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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
State regulators voted Monday to limit the roll-out of recreational marijuana sales in July, postponing licensing of home delivery services and pot lounges while allowing retail pot shops and their suppliers to open in July as scheduled. The Cannabis Control Commission had been under pressure to delay delivery and "social consumption" operations from Governor Charlie Baker and other political figures, law enforcement officials, and medical marijuana business interests, who had argued the nascent agency was trying to do too much at the outset and would struggle to oversee so many different types of operations. [continues 853 words]
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. [continues 631 words]
There isn't a better reader of the tea lives in Annapolis than Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. He's been saying for a couple of years now that legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland -- something that seemed like a far-out idea when former Del. Heather Mizeur made it a central plank of her 2014 gubernatorial campaign -- is inevitable. We're inclined to believe him. Public attitudes on the drug have shifted rapidly in recent years, and it is now legal for recreational use in nine states and (sort of) Washington, D.C. The most recent polls on the issue report that about 60 percent of Maryland voters support legalization. At least four of the seven Democrats running to unseat Gov. Larry Hogan have voiced support for some form of it. But legalization still may not happen as fast as proponents might like. [continues 713 words]
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. [continues 765 words]
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." [continues 440 words]
A NORTHERN Manitoba First Nation is building a permanent checkstop on the only highway into the community to combat the illegal drug and liquor trade. "It's like a border crossing and you'll have no choice but to go through it. And if you don't want to be searched, you're not going to go in," Norway House Chief Ron Evans said. The small building next to Highway 373 looks a bit like a transport safety weigh station. As of this month, the Norway House Cree Nation Safety and Security Checkpoint will be open 24/7. Its official opening is scheduled for Feb. 24. [continues 1309 words]
As legalization looms, experts say we're not road safe yet As Canada readies to legalize pot this summer, experts including an ex-traffic cop warn we're still stumped about stopping stoned drivers from hitting B.C.'S streets. "I've stopped lots of people who have been under the influence of marijuana," recalls retired West Vancouver traffic enforcement officer Cpl. Grant Gottgetreu. "You had to get really good at making observations. "Unless a person gets pulled over and there's an overwhelming smell of burned marijuana from the car there's still no instrument out there to test like there is for alcohol yet." [continues 532 words]
(Re: New guideline recommends doctors avoid prescribing medical marijuana for most conditions, Feb. 15) The British have just issued the same guideline raising the question why there was not public education on the serious dangers to health before the Trudeau government fast-tracked legalizing marijuana. Besides causing serious damage to young developing brains, using pot can also lead to very aggressive behaviour is some people. The bottom line is very little is known about the long-term health effects of the 80 cannabinoids contained in marijuana. One thing we do know from the experiences in Colorado and Washington states, after legalization, is there will likely be more impaired drivers on our highways leading to more road deaths and young people will gain access to the drug with dire consequences. [continues 131 words]
Dealing with the impact of marijuana legalization is expected to be one of the year's biggest challenges for the Cornwall Community Police Service, according to Chief-designate Danny Aikman. "Obviously there is a lot of attention being paid the legalization of marijuana and the impact that will have on municipalities as well as police forces," he said. The Cornwall police are concerned their costs could increase because of the change in the law, and Aikman said just because possession will be legal, doesn't mean enforcement efforts can be stopped. [continues 509 words]
Calgarians are demonstrating strong common sense when it comes to offering advice on how marijuana should be regulated. The drug will be legalized by the federal government on July 1, but it's been left to cities to determine where pot smoking will be permitted. A survey prepared for the city by Environics Research finds that approximately 55 per cent of Calgarians believe marijuana consumption should be treated more like alcohol, rather than regarded as a product similar to tobacco. Such a conclusion is prudent and would mean that pot couldn't be smoked in public, just as imbibers can't drink beer and other alcohol in public. It's difficult to imagine people walking down the street with a glass of wine in their hand - it's equally troublesome to picture a group of Calgarians sharing a joint as they meander down the road. [continues 289 words]
With decriminalization advancing coast to coast, legalized pot appears on its way, and Minnesota will light up the debate this year. Change is overdue. I don't smoke marijuana. There are secret purchases required, plus the learning of code, dealer etiquette, dosing expertise, exotic strains, the latest artisanal delivery systems, and it all sounds way too complicated. Also, because it's easy to forget this detail, pot is illegal. But even if pot were decriminalized tomorrow - a proposal on the table at the State Capitol - the chances of my racing out to score some "Chronicles of Narnia" and then heading home to roll up a fatty are, well, slim. Unlike Bill Clinton, the one time I did blaze up, over 20 years ago, I inhaled quite deeply enough to find the effect unpleasant. Some of us have all the feelings of alienation and existential weirdness you could ask for, thank you very much. [continues 2267 words]
Political manoeuvres in upper house likely to push legalization date into September - well past the Liberals' original July 1 target If you were hankering for a summer of legalized marijuana in Canada, you can forget it. And you can thank Canada's newly independent - but unelected - Senate for delays. There is now a firm deadline for passage, but it wasn't the deadline the Trudeau government, and some provinces, wanted. If this was a strictly political gambit, there are those who would finger the culprit, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, as the man who directed his Senate caucus to put the brakes on government legislation, choosing partisan battles over sober second thought. [continues 660 words]