there's going to be costs to public health and to municipalities," said Dr. Ian Gemmill, the acting medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.

Revenue from the taxation of legal cannabis sales, which are to begin in July, is to be split with provinces and territories, with the federal government retaining 25 per cent to a maximum federal revenue of $ 100 million.

[continues 587 words]

Like many civic leaders across Canada, councillors in the town of Hampstead, Que., were worried about the idea of people smoking marijuana on the street once the drug became legal. So they drew up a tough bylaw - and it's set to become the most restrictive anti-smoking measure in the country.

In a move that experts predict will motivate other Canadian municipalities, the town of 7,100 has adopted a draft bylaw that would ban smoking everywhere in public, including streets and sidewalks.

[continues 588 words]

With legal recreational marijuana in the wings, Lethbridge remains divided on its use.

The latest survey of city residents shows an even 50-50 split when asked if they support legalization. But support is up from 43.9 per cent in 2016 and 46.6 per cent last year, as reported by the Citizen Society Research Lab at Lethbridge College.

On several other oncecontroversial issues, however, there's less disagreement. Lethbridge residents continue to agree largely with same-gender marriage (77.3 per cent), doctorassisted death (79.5 per cent) and a woman's right to abortion (81.7 per cent).

[continues 510 words]

P.E.I. students moved by powerful anti-impaired driving presentation

Jordan Gillis knew it was a bad idea to get into the car.

The person offering to drive him home had been smoking pot - enough to impair his ability to drive safely.

Jordan could simply have turned down the ride. He did not.

That drive to his home in Fredericton took five or 10 minutes, the 15-year-old recalls.

And how well did the impaired driver drive?

"I didn't think too good, actually,'' says Jordan.

[continues 491 words]

Major alcohol companies will likely see sales squeezed by legal cannabis in the coming years, according to Wall Street research firm CFRA Research.

"Due to shared usage occasions, we view the legalization of cannabis as a threat to alcohol industry consumption growth," wrote CFRA analyst Joe Agnese, who covers the food and beverage and tobacco industries, in a note published Monday.

Agnese cites Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, The Boston Beer Company and Brown-Forman Corp., best known for Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, as companies that could see a decline in product consumption.

[continues 553 words]

In the 1960s, after some prodding from Ralph Nader, American government regulators began a major push for safer cars. Which made University of Chicago economist Sam Peltzman wonder just how much safer these innovations made us. Specifically, he wondered about what economists call "moral hazard" - our tendency to take more risks when we're insulated from the costs of that risk-taking.

In 1975, Peltzman published an article innocuously titled "The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation." His conclusion, however, was explosive: "Data imply some saving of auto occupants' lives at the expense of more pedestrian deaths and more nonfatal accidents." Less fearful of accidents, drivers were piloting their vehicles more recklessly, substantially reducing the life-saving benefits of the regulation. Economist Gordon Tullock suggested that if regulators really wanted people to drive more safely, they'd require automakers to mount a spike in the middle of each steering wheel, pointed toward the driver's breast.

[continues 695 words]

Critics fear it will force more to light up indoors

MONTREAL * A Montreal suburb's plan to ban all smoking in public places is drawing mixed reactions, with one anti-tobacco advocate saying it will do more harm than good when it comes to second-hand smoke.

Hampstead city council adopted a draft bylaw this week that would prohibit tobacco or marijuana smoking on municipal property, including sidewalks and streets.

If the bylaw is enacted, Hampstead would become the first municipality in the country to ban smoking in the street, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

[continues 595 words]

John Lavergne believes a safe injection site will help save lives

KITCHENER - John Lavergne lost eight friends last year. All of them died of an opioid overdose.

Six of them were in Waterloo Region. Three of them hadn't used in months and had a relapse. They couldn't tell their partners, friends or families they were using again.

They used alone and now they are dead, Lavergne said.

The Kitchener man says a supervised injection site would have helped them live.

[continues 407 words]

Deadly fentanyl is tightening its grip on London's jail, with reports of several female inmates overdosing early this week, one needing five doses of naloxone spray to be revived.

Twice in the last week, large amounts were found on women trying to smuggle the druginto the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC), sources say.

The province confirmed Wednesday four female inmates were found in medical distress Monday night.

"Staff acted quickly in attending to the inmates and calling 911. Paramedics arrived and transported three inmates to the hospital, while the other inmate was attended to by staff at the facility," said Andrew Morrison, spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

[continues 354 words]

Two people using fentanyl at London's temporary overdose prevention site on the weekend were resuscitated by a nurse after they overdosed, Middlesex-London's medical officer of health says.

"These people were inexperienced, and fentanyl is a drug where it's easy to miscalculate how much you are taking. If this had happened in a back alley or stairwell somewhere, it could have easily resulted in death," Dr. Chris Mackie said Sunday.

The drug users were resuscitated Saturday using oxygen, he said.

[continues 492 words]

To the editor,

Bootleggers in Pictou County sell beer at double the price because of all the risks involved. Marijuana is mostly supplied by organized crime. These people face all the risks of the bootlegger and more. There have been murders, kidnappings, torture, etc., all in the quest for control of the marijuana trade.

Is it any wonder why their prices are so high? The reasons they risk life and limb is that the profits are astronomical.

Marijuana is one of the cheapest, easiest and maintenance-free plants to grow. Can someone please explain how the government-sanctioned marijuana distributors came up with such exorbitant prices when their entire operation is "risk free." Marijuana on the street is the very same marijuana that the government distributors sell but their prices don't reflect this.

[continues 96 words]

Medical cannabis take-up hampered by lack of research and red tape

I picked up a View magazine while I was waiting for the bus a few weeks back. There was an article on the 15 or so uses of cannabis, so after I caught up with CATCH (Citizens at City Hall), I turned to the article on cannabis looking for some useful information.

By this time, I was on the bus, seated on a side seat, next to an elderly woman. I could feel she was reading over my shoulder, so I turned to her slightly. She asked me the name of the paper and we started a conversation about cannabis.

