Group against drunk driving says injuries, deaths due to driving high likely to increase after pot use is legalized in Canada next summer Crashes caused by drivers high on pot are likely to spike after the drug is legalized next summer, MADD Canada says. American states that have already approved the use of marijuana have seen sharp increases in fatal accidents in which a driver was impaired by the drug, MADD's western region manager for chapter services said Sunday. "That's certainly been the experience in Washington state and Colorado, and we will probably see an increase in deaths and injuries related to cannabis use here after it's legalized next July," Tracy Crawford said after a MADD-hosted candlelight vigil for victims of impaired driving. [continues 349 words]
Marijuana activist predicts high demand with American tourist among clientele Windsor will be among the first cities in Ontario to host a cannabis store once pot is legalized next summer. The province on Friday identified the first 14 communities that will operate stand-alone outlets for recreational pot sales by July 2018. The Wynne Liberals announced in September that the LCBO will oversee 40 such retail locations across Ontario by the projected legalization date set by Ottawa. "It's going to get nuts," local cannabis activist Jon Liedtke predicts if Windsor and Essex County end up sharing only one such retail outlet. [continues 663 words]
The end of Prohibition gave birth to the LCBO nearly a century ago. Now the legalization of marijuana is giving rise to the OCRC: Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. That's about as awkward an acronym - if not anachronism - as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. While today's LCBO has become a brand in its own right, it's fair to say the OCRC will never become a household word. Leery of being branded a bunch of fuddy-duddies - especially when all the critics try to sound so hip - Liberal cabinet ministers went out of their way this week to stress that the title is just a corporate placeholder. The government has promised a proper rebranding when the first 40 outlets open with a less lumbering name next July 1. [continues 695 words]
Feds plan to legalize recreational pot by July 2018 The day of cannabis legalization looms over local governments and law enforcement - including Calgary police - but they're taking it in stride. At the October Calgary Police Commission meeting, CPS chief Roger Chaffin said the best time to know the exact legislation to come on July 1 would have been "in the past," but said they're already taking steps to address legalization now. The province's cannabis framework, released in early October, proposes Albertans will have to be at least 18 years old to buy pot from the specialized retail stores selling it. [continues 244 words]
The federal government will be spending an additional $36.4-million over five years to educate Canadians on the dangers of using cannabis at a young age and impaired driving, hoping to address growing concerns over the drug's legalization. The new money comes in addition to $9.6-million in previously announced spending on public awareness campaigns, with eight months to go before the government's July 1 deadline to legalize cannabis for recreational use by adults. The federal campaign will target young Canadians and other vulnerable groups, such as Indigenous people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and Canadians with a history of mental illness. Health experts have pointed out that cannabis users under the age of 25 face greater long-term risks than adults. [continues 623 words]
Legalizing marijuana will dramatically increase the workload for police forces across the country, says Victoria Police Chief Del Manak. "The Cannabis Act will legalize cannabis, and I can assure you that the work for the police department and every police agency across this country is going to exponentially increase," Manak told city councillors during a budget workshop on Tuesday. Efforts to keep drugs out of the hands of organized crime and youth and to deal with drivers who are impaired by cannabis "will not happen overnight," Manak said. [continues 474 words]
TIVERTON, Ontario - Behind a forbidding high-security fence topped with razor wire, Supreme Pharmaceuticals is busy preparing for the legal marijuana trade, with workers expanding a greenhouse complex where the lucrative crop grows. But while Supreme looks like it will be ready for the day when prohibition ends, Canada's governments still have a lot of work to do. Proposing legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana was the easy part for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With about eight months to go before Canada becomes the second nation after Uruguay to take this step, the federal government and the provinces are staring at a formidable to-do list. [continues 1220 words]
Cannabis forum attracts businesspeople, politicians, individuals It's still unclear how it will be distributed in Nova Scotia, but with the legalization of cannabis across Canada due by July, businesses, municipalities and individuals are considering how they can best respond. About 75 people attended Thursday's Atlantic Cannabis Forum hosted by the Cape Breton Partnership at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre Thursday. While the Trudeau Liberal federal government introduced legislation to legalize cannabis earlier this year, to date only Ontario and New Brunswick have unveiled what their distribution models will look like. [continues 474 words]
While attending the public meeting on cannabis with the four local members of Parliament earlier this month, I was struck by the scaremongering rhetoric on display from the front. Cambridge MP Bryan May, KitchenerCentre MP Raj Saini, Kitchener SouthHespeler MP Marwan Tabbara, and K-W MP Bardish Chagger, who sponsored the forum, led a 30-minute presentation on the proposed cannabis laws, including the legislation that will impose blood content driving limits onto cannabis users once the product becomes legal in July next year. Taking comments from the audience afterward, it was clear that there were more questions for them than they had answers. [continues 578 words]
