The province is reviewing Ottawa's bill, which legalizes public possession of 30g of marijuana The federal government has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana, while placing stricter limits on impaired driving and heavy sanctions on those who provide the drug to minors. The government said the legislation, known as the Cannabis Act, should be in force no later than July 2018. Tabled on Thursday, it will allow adults over the age of 18 to legally possess up to 30 grams of marijuana in public, and to grow up to four plants of up to one metre in height. [continues 645 words]
The elegant white box shipped from the Tweed Inc. medical marijuana plant in Smiths Falls is stamped with a gold cannabis leaf that signals the dried bud inside is endorsed by Snoop Dogg himself. The rapper who once boasted of smoking 80 blunts a day has a partnership with Tweed that helps both parties: Snoop promotes his Leafs by Snoop cannabis line and Tweed benefits from an association with "the world's most renowned cannabis connoisseur," as Tweed describes Snoop. Tweed is poised to jump into the recreational market, and the marketing deal with Snoop Dogg was a major coup. [continues 963 words]
As Ottawa readies legislation, researchers say there are gaps in understanding its effect on brain After punching a string of numbers into a bolted-down, fireproof, alarm-protected safe - the location of which can't be divulged for security reasons - Steven Laviolette pulls out a tiny vial. Inside that vial is an even tinier dab of dark tar. The tar is purified THC, the mind-altering compound in marijuana. The street price for a gram of weed is about $10. A gram of this stuff costs about $2,000, not counting the cost of the researcher's time acquiring it. Laviolette, a professor in the departments of anatomy and cell biology and psychiatry at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, studies the effects of marijuana on the brain. His lab is investigating the troubling brain changes associated with THC, and also - a rapidly growing avenue of research - the very different and perhaps protective brain changes associated with cannabidiol, or CBD, another compound found in the plant. [continues 2308 words]
Scientists at the University of B.C. have identified about 30 genes related to the characteristic flavours of cannabis, from the nose-wrinkling funk of skunk to the distinctive earthiness of purple kush. The finding, published Wednesday in the journal Plos One, is a first step toward standardizing different varieties of B.C.'s iconic intoxicant. As Canada hurtles toward a new legal environment for recreational cannabis, breeders and growers will be anxious to identify different varieties of cannabis for flavour, but also for their psychoactive effects and potency, said Jorg Bohlmann, a professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories. [continues 273 words]
There are at least 18 storefront marijuana dispensaries operating illegally in Hamilton. Despite raids by police, these storefront operations keep bouncing back, primed for the time that pot becomes legal STEP INSIDE ONE OF HAMILTON'S medical marijuana dispensaries and you will find rows of dried marijuana stored inside sealed glass jars, everything from bath balms to shaving cream, and knowledgeable staff - often called bud tenders - willing to help you find just the right product. The businesses range from spa-like to head shop, yet all are in public storefronts, demanding to be seen. But make no mistake - they are illegal. Owners know their businesses are illegal but believe without them, patients would not be able to access relief. They claim the product, which is only available online from Health Canada's licensed providers, is too expensive, can be difficult to access and isn't as good as what's available from seasoned (albeit illegal) growers. [continues 1375 words]
Sales rules in place next year: justice minister Alberta should have regulations in place to allow recreational marijuana sales next year, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Tuesday. The federal government has vowed to introduce legislation this spring to legalize pot, but Ganley said packaging, distribution, zoning, building codes and other details must be worked out before people can smoke and eat cannabis in the province without breaking the law. "I'm not sure whether that has yet penetrated the public's consciousness fully. There's an enormous amount of work that has to be done," she said following a speech to the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties convention in the Shaw Conference Centre. [continues 272 words]
Justice minister says devil in the details as NDP works to put regulations in place Alberta should have regulations in place to allow recreational marijuana sales next year, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said Tuesday. The federal government has vowed to introduce legislation this spring to legalize pot, but Ganley said packaging, distribution, zoning, building codes and other details must be worked out before people can smoke and eat cannabis in the province without breaking the law. "I'm not sure whether that has yet penetrated the public's consciousness fully. There's an enormous amount of work that has to be done," she said following a speech to the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties convention in the Shaw Conference Centre. [continues 273 words]
A group of Canadian military veterans who say they are suffering from health problems after consuming tainted medical marijuana is calling on Health Minister Jane Philpott to launch a formal investigation, saying the department has failed to examine the problem properly and fairly on behalf of patients. Scott Wood, a retired military policeman whose career involved investigating military wrongdoing and guarding heads of state, said he believes Health Canada is trying to sweep the problem under the rug without a proper investigation. [continues 1139 words]
With the medical-marijuana industry caught in a tainted-cannabis scare that Health Canada has yet to fully confront, one company has struck out on its own to devise a solution to the controversy - and hopes the rest of the sector will voluntarily follow suit. Aurora Cannabis Inc., one of 38 federally licensed producers of medical cannabis, is expected to announce on Thursday that it is unveiling the industry's strictest consumer safety regime, testing all of its products for contaminants at a federally accredited lab, then making those certified test results public. [continues 752 words]
Illegal marijuana dispensaries in B.C., Ontario work on protocol system for detecting contaminants Illegal marijuana dispensaries in British Columbia and Ontario say they are developing a system of testing standards amid concerns about contaminants in cannabis - both at unauthorized storefronts and in the federally regulated system. The proposal from the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, whose 25 members represent a fraction of the hundreds of illegal dispensaries operating across the country, to set up a testing system by May comes ahead of federal legislation to legalize the drug. The Liberal government has not said where recreational marijuana will be sold, but dispensaries have lobbied to be included in the new system. [continues 547 words]