[continues 633 words]

To see how the NSLC's marijuana distribution will be a disaster take a tour of Halifax's "medical" marijuana dispensaries. There are a dozen, or more, at least. They all have lines, seven days a week, from open to close. Their inventory (marijuana) is sourced in the industrial black-market production infrastructure in BC which is vast, efficient and already produces a variety of products (in-demand strains of marijuana) and product formats (oils, vape cartridges, topicals, edibles, etc).

Many people don't fully understand that these dispensaries are actually all illegal and will be shut down upon legalization. Currently, the only legal way to purchase medical marijuanais through the mail from a licensed producer.

[continues 305 words]

Cannabis Culture, a former pot shop on Bank Street, lost a court bid to have its eviction overturned.

Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin ruled the landlord was justified in terminating the lease because the dispensary was operating in contravention of both its rental lease and federal law.

The landlord posted an eviction notice on the door of the illegal dispensary in December and called a bailiff to change the locks. Cannabis Culture appealed to the Superior Court of Justice to reinstate the lease so it could continue to operate.

[continues 367 words]

Can we put the words "illegal" and "marijuana" together and still be making a relevant statement in Canada? Marijuana is going to be legal as a recreation drug.

The federal government has committed itself to legalization. The provincial government has stepped forward with a plan for legal marijuana, which included dispensaries as a component. They even went so far as to include early licence application for dispensaries.

Marijuana will be sold, consumed by people and I do not believe there is anything that will stop that from happening. This means the political movement to legalize marijuana is no longer of significant relevance. Operating dispensaries as a political statement is no longer required. So, now what?

[continues 673 words]

Investment firm head says he'd spend $25,000 to fight cannabis-impaired driving provisions

As experts warn of flaws with the cannabis-impaired driving provisions of Bill C-46, a high-profile Canadian cannabis industry executive has vowed to bankroll a future court challenge against that aspect of the proposed law.

Chuck Rifici, the CEO of cannabis industry investment firm Wheaton Income Corp., and the former chief financial officer of the Liberal Party of Canada, said he would commit up to $25,000 to fund such a challenge.

[continues 1087 words]

The haze around pot revenue for cities is beginning to clear, but one Southwestern Ontario mayor doesn't like what he's seeing.

Municipalities are no longer in the dark about the dollars they'll get to deal with the rollout of legalized marijuana, after the province announced Friday that $40 million from the tax on legalized marijuana will flow to cities in the next two years.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said the numbers don't add up, pointing to the 444 municipalities in Ontario that have to share that cash.

[continues 305 words]

Canadians are paying just under $7 a gram for marijuana, on average, according to new data crowdsourced by Statistics Canada.

Between Jan 25 and Feb 28, StatCan received 17,139 voluntary reports, submitted online, on how much people paid for cannabis. The data, released Friday, found the national average price for a gram of cannabis was $6.83, although price ranged widely depending on location, quantity purchased and use.

Cannabis was reportedly cheapest in Quebec, coming in at $5.88 a gram on average. It was most expensive in the Northwest Territories, where people reported paying an average of $11.46 a gram. In most other provinces, people paid slightly more than the national average, mostly in the $7 range. Only in Quebec and New Brunswick were cannabis users paying less than the national average.

[continues 445 words]

Alberta's supervised consumption sites should be permitted to offer drug testing to help users learn what dangers might be lurking in their illicit narcotics, the province's opioid commission recommended Friday.

While questions persist about the effectiveness of fentanyl-sensing strips and other testing devices, providing insight to users on what they plan to inject or ingest will undoubtedly save lives, commission leaders said.

"Anytime you can give people a bit more understanding than absolutely none about what's in their drugs, I think that's a positive," Elaine Hyshka, co-chair of the Minister's Opioid Emergency Response Commission, told a news conference downtown.

[continues 390 words]

The life-saving drug may actually increase opioid abuse. Here's why

My friendly local pharmacy has started selling naloxone kits to the general public. They think everyone should have one. The idea is that you never know when you're going to have someone overdose in your home.

As the opioid crisis spreads like a curse across North America, naloxone - a lifesaving drug that neutralizes the effects of an opioid overdose - is not confined to first responders anymore. Schools in Toronto are stocking up in it. Librarians across the United States have been trained to administer it to overdosing visitors. Everywhere, the message is: make sure you have some on hand, just in case.

[continues 667 words]

More supervised injection sites planned as opioid-overdose numbers skyrocket

The construction trailer that houses the illegal, volunteer-run overdose prevention site in Toronto's Moss Park is about to open for another evening, as a dozen drug users, some clearly anxious for their fix, cluster around its muddy entrance in the cold.

Activist and harm-reduction worker Zoe Dodd, named one of Toronto Life magazine's most influential people last year, alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and R&B star the Weeknd, unloads an extra box of anti-overdose naloxone kits from her beat-up sedan.

[continues 934 words]

City's fatality rate is now nearly double Ontario average, fuelling more concern

Opioid-related deaths in Hamilton have soared more than 80 per cent in one year.

From January to October, 75 Hamilton residents died from an opioid overdose in 2017 compared to 41 during the same period the year before.

"Opioids are continuing to have a devastating impact on individuals, families, and the community," Hamilton's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said in a statement Friday. "The sustained trend of rising opioid related deaths, which are preventable, in Hamilton is very concerning."

[continues 437 words]

The war on drugs has never been won by anyone, anywhere. But Jason Kenny figures that it can be won here in Alberta by stricter law enforcement and by limiting safe injection sites.

He is against safe injection sites, because in his conservative way of thinking, they promote the use of drugs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Safe injection sites help save lives.

On the street, drug addicts can be exposed to bad batches of drugs or they can be thrown in jail for possession of illegal drugs. I'm quite sure addicts are not happy they have to resort to safe injection sites to get their fix.