With the coming legalization of recreational marijuana, the Ontario government has stumbled toward readiness like a teenager cramming for a big exam. To begin with, the government decided to grant itself a monopoly over legal sales, a move that was widely criticized for failing to meet market needs, thereby ensuring a thriving black market would remain intact. That pill was followed by a spoonful of sugar for the law-and-order crowd when Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca unveiled their proposal for stiffer impaireddriving penalties that would "ensure that Ontario's roads remain safe after July 1st, 2018." [continues 678 words]
VANCOUVER - Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenues as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from View Royal and Port Coquitlam for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. The British Columbia Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police echoes that recommendation, saying in its submission that the "cost download" of enforcement needs to be considered when a revenue-sharing system is developed. [continues 509 words]
Ed Secondiak began his Friday lecture on cannabis in the workplace by cautioning against potential dangers of the soon-to-be-legalized substance. "We would consider marijuana a dangerous drug simply because impairment is not recognized by the individual or perhaps the person (working) with them," said Secondiak, a former drug enforcement RCMP officer who now works with ECS Safety. The talk at Medicine Hat College was organized by APEX and intended for local employers, whom Secondiak encouraged to ask questions at any time. [continues 382 words]
At a special council meeting, Tuesday city council lit up its marijuana advice for the provincial government. Mayor Doug Findlater and his council provided feedback for the ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on the legalization of non-medical marijuana. Council came up with these suggestions: * The minimum age to buy, grow and possess marijuana should be 19. * Province should prohibit public cannabis smoking altogether, but allow cannabis vaping wherever tobacco smoking and vaping are allowed. [continues 623 words]
Recommendations to province include municipalities sharing in cannabis economy Local municipalities should share in the revenues of a legal recreational marijuana economy and should retain the authority to regulate retailers and suppliers in their communities. Those were among the recommendations approved by Parksville city council Monday, Oct. 23, in response to a request for input by the provincial government into provincial regulation of marijuana beginning in July of 2018. The non-binding recommendations followed a report from Keeva Kehler, the city's director of administrative services. [continues 499 words]
From the head of DEA to the pimple-faced skater punk, everybody knows that you can't kill weed - you may as well try to rid the world of dandelions and rainbows. Ready or not, weed will do what weeds do - they spread. But not to worry Mr. and Mrs. Buzzkill; think of marijuana as a phase that society is going through. Like a teenager going through a rebellious stage. Just like 99.9 per cent of the people reading this, teenagers will also try things like alcohol, tobacco and fornication. [continues 512 words]
Province receiving input on legalized marijuana rules Police departments and local governments are asking British Columbia for a cut of marijuana revenue as the province crafts regulations for legalized pot. The provincial government asked for public input last month as it develops new rules. Submissions are posted online and will be accepted until Wednesday. Feedback so far includes recommendations from Port Coquitlam and View Royal, on Vancouver Island, for pot profits to be directed to municipalities to address costs associated with enforcement. [continues 514 words]
Drugs - legal and illegal - have so come to dominate the conversation among federal, provincial and territorial ministers of health that perhaps we should start calling them ministers of drugs? At their most recent meeting, held last week in Edmonton, they discussed the following issues: legalization of cannabis, opioids and the overdose crisis, pharmacare, mental health and addiction, tobacco control and antimicrobial resistance as a result of overuse of antibiotics. Each of those issues is pressing for different reasons, but let's focus on the one with a hard deadline for action: cannabis. [continues 656 words]
After admitting the medicinal pot in his possession had been illegally supplemented by some non-medicinal pot, a Sarnia man again pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug possession - but to a different judge. These "additional facts" temporarily put to rest a legal conundrum and likely a Canadian first - whether a lawful prescription becomes unlawful due to use - that delayed a decision on the drug possession charge originally expected in August. Anthony Francis Barr, 27, of St. Clair Township near Sarnia, had previously pleaded guilty to both driving while impaired and to possessing marijuana. While convicted and fined $1,000 for the impaired driving charge by Justice Mark Hornblower, Barr's prescription for marijuana to deal with an anxiety condition made the possession charge hazier. [continues 409 words]
For a government that promised to legislate using evidence-based science, the rapid approach of legalized marijuana in Canada is starting to look like a case study in blind faith. Last week, federal justice officials issued the next round of details in their impending pot law. In addition to existing impaired-by-drug laws that police are already using to prosecute drugged drivers, three new criminal offences are destined to be born to deal with pot-impaired driving all based on the quantity of THC found in a person's body. [continues 388 words]
It must have been a busy meeting. A couple of weeks ago, Canada's federal and provincial justice and public safety ministers met in Vancouver for two days of meetings. They talked about delays in the criminal system and reforms to the Criminal Code over mandatory minimum sentencing provisions. About changes to the bail system and simpler and faster court proceedings. They talked about national security legislation and the safety of Canadians, about the legalization of marijuana and the nuances of home cultivation, and the health and safety effects of the drug, both on adults and the particular risks for young people. There was discussion about changing the rules on drunk driving to make it easier for police officers to require drivers to submit to breath testing, and on and on. [continues 361 words]