The largest association of medical-marijuana companies in Canada has agreed to implement new standards on product safety and transparency, after a series of recalls due to banned pesticides that have shaken consumer confidence in the industry. Directors of the Cannabis Canada Association, which represents 15 federally licensed medical marijuana companies - including several of the country's biggest - voted unanimously in favour of the new health and safety standards at a board meeting Thursday. The stricter measures include independent lab testing for banned pesticides, bacteria, mould, heavy metals and other contaminants, and - - most importantly - disclosing those results to consumers. [continues 823 words]
A federally regulated medical marijuana company caught selling products tainted with a banned pesticide that can cause debilitating health problems has been unable to determine how the chemical got into its supply, raising new questions about the oversight of the industry. Organigram Inc. said on Monday that it has wrapped up an internal investigation into a product recall announced in December but the findings are "inconclusive," with "no hard evidence leading to the source of the contamination." The company also said it would offer full refunds to customers who bought the tainted product, after refusing over the past two months to give patients their money back. [continues 852 words]
Companies that produce marijuana for the medical market are pouring millions into expansion projects in preparation for the legalization of recreational pot in this country. However, as Christopher Curtis reports, they face big challenges - including a still-thriving underground market. SMITHS FALLS, ONT. The journey to the centre of Canada's marijuana economy begins on a stretch of country road in eastern Ontario. It weaves through a patchwork of cornfields and hamlets before settling in Smiths Falls - a town that boasts a stone mill, a Lion's Club that meets every second Thursday and a factory that grows cannabis by the tonne. [continues 2836 words]
Health Canada, which is facing a growing controversy over tainted medical marijuana, cannot say with certainty how widespread the use of banned pesticides is within the industry. Instead, the regulator has been leaving it up to the growers to police themselves on the use of potentially harmful chemicals. In a background briefing with The Globe and Mail, a senior Health Canada official acknowledged that even though the government prohibits the use of potentially harmful chemicals such as myclobutanil, the department has not been testing cannabis growers to ensure the 38 federally licensed companies were, in fact, not using it. [continues 714 words]
Police and drug experts say it's more complicated and expensive than nabbing those who are drunk, writes Joanne Laucius. What, exactly, does it mean to be one toke over the line? That's one of many questions that will have to be answered as Canada moves toward legalizing marijuana and police wonder if they're equipped to crack down on stoned drivers. "We're having our challenges. The most pressing one is that we don't know what the legislation will look like. It makes it hard to train and prepare," said Supt. Gord Jones of the Toronto Police, the co-chair of the Canadian Chiefs of Police traffic committee. [continues 1802 words]
Get ready for the worst, intervention counsellor warns province Andy Bhatti has spent the majority of his life surrounded by hard drugs. As an interventionist, he can talk to you eloquently about the dangers of drug use, quote Canadian statistics, and offer his ideas about what programs and services are needed in order to help drug users and stop overdoses. He can just as easily slip into the language of a drug user, calling drugs by their slang names, giving you a list of his acquaintances who have died, and talking like living in stolen cars and dirty motels while committing crimes in order to support an expensive addiction is a regular fact of life. [continues 950 words]
Canada's organized-crime groups and gangs are much less likely to produce and traffic marijuana than they are other illicit drugs such as cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, according to a new federal study that tracked drug violations from police forces in four cities across three provinces. The new report from Statistics Canada analyzed all drug-related violations over a two-year period in Victoria, Vancouver, Regina and Waterloo, Ont., and found that police linked organized crime to 39 per cent of all cannabis-trafficking charges and 6 per cent of cases involving the production of marijuana. [continues 796 words]
Even as more and more states allow their residents to use marijuana, the federal government is continuing to obstruct scientists from studying whether the drug is good or bad for people's health. A report published last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine points out that scientists who want to study cannabis have to seek approvals from federal, state and local agencies and depend on just one lab, at the University of Mississippi, for samples. As a result, far too little is known about the health effects of a substance that 28 states have decided can be used as medicine and eight states and the District of Columbia have approved for recreational use. [continues 408 words]
Marijuana's health effects A new report says the precise health effects of marijuana on its users remain something of a mystery. (Jan. 13, 2017) More than 22 million Americans use some form of marijuana each month, and it's now approved for medicinal or recreational use in 28 states plus the District of Columbia. Nationwide, legal sales of the drug reached an estimated $7.1 billion last year. Yet for all its ubiquity, a comprehensive new report says the precise health effects of marijuana on those who use it remain something of a mystery -- and the federal government continues to erect major barriers to research that would provide much-needed answers. [continues 1147 words]
Researchers combed through more than 10,000 scientific studies to examine the various health effects of marijuana use. More than 22 million Americans use some form of marijuana each month, and it's now approved for medicinal or recreational use in 28 states plus the District of Columbia. Nationwide, legal sales of the drug reached an estimated $7.1 billion last year. Yet for all its ubiquity, a comprehensive new report says the precise health effects of marijuana on those who use it remain something of a mystery -- and the federal government continues to erect major barriers to research that would provide much-needed answers. [continues 1123 words]