And by going to safe injection sites, they are not demonized for being addicts and they can go to these places so that they can get off their dependence on drugs for good.

Dennis Wanechko, Leduc

[end]

Obviously reefer madness is still on when we hear about a "drug house" being closed down and the bad guys had fentanyl labs, steroid labs and shatter labs. Shatter is the street name for cannabis oil, which should be legal as our delusional puppet promised it would be. This fearmongering is ridiculous. It's a concentrate removing carbons and impurities! Nothing more. I have used cannabis oils for my fibromyalgia and broken back for 25 years without problems and becoming a criminal (except for the fact I've had to go to criminals to get it). Fentanyl gets prescribed to a person for a back injury and three months later they have nothing, are on the street selling themselves, in full addiction mode and robbing homes. Marijuana oil made me a gold-medal mountain bike champion after I treated my back injury with it and no other pain meds. The Prozac my doctor was feeding me made me wake up! I still have all the unused pills.

Gord Olliver



(It's hardly reefer madness with legalization around the corner.)

[end]

I think that marijuana should not be made legal for recreational use because there is no good way to judge impairment caused by the drug. The Denver Post says on the matter: "The evolving science of testing for marijuana, and the lack of consensus over how to measure impairment creates challenges for lawmakers, police and prosecutors, not to mention users." It goes on to say how the number of fatal car crashes from marijuana is rising. Legalizing marijuana will make our communities more dangerous for everyone.

Elijah Bouma

St. George, Ont.

[end]

Last week, the Liberal government introduced the 2018 budget. As is customary in Canadian democracy, it is the role of the Liberal government to promote what it views as the merits of their budget.

As the Official Opposition, it is our job to illustrate the concerns we have with the budget. On that note, I have a few. It has become clear over this mandate, that the prime minister excels in making promises, but often falls short on the delivery of said promises. For example, we were promised electoral reform, a national housing strategy, infrastructure investment, new fighter jets for our military…the list goes on. This budget is no exception. Mr. Trudeau distinctly promised Canadians that after a series of small deficits, his government would return to a balanced budget in 2019. This budget demonstrates that the Liberals have no intention whatsoever of returning to balance in 2019.

[continues 454 words]

Pot still considered taboo during workdays

The late, great George Carlin apparently once joked that the 1960s-era crackdown on the business man's "three-martini lunch" shouldn't affect the working stiff's "two-joint coffee break."

But will the latter be frowned upon in the workplace if pot becomes legal - as expected - in Canada later this year?

There is stigma that still exists," says leading Canadian cannabis activist Jodie Emery.

"Now it depends though, of course, where you work. In a modern city like Toronto or Vancouver, you could probably have more progressive attitudes towards that in workplaces but definitely in smaller towns and more conservative jurisdictions, you would have push back."

[continues 583 words]

Back off, bud.

The City of North Vancouver is aiming to slam the lid on the host of unlicensed pot shops that have operated with seeming impunity in recent years following Monday's council meeting.

The crackdown, which involves civil court injunctions, is meant to give the city enough time to draft its own regulations about where and how marijuana dispensaries can operate within city limits.

"I do believe that it should be legalized but it needs to be regulated," explained Mayor Darrell Mussatto. "This enforcement action here is allowing us some time so that we can put in these regulations before it actually becomes legalized."

[continues 397 words]

I think that marijuana should not be made legal for recreational use because there is no good way to judge impairment caused by the drug. The Denver Post says on the matter: "The evolving science of testing for marijuana, and the lack of consensus over how to measure impairment creates challenges for lawmakers, police and prosecutors, not to mention users." It goes on to say how the number of fatal car crashes from marijuana is rising. Legalizing marijuana will make our communities more dangerous for everyone.

Elijah Bouma

St. George

[end]

What will you do if your employee returns from lunch smelling of marijuana? That's one of several issues companies may have to deal with once the federal government legalizes the use of cannabis later this year.

What is it about legalized marijuana that differs - or not - from other substances, such as alcohol, which are already prohibited from use at work?

A survey by the Human Resources Professional Association released in January found that 71 per cent of HR professionals believe their workplaces are not prepared to deal with the coming legalization of recreational marijuana, including issues related to impairment, usage on the premises and safety.

[continues 479 words]

Lawyer Denis Mahoney outlines a plan for employers surrounding the legalization of cannabis in Canada

How are employers going to deal with the use of cannabis in the workplace once it becomes legal later this year?

According to lawyer Denis Mahoney, a partner with Mcinnes Cooper in St. John's, speaking to delegates at the 50th anniversary conference of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association (NLCA) on Friday, there are many questions that need to be answered first.

"We are really concerned about this at the employers' council because as I can tell you in our business today, the No. 1 issue we are working with clients on today, above all else, is this particular topic," Mahoney said.

[continues 796 words]

Two women arrested in April after police raided their medical marijuana dispensary in St. Catharines have been granted a conditional discharge.

"I only wish I was able to help more people on the legal route," Abbigail Millar, 32, told Judge Tory Colvin in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Friday.

Millar, together with Angela Millar, 38, were arrested after Niagara police raided Kronic Inc., a dispensary on Wright Street.

Police seized just under 3,000 grams of marijuana as well as pre-rolled marijuanacigarettes, marijuana oil capsules and a variety of marijuana edibles. The also seized more than $4,000 in cash.

[continues 185 words]

A Kingston judge has disposed of the last of the charges against a group of six young "budtenders" arrested in a raid on an illegal Princess Street marijuana dispensary in March 2017.

Justice Larry O'Brien declined, however, to impose a sentence that would have encumbered the 23-year-old Ottawa woman with a criminal record when the principals profiting from the business went unidentified and were never charged.

Instead, he gave the woman a discharge, conditional upon her successful completion of one year of probation, after she pleaded guilty to a single charge of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. The terms of her probation oblige her to complete assessments and counselling as directed by her probation officer and require that she not socialize with anyone she knows to have a criminal or drug record.

