The Quebec government wants to hear from you about how legal marijuana should be regulated in this province. Quebec Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois announced Monday that public hearings will be scheduled throughout the province beginning Tuesday and continuing until Sept. 12. In a statement made public Monday, the government says the hearings will "allow citizens to have their say, hear their opinions on what decisions should be taken and identify the necessary measures to ensure the protection of their health and safety." [continues 215 words]
The news that the federal government might lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers might seem to have come out of nowhere. After all, thanks to concerted efforts by lawmakers and police, the rate of impaired driving incidents in Canada dropped to a 30-year low in 2015. Yet despite this progress, there is no better time than now to consider tougher drunk driving laws in this country. In less than a year, a new kind of impaired driver could be menacing Canada's roads - one who just legally smoked marijuana. [continues 376 words]
Timmins business owners had pot on the mind Wednesday morning. About 40 people sat in on a presentation by lawyer Carly Stringer in the Schumacher Lions Den in the McIntyre Centre. The event, organized by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce, focused on employer and employee obligations and rights regarding marijuana in the workplace. "Marijuana is going to be arguably treated in the same way as any other prescription drug," said Stringer. But: "Having a prescription for marijuana, it doesn't entitle them to be impaired at work. It doesn't allow them to compromise the safety of anyone on the work site." [continues 678 words]
There should be zero tolerance for pot use by drivers or their passengers, a new report by the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario branch recommends. The report, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, also says that all marijuana revenue should go to fund mental health and addiction services, and that the minimum age to purchase the product should be 19 years old. "The risk is that legalization of cannabis may lead to an increase in use among Ontarians," Camille Quenneville, CEO of CMHA Ontario, said in a statement Monday. "When taken together, our recommendations can minimize the harms associated with cannabis use and support a public health approach to this issue." [continues 331 words]
There should be zero tolerance for pot use by drivers or their passengers, a new report by the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario branch recommends. The report, Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, also says that all marijuana revenue should go to fund mental health and addiction services, and that the minimum age to purchase the product should be 19 years old. "The risk is that legalization of cannabis may lead to an increase in use among Ontarians," Camille Quenneville, CEO of CMHA Ontario, said in a statement Monday. "When taken together, our recommendations can minimize the harms associated with cannabis use and support a public health approach to this issue." [continues 369 words]
Territory will likely have 'phased-in approach' to new weed laws The territorial government wants to know what the public is looking for in upcoming marijuana legislation. In an online survey, open until Sept. 30, the government is asking Yukoners to answer questions about where cannabis could be consumed in public, how it will be sold, the legal age for consumption, and whether any changes need to happen to the territory's occupational health and safety or driving laws. It's all being done in anticipation of the federal legalization of recreational cannabis on July 1, 2018. [continues 535 words]
In reply to Robert Sinclair's letter ("gateway drug theory is flawed") defending the legalization of marijuana, and his refuting that weed may be a gateway to harder drugs, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, as late as April of this year, has stated that "an alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs." [continues 241 words]
Mental health group recommends strict rules on legalized weed sales When it becomes legal next July, recreational marijuana should be sold with more restrictions than that other weed - tobacco - says the Canadian Mental Health Association's Ontario branch. The group will release a position paper today calling on the province to ban pot smoking in cars with a "zero tolerance" policy, cap the amount of THC in cannabis products and use all tax revenues from them to boost addiction and mental health services. [continues 735 words]
Initially slated to address the national opioid crisis, the majority of questions addressed during Friday's roundtable discussion centred on the legalization of recreational marijuana. Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire and Conservative Party of Canada health critic Rachael Harder headed the roundtable discussion at the Trails West Inn, whose question period quickly pushed aside the opioid crisis, which hasn't impacted Brandon as heavily as it has some other areas of the nation. There were 2,458 opioid-related deaths in Canada last year, of which 24 were in Manitoba. [continues 578 words]
In what's believed to be a Canadian first, a judge in Sarnia is having to wrestle with the question whether having medicinal pot on you is illegal if you're driving under its influence. In a case heard Wednesday, federal drug prosecutor Michael Robb said the issue hadn't come up before in the government's prosecution service. Anthony Francis Barr, 27, of St. Clair Township near Sarnia, pleaded guilty to driving while impaired by marijuana and to possession of marijuana. [continues 300 words]