[continues 961 words]

Prescott - The town's fire department has joined the growing number of volunteer fire companies in Leeds and Grenville that refuse to carry naloxone to counter opioid overdoses.

Fire Chief Barry Moorhouse said his department based its decision partly on the fact naloxone-carrying paramedics are based in Johnstown, only eight minutes away as the ambulance flies. Usually, the EMS can get to a medical call in Prescott before his volunteer department, Moorhouse said.

As well, Moorhouse said he fears the slippery slope of having his trucks carrying drugs to medical calls. The department is far more likely to encounter diabetic patients or people felled by allergic reactions than people affected by opioid overdoses. Should firefighters be required to carry EPIPENS and insulin, too? he wondered.

[continues 415 words]

WATERLOO REGION - Waterloo Region plans to look further into pursuing three supervised injection sites, following a study that found a need and support in the community for the service to combat fatal opioid overdoses.

Sites are proposed for the central cores of Kitchener and Galt, and a third spot to be determined that could be a mobile unit.

"In Waterloo Region, we know that overdose is on the rise," said Grace Bermingham, regional manager of information, planning and harm reduction.

Bermingham presented findings from the first phase of a feasibility study on supervised injection sites to a regional committee on Tuesday. The second phase involves identifying potential locations and further consultations with people who live, work or go to school near a proposed site.

[continues 654 words]

United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney said he would be opposed to expanding Safe Consumption Sites across the province if elected premier.

"Helping addicts inject poison into their bodies is not a solution to the problem of addiction," he said bluntly while visiting Lethbridge on Wednesday.

Disagreeing with local Lethbridge government, aid organizations and law enforcement officers who have championed the site, Kenney went on to state he did not feel safe consumption or injection sites work, as evidenced by the spike in opioid overdose deaths in Vancouver despite having a safe injection site in that city for over a decade.

[continues 142 words]

Police are "picking and choosing " when it comes to marijuana enforcement, says a Whyte Avenue medical cannabis dispensary owner charged after a bust last month.

The Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) executed search warrants Feb. 2 at two commercial addresses and a residence, turning up cannabis products with a combined street value estimated by police at $150,000.

Paul Olson, owner of Whyte Cross dispensary, one of the businesses raided Feb. 2, said it was "a little bit of a surprise" when police entered his store and seized his products.

[continues 417 words]

Alleged local international crime cartel had United States, Mexican connections

Calgary school buddies came together to form their own drug trafficking gang, with links to murder, money laundering and vicious Mexican cartels, say city police.

The group was allegedly responsible for millions of dollars in international drug imports and exports, and has been tied to a brazen Calgary shooting that left two dead in a south Calgary Superstore parking lot.

Calgary police say the group now faces dozens of charges, from drug importation to money-laundering to murder.

[continues 826 words]

How do we get out of this box? It may be time to follow Portugal in legalizing drugs

British Columbia has a $250,000-a-day drug habit that is spiralling out of control - and it's not supported by the Downtown Eastside street bazaar.

Rather, it's the opioid substitution program.

The province now spends more than $90 million a year on "treatment" and health services for participants of the drug-maintenance program - that's more than it provides for legal aid.

[continues 666 words]

Recently I watched on TV the story of a recovering drug addict. The turmoil this person had endured was a terrible saga of what an addict goes through and the difficult road to a life of depending on drugs to get through your days. Watching this story brought to mind the marijuana issue that we are about to embark upon in Canada.

I am surprised there are not more organizations speaking out against this drug and all the adverse effects this will have on our peoples. I know, you're saying, "why speak out, they (the government) will do it anyway," but when we don't demonstrate we're really giving it a blessing. I believe bootlegging the drug is better than legalizing it because when we legalize it we're giving a green light.

[continues 66 words]

Calgary police will reveal details Thursday about how they smashed a city-based crime cartel involved in murder, massive importation of drugs and money laundering.

Tentacles of the gang spread as far as Mexico, and Postmedia sources say they had connections with notorious drug cartels there.

Postmedia has also learned the group has been tied to a brazen daylight shooting May 21 that left two men dead in a southeast Calgary Superstore parking lot.

Sources say the bust is so significant that members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminstration (DEA) will be on hand when police reveal details at a news conference Thursday morning.

[continues 343 words]

Majority to respond to city's online questionnaire have been for legalization

Two thirds of Medicine Hatters support pot legalization, according to early results of an online survey that asks how the city should regulate local marijuana sales, the municipal planning commission heard on Wednesday.

The same survey, filled out by 4,000 respondents as of Feb. 20, is on track to garner a larger response than similar surveys in Calgary and Edmonton. And city officials says the high numbers aren't the result of the pro-pot community "hijacking" the process to skew the results.

[continues 472 words]

Summerside's first marijuana retail store will be on Granville Street

The first legal cannabis retail store in Summerside will be located at 425 Granville St. - the former location of the city's short-lived foray into Starbucks coffee patronage.

The first legal cannabis retail store in Summerside will be located at 425 Granville St. - the former location of the city's short-lived foray into Starbucks coffee patronage.

The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission (PEILCC) announced Wednesday the future locations of two of four planned, provincially-owned, cannabis retail outlets. The second was 509 Main St. in Montague.

[continues 432 words]

Tax income from soon-to-be-legal marijuana is forecast at $615 million. But it could bring in much more, a Lethbridge business audience heard Wednesday.

And while the federal government will collect the new tax, 75 per cent of it will go to provincial governments to help communities with implementation costs.

That was one of just a handful of new or hiked consumer taxes included in the federal government's budget, highlighted in a breakfast presentation by experts from KPMG.

[continues 283 words]

Funds from marijuana taxes will also help, says mayor

Federal funds targeting the opioid crisis will be welcome in Lethbridge. And Mayor Chris Spearman says a share of the newly announced taxes on marijuana will also help, when its use becomes legal later this year.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau included $231 million in his new budget - - spread over five years - to support communities battling an opioid crisis.

"Maybe we can get some relief," Spearman said, pointing to the steps the City has taken to respond to the situation. One initiative, a safe-use centre where drug users can find medical help and counselling, opened Wednesday.

[continues 432 words]

Emergency services taxed by spike in overdoses, incidents

Police, firefighters and paramedics are so overwhelmed with drug-related 911 calls in the days after welfare cheques are issued that Victoria's police chief wants the province to consider staggering distribution of the cheques throughout the month.

"Generally speaking, we see a spike during the evening of welfare Wednesday and the day or two after of overdose calls, disturbances, drug activity occurring. Sometimes someone has been defrauded or robbed," Police Chief Del Manak told the Times Colonist.

[continues 704 words]

The significant spike in illicit drug overdoses in Lethbridge has not reached Medicine Hat - yet.

There is no way to predict that it will or when, said Insp. Tim McGough, Medicine Hat Police Service.

Lethbridge recently experienced its largest spike in overdoses - 16 cases - ever recorded in a 24-hour period. There were 42 overdose calls to first responders in the week after Feb. 19.

"We've had no specific overdose spike (in Medicine Hat) but we are always concerned with illicit usage." said McGough.

[continues 349 words]

The president of the union representing more than 3,000 Suncor workers says they have prepared to bring the issue of random drug testing back to arbitration if the Supreme Court of Canada does not hear their case.

The comments came after the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld an injunction against the practice granted by the province's Court of Queen's Bench.

In a Thursday morning interview, Ken Smith, president of Unifor Local 707A, said he was confident Canada's top court will hear their case. The union expects to hear a decision by the end of March.

[continues 674 words]

Regulations as to where cannabis can be used are needed, officials say

With the upcoming legalization of cannabis, Yarmouth's recreation director, Frank Grant, has big concerns.

"One of the things that we have concerns of with legalized cannabis is how it's going to be used on the street, in our parks, in our sports fields, in our parking lots or outside gymnasiums or halls," he said.

In the past, when the recreation department has had issues with older youth, at facilities where cannabis has been detected and reported to the RCMP, Grant says it's been downplayed.

[continues 195 words]

Scientists and lawyers are raising a series of concerns over Ottawa's plans to combat drug-impaired driving, saying the proposed regime is not based on evidence and will struggle to withstand legal challenges.

Bill C-46, which would create new drug-impaired driving offences, is currently being studied in the Senate, where there is growing pressure on senators to amend the proposed legislation before it comes into law. The government wants the new rules in place before cannabis is legalized for recreational use, a move expected in late summer.

[continues 741 words]

An emergency situation demands an emergency response.

When people are trapped in a burning house or wrecked car, the priority should be getting them out alive first, and then worrying about damaged property or blocked roadways.

This is how people in Waterloo Region need to understand the horrific and rising number of opioid overdoses ravaging their community.

We are, collectively, facing an emergency. People are dying in staggeringly high numbers. Others are suffering terribly.

For all their sakes but also for the welfare of this region, we must offer help - even as we work out the details.

[continues 419 words]

The union representing Canada's border agents is hoping money allocated to combatting the country's overdose crisis will go toward hiring full-time chemists to screen for fentanyl and other deadly drugs at major mailing centres and ports of entry.

Most fentanyl shipments coming into Canada originate in China and first arrive at the Vancouver International Mail Centre. A pilot project launched last fall at the facility sees chemists conduct on-site testing and analysis of items suspected to contain fentanyl in a safe examination area where ventilation is controlled.

[continues 394 words]

Nearly three weeks in, London's temporary overdose-prevention site - the first of its kind in the province - has gone from four drug users a day to 44, and front-line workers are beaming.

The stripped-down supervised consumption facility opened Feb. 12, a quick, co-ordinated response to the growing number of opioid overdoses among London drug users. As of Tuesday, staff were seeing as many as 44 clients a day.

"Clients are having trouble believing it. It's too good to be true," said Sonja Burke, needle exchange director at the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection.

[continues 325 words]

A new clinic giving access to a drug similar to prescription heroin is likely heading to Edmonton's inner city.

Alberta Health is planning two clinics as a pilot project, one each in Edmonton and Calgary. Treatment would require opioid addicts to visit the clinic several times each day to inject drugs supplied by the clinic.

It means users no longer need to buy drugs on the black market, and studies at Vancouver's Crosstown Clinic found patients in the program cut back their use of illicit drugs from at least 14 times a month to less than four.

[continues 319 words]

OTTAWA * The military is currently wrestling with the implications of marijuana legalization, Canada's top general says - including time restrictions on using the drug before going on duty.

"We're going to try to be smart about it," chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance said on Monday. "But in the end, this is dangerous duty, this is serious duty for the country, and we don't want people doing it stoned."

Vance's comments came during an appearance before the Senate defence committee, where he was largely grilled on the troubled military procurement system, peacekeeping and efforts to stamp out sexual misconduct in the Forces.

[continues 299 words]

This week marks a historic first for the City of Lethbridge. The Supervised Consumption Site (SCS) will open its doors and will be the first of its kind in North America to offer all four modes of consumption - ingestion/oral, injection, intra-nasal/snorting and inhalation. Despite this milestone, it's fair to say the facility has been met with mixed reviews, including people who have come to me to "blame" the police service for letting it happen. This not only demonstrates a narrow view of Canada and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but a failure to understand the role of the police in social-political decisions that are driven by municipal , provincial and federal officials and the mandate they support.

[continues 905 words]

U.S. consul general and mayor issue warning to travellers

Canada's pending marijuana legalization may end up slowing more than just pot users' reaction times - it could slow the whole border, Mayor Drew Dilkens and U.S. Consul General Juan Alsace suggested Monday. Dilkens and Alsace chatted at the mayor's office Monday about border issues, including NAFTA negotiations, international trade, Great Lakes health and the Trudeau government's intention to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Both officials said problems at the U.S. border could be sparked if pot is legalized in Canada as proposed some time in the summer. "I think it's a real issue," Dilkens said after the private meeting with Alsace, who travelled to Windsor from Toronto for the informal chat. "And I think it's an issue that folks in this area need to be attuned to. "Obviously, being in the Windsor area, we rely on our ability to go across the border seamlessly and frequently. People buy groceries over there, people go shopping for the day over there."