Judge struggles with 'lawful prescription becoming unlawful due to its use,' by driver under its influence SARNIA - In what's believed to be a Canadian first, a judge here is having to wrestle with whether having medicinal pot on you is illegal if you're driving under its influence. In a case heard Wednesday, federal drug prosecutor Michael Robb said the issue hadn't come up before in the government's prosecution service. Anthony Francis Barr, 27, of St. Clair Township near Sarnia, pleaded guilty to driving while impaired by marijuana and to possessing marijuana. [continues 308 words]
In reply to Robert Sinclair's letter ("Gateway drug theory is flawed") defending the legalization of marijuana, and his refuting that weed may be a gateway to harder drugs, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, as late as April of this year, has stated that "an alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drugtaking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs." [continues 240 words]
To the editor: In reply to Robert Sinclair's letter ("Gateway drug theory is flawed") defending the legalization of marijuana, and his refuting that weed may be a gateway to harder drugs, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, as late as April of this year, has stated that "an alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs." [continues 240 words]
With marijuana now legal in Massachusetts, federal, and state officials are launching a new campaign to remind users that driving while high remains illegal. With marijuana now legal in Massachusetts, federal, and state officials are launching a new campaign to remind users that driving while high remains illegal. With a motto of "Drive high? The crash is on you," the campaign will feature billboards, radio, and TV ads targeted at drivers between the ages of 18 and 49, but is particularly aimed at younger people, officials from Massachusetts and federal transportation and safety agencies said Tuesday. [continues 183 words]
Marijuana business already thriving in St. John's ahead of legalization In a cluttered workspace in an undisclosed location in St. John's, Rosin709 operates a strange, makeshift device. He wraps about a gram of marijuana in parchment paper, and then sticks it between two metal pucks with wires coming out of them. The whole contraption sits inside a vice-grip on a worktable. Using temperature controls, Rosin709 heats the metal pucks to about 80 degrees before cranking the vice-grip to squeeze the metal pucks together. [continues 699 words]
Legislation on details such as the age of consumption and distribution likely coming in the spring, says Premier Wade MacLauchlan P.E.I. will likely see legislation in the spring to get the province ready for marijuana legalization, says Premier Wade MacLauchlan. MacLauchlan recently returned from Council of the Federation meetings in Edmonton where Ottawa's plan to legalize marijuana was discussed. The most likely scenario for P.E.I. is that in the spring legislative session the government will introduce legislation to deal with issues like the age of consumption and distribution. [continues 303 words]
OTTAWA - The number of police-reported cannabis offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use. The annual tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported the year before - despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise. [continues 749 words]
About 55,000 cases related to marijuana reported to police last year OTTAWA - The number of police-reported cannabis offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use. The tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported in '15 - despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise. [continues 314 words]
"Go slow take your time," is the excellent advice Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was given last year on his plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada. The speaker was none other than Anne McLellan, leader of the federal government's task force on the issue, and her message was do your homework and get the job right first time around. The caution from this former Liberal deputy prime minister was wise then. It seems even more urgent now after nine Canadian premiers told the prime minister last week they have so many concerns about his promise to legalize recreational pot starting July 1, 2018, that they may ask him to postpone the change. Trudeau's target date, they warned, "may be unrealistic." Trudeau immediately quashed the possibility of any delay in keeping a major election promise and meeting his deadline - arbitrary though the latter is. That was a mistake. The premiers' questions are legitimate, significant and need answers. Without those answers, the deadline should be put back. While Ottawa has the power to legalize recreational pot (medicinal marijuana is already permitted) the provincial governments have a major role to play after prohibition ends. [continues 332 words]
"Go slow take your time," is the excellent advice Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was given last year on his plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada. The speaker was none other than Anne McLellan, leader of the federal government's task force on the issue, and her message was do your homework and get the job right the first time around. The caution from this former Liberal deputy prime minister was wise. It seems even more urgent now after nine Canadian premiers told the prime minister last week they have so many concerns about his promise to legalize recreational pot starting July 1, 2018, that they may ask him to postpone the change. [continues 376 words]