[continues 589 words]

Iam increasingly concerned with the inadequacy of our approach to the opioid crisis, both as a society and in the field of public health.

There is no question that when people are dying in large numbers, we have to respond, and that has been happening. Safe injection sites, the distribution of naloxone kits and similar efforts are important.

But this response is sadly inadequate. It repeats the "upstream" story that I told in the first column I wrote, in December 2014, one that is fundamental to the public health approach. In essence, villagers living on the banks of a river are so busy rescuing drowning people that nobody has time to go upstream to learn how they are ending up in the river and stop them being pushed in.

[continues 602 words]

Trying not to be too cynical about all the reporting, discussions, debates and business preparations on Trudeau's "wrath of pot" legalization predications, with the lame duck excuse that the crooks are making too much money on its sales, I'm sorry! The recent news of the inherent benefit of marijuana has been blown right out of the water by a recent group of very prominent world scientists.

They have reported that there is absolutely no shred of evidence whatsoever of its benefit for health and pain relief, because of the availability of hundreds of pharmaceuticals that do not have negative health aftereffects like brain damage, in addition to dangerous driving which puts the very heavy load on our police forces that still do not have equipment to test for drug impairment.

[continues 147 words]

St. Catharines council is unanimously supporting the creation of a temporary supervised injection site in the city to help deal with the opioid crisis.

"It is pure harm reduction. It is stopping people from dying," said Sandi Tantardini of Niagara Area Moms Ending Stigma, speaking in support of the site at Monday night's council meeting.

Tantardini and Jennifer Johnston founded the group of moms, families and friends of people who have been lost to or are struggling with addiction.

"When we're talking about the effects of the opioid crisis, our group and its representatives and our families, we're the faces of it," said Johnston, whose son Jonathan, a chef who trained at Niagara College, died of a fentanyl overdose in Toronto.

[continues 328 words]

Structural changes are required to clamp down on the unregulated private lending networks that drug traffickers are using to launder their illicit gains, a Simon Fraser University criminologist says.

A recent Globe and Mail investigation identified people connected to the local fentanyl trade who are also private lenders, using Vancouver-area real estate to clean their cash.

Neil Boyd, a criminology professor at SFU, said the complexity of these private lending networks and similar white-collar crimes make them notoriously hard to prosecute.

[continues 640 words]

Brighton - People consume marijuana because it relaxes them but the prospect of its recreational use becoming legal is making police anxious.

"Anticipated issues" include "easier access for the youth population," impaired operation of vehicles, and the "facilitation of trafficking," OPP Detective-Sergeant Rick Dupuis said in a presentation to Brighton council on the implications of the federal law that is to take effect sometime after July 1.

"The provincial and federal governments indicate that this act was introduced to minimize or mitigate accessibility to our young population but in my professional opinion I believe that is ... counterintuitive," he told council Feb. 20. "It's going to make it much easier."

[continues 690 words]

Victims of bad science at Motherisk

Return their children.

That's what they want - the parents who saw their kids ripped away based on flawed alcohol and drug hair tests from the now shuttered Motherisk lab at the famous Sick Children's hospital. A report tabled this week examined 1,270 cases handled by the lab going back more than two decades and found 56 clear cases where Motherisk's flawed test results had a "substantial impact" on the decision to remove children - - though critics argue there are far more.

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Recommendations too late for many families 'broken apart' by flawed drug and alcohol tests

The Ontario Motherisk Commission's two-year effort to repair the damage to families ripped apart by flawed drug and alcohol testing has produced sweeping recommendations aimed at preventing a similar tragedy, but in only a handful of cases has it reunited parents with their lost children.

Alice, a Hamilton mother whose daughter was apprehended in 2011 after hair testing from Motherisk purported to show she was a heavy drinker, is among the lucky few.

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Emergency services responded to 16 cases on Friday and 42 since Feb. 19

Lethbridge had the single biggest spike of overdoses in a 24-hour period during the ongoing opioid crisis this past weekend, with 16 cases being responded to by local emergency services personnel on Friday alone.

"What we have seen over this past weekend is a dramatic increase in the number of overdoses that our staff at Lethbridge Fire and EMS have responded to," said deputy chief of support services Dana Terry, at a hastily arranged press conference Monday morning. "Specifically with overdoses where Narcan was administered."

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Realtors and condo boards scramble to find solutions

Realtors and condo boards are sparking up conversations about pot as legalization looms.

Anand Sharma, president and condominium manager with the Northern Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute, said condo corporations should start revising their rules if they haven't already to prevent sticky situations when tenants start lighting up legally.

"The bottom line is people are going to have to seek legal counsel to tighten up their bylaws or address some of these issues in their bylaws," Sharma said.

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Cities across Canada are struggling to contain gang violence.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has convened a summit on gun violence in Canada to find the best way to deal with the growing problems linked to criminal gangs and the illegal drug trade.

Last November, Mr. Goodale announced $328-million in new funding over five years as part of efforts to reduce gun crime across Canada, with the federal contribution growing to $100-million a year in following years.

Scheduled for March 7 in Ottawa, the Criminal Guns and Gangs Summit will aim to get all levels of government to agree on priorities for dealing with growing rates of violence involving firearms and organized crime.

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With some marijuana dispensaries still open in spite of repeated warnings, the Regina Police Service is now taking its campaign to the shops' landlords.

About two weeks ago, police sent letters to property owners informing them that their pot-shop tenants are committing a criminal offence. Selling cannabis out of storefronts remains illegal.

According to police spokesperson Les Parker, the letters also conveyed that the properties "may be subject to forfeiture" if sales continue. He cited a provision of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that allows courts to order the seizure of "offence-related property."

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Less than two months out from this year's rally, it appears the vast majority of the end costs will again be passed on to taxpayers

While they still can't find consensus on a location, it does appear all parties with a stake in the 4/20 smoke-out at Sunset Beach seem to agree on this: organizers will have to foot little, if any, of what could be a six-figure, post-event price tag.

Less than two months out from one of the city's largest and polarizing public events, the Courier reached out the Vancouver Park Board, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Police Department and rally organizers to assess where the annual April 20 gathering is at in terms of planning, lessons learned and the mechanics involved in the cost-recovery process.

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As Canada is poised to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, readers might wonder how schools will handle the change. Will kids be legally toking up on school grounds? Will skunky smells be wafting down the halls?

Definitely not.

First off, it's important to note that when the recreational use of marijuana is legalized, probably later this year, it will still be illegal for minors to use or possess pot. In that regard, things won't change in schools.

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There seems to be a general euphoria with the upcoming legalization of marijuana, while at the same time there is silence from the large proportion of Canadians who oppose legalization.

Perhaps one should look at why marijuana was made illegal in the first place. For many, it was a case of, "We have enough problems with alcohol. If marijuana is legal, we'll have twice as many drug problems." For others, they didn't want to live in a nation of zombies where people are walking around stoned all day.

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Pot courses sprouting at Ontario colleges

Puff, puff, pass will take on a new meaning when recreational cannabis becomes legal in Canada later this year.

And not just in the way you might think.

Some Canadian colleges and universities are preparing people for the thousands of potential new jobs expected to be created as the country's booming weed industry - valued at $23 billion by accounting firm Deloitte - transitions from the black market to a legal one with an estimated 5 million existing customers across the country.

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There seems to be a general euphoria with the upcoming legalization of marijuana, while at the same time there is silence from the large proportion of Canadians who oppose legalization.

Perhaps one should look at why marijuana was made illegal in the first place. For many, it was a case of, "We have enough problems with alcohol. If marijuana is legal, we'll have twice as many drug problems." For others, they didn't want to live in a nation of zombies where people are walking around stoned all day.

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Re. "Man charged in 2016 fentanyl death pleads guilty in unrelated drug case," Feb. 21

The war on drugs, which is really a war on the people who use drugs, has failed. The people who sell drugs at the street level are very often in the grips of addiction themselves.

This was the case for Jordan Yarmey, and so many others like him. The people who buy drugs are exposed to the possibility of accidental death by fentanyl poisoning, which was the case for Szymon Kalich.

This tragic situation draws attention to the need for drug policy reform. The decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use, and access to drug testing is one way to end the opioid overdose crisis that is devastating families across our country.

Lorna Thomas, Edmonton

[end]

As a national opioid crisis wages on, Toronto police have decided to equip their downtown frontline officers with the opioid antidote naloxone.

"This is about life and death, and that's what we signed up to do," Chief Mark Saunders told the Toronto Police Services Board at their meeting Thursday.

Chief Saunders was tasked last year with submitting a report to the board on how the service might go about deploying the antidote, which can be used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

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Re: Opioid vending machines won't help B.C.'s addicts. Jeremy Devine, Feb. 14 This piece, written by my classmate, Jeremy Devine, contains misinformation and stigma. I felt compelled to write a response because his views do not reflect mine or those of many of our fellow medical school classmates at the University of Toronto.

The article suggests that British Columbia's harm reduction approach is some ill-conceived mistake that jeopardizes the lives of people who use drugs. In fact, Mr. Devine's ideological stance is not based on evidence, and if enacted, could endanger countless lives.

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Re: This is your brain on pot, Douglas Todd column, Feb. 17.

Again, kudos to The Vancouver Sun for Douglas Todd's column on the potential health risks of marijuana.

Educators have been warning about this for a long time, but the negative effects on adolescents has been blanked out by politicians looking for easy tax dollars.

Just wait for the weeping and wailing that will follow the legalization of marijuana as youth damage their brains while participating in what they see as a rite of passage to adulthood.

Ted Cooper, Powell River

[end]

It would be interesting to know if the delay in implementing the new marijuana legalization legislation will mean police will continue to waste time and resources dragging people through the courts for "pot" related offences, right up until 11:59 p.m. on the eve of the day it becomes legal.

Scott Campbell



Grow-ops will still be illegal even after pot isn't.

[end]

It is hard to pinpoint reasons for a large increase in the number of physicians authorizing the use of medical marijuana, but a local pain specialist has some theories.

"Cannabinoids are showing great promise as medicines, especially in the myriad of non specific conditions like anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, mild to moderate pain, unhappiness, recurrent stress and dysphoria conditions which pharmacotherapy has offered little and doctors are ill equipped to treat," said Dr. Gaylord Wardell, anesthesiologist and pain specialist, Sante Surgi, Medicine Hat. "Patients are dissatisfied with their doctors and their drugs."

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Judge nixes jail for Stones guitarist, orders community service instead

More than 40 years have passed since the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had to "slap'' Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards awake at a Toronto hotel so they could arrest him for possession of heroin for the purposes of trafficking.

The charge, which carried a minimum of seven years upon conviction, was based on the 22 grams of heroin found on Feb. 27,1977, during a raid of Richards' room at the Harbour Castle Hilton (now Westin Harbour Castle), while he was sleeping.

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Fifty North Bay and area landlords have revived the Near North Landlords Association in response to the province's new standard lease form, which takes effect in April, and the legalization of marijuana later this year

Landlords are concerned that, as of April 1, they won't be able to refuse a tenant who has a dog, explains group member John Wilson of North Bay.

"If there is a fourth-floor apartment available for rent and the person who wants the place has a German shepherd and the building isn't pet-friendly we can no longer refuse him," he says.

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Regulatory upheaval under the Trump administration in the U.S. cannabis industry is providing Canadian companies with the chance to be global leaders. However, disagreement between the different gatekeepers of Ontario's financial markets may squander this opportunity.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice under the Obama administration issued a memorandum indicating it would not enforce federal prohibitions on marijuana in states that authorized its use. This was referred to as the "Cole Memorandum" (after then-deputy attorney-general James Cole). It essentially allowed marijuana producers in certain states to operate their businesses despite the federal laws that technically made the production of marijuana illegal.

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British Columbia is expecting legalized cannabis to bring in $75-million a year to the province in taxes, with legal sales estimated to be worth a billion dollars.

This week's provincial budget estimates that once the drug is legalized later this year, the province will take in $50-million in the current fiscal year and $75-million in 2019-2020, the first full fiscal year under legalization.

That represents the province's 75 per cent share of a federal excise tax, which Ottawa has said will be $1 per gram, or 10 per cent of larger purchases, whichever is higher. While that translates to about $1-billion in sales in the province, B.C.'s Finance Minister says it could be higher.

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A number of on-the-fly changes were proposed

Calgary city councillors have proposed a number of relaxations on proposed cannabis retailer rules.

On Wednesday, during a council committee, administration presented their land use bylaw rules to ready the city's policies ahead of marijuana legalization. But just like rolling your first joint, the process wasn't easy. The rules will now be smoothed over and sent to an April council meeting before being passed into official law.

If council approves the changes made at the committee level, cannabis stores won't be restricted by distance when it comes to opening up shop near post-secondary institutions.

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Liberal MP says he wasn't thrilled about it at first, but changed his views

Cannabis was on the menu at the Belleville & District Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast Wednesday at the Travelodge Hotel, and Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis was pushing it - from a business point of view.

With Bill C- 45, the Cannabis Act, expected to be law by July 1, Ellis said the business of marijuana will provide many opportunities, not just from production of both recreational and medical cannabis, but from the many sideline businesses it will create.

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Much like a self-learning robot that improves with every step, Edmonton city hall hopes to tweak recreational cannabis bylaws now, and after it is legalized.

"We're still in a little bit of a state of confusion or complexity as to the way it'll all shake down as far as where can the stores be located," Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen said Wednesday. "I suspect we'll continue to struggle with these for a couple of years as we tweak the regulations and make sure we get things right."

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TORONTO - Ontario's provincially run cannabis retailer is open to sourcing product from growers of all sizes across the country, according to a spokesperson for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

The approach appears to be in contrast to the one taking hold in provinces such as Quebec, where the government-run Societe des alcools du Quebec recently opted to sign sizable recreational cannabis supply agreements with a select few large licensed producers.

In Ontario, "the process for procuring cannabis supply for the (Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp.) will be open to all Canadian licensed producers," said LCBO spokesperson Nicole Laoutaris in an email, adding that "the OCRC has not yet entered into any supplier agreements."

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Medical marijuana added to health-insurance plan

Medical marijuana will soon be part of health insurance for students at UBC Okanagan.

The one-year pilot program will begin in September. University of Waterloo began a similar plan in 2014.

The idea was initiated by Michelle Thiessen, chairwoman of the Okanagan chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a UBCO graduate student.

Without coverage for medical marijuana, students are left covering 100 per cent of the costs while still paying into the student health insurance plan, she said.

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As the B.C. government sets policy on the legalization of marijuana, the towns of Oliver and Osoyoos are still wondering what that will look like.

Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes said his council has to have a formal discussion on the topic.

"We had most recently suggested that any sale (of marijuana) should take place through a government agency and the province has decided against that."

Hovanes previously questioned if municipalities should have any role in marijuana legalization. Council recently supported a call for local governments to receive a share of the cannabis revenue to cover social and policing costs.

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Policing issues played a minor role in Tuesday's Ward 4 budget town hall, with only one exception: Cannabis enforcement costs.

The Regina Police Service has estimated the cost of policing a legalized marijuana system between $1.2 million and $1.8 million. That number evoked shock from one resident who came to the meeting.

"It stretches the bounds of believability," she said. "Give me a break."

Coun. Andrew Stevens tried to steer clear of the RPS during the town hall, only once repeating his earlier warnings about the force's "uncontrolled" costs.

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City officials are looking for input as they deal with the ramifications of legalized recreational marijuana.

"There are a lot of questions, a lot of unknowns and I think it's important that we try to come up with a 'made in Brantford' solution to some of these issues," Mayor Chris Friel said Tuesday.

"I think we need to hear from more people, let them know what the issues are and see what we can come up with.

"We need to hear from the chamber of commerce, the health unit, police, real estate people as well as our own staff in social services and bylaw enforcement."

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York Regional Police tweeted on Tuesday that marijuana doesn't increase the growth of breasts in men, after one of its officers told high school students at a panel last week that "doobies make boobies."

"We're no health experts, but we're pretty sure getting high does not cause enhanced mammary growth in men," York police tweeted. "We are aware of the misinformation about cannabis that was unfortunately provided to the community by our officers. We're working to address it."

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Retailers watch on as city drafts regs on where shops can open

The cans and can'ts for Calgary cannabis retailers are taking shape this month, but some prospective shops are pointing out that perception could still be tainting the city's proposed bylaws.

On Wednesday, councillors will see administration's land use amendments to add cannabis retail store rules to the city's bylaws. These tweaks will go before the council in an April public hearing.

Out of three options, the city's going with one that would treat cannabis retailers a little like liquor stores - but not entirely the same as booze businesses.

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This is a follow-up of my two letters in The Daily Press dated March 29, 2017 titled "PM's head going to pot" and Dec. 20, 2017 titled "Medical marijuana has no medicinal value."

I managed to get an updated publication dated April 13, 2017 titled "Health Effects of cannabis" from Health Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and readers can find this Health Canada publication with an online search.

The publication clearly summarizes the short-term health effects, long-term health effects, risks of illegal cannabis, mental health effects, health effects on youth, health effects on pregnancy and children, and addiction.

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