Tag Archives: Legalization

Misc Other

As legalization looms, experts say it’s time to talk to your kids honestly about pot

Leave a comment

Psychology and addictions specialists say parents should open up conversation instead of shaming their kids. 

Bonnie Leadbeater and Cindy Andrew say “just say no” tactics aren’t the way to go. (Ben Nelms/Reuters)

With the promise of marijuana legalization just around the corner, experts say the scare tactics of yesteryear won’t work on modern kids.

‘Shift the conversation’

University of Victoria psychology professor Bonnie Leadbeater, who studies marijuana use in teens, said often young people simply aren’t aware of the risks surrounding the substance.

The way to teach them, she said, is to talk with them, not at them and to ask questions — what do they think about legalization, for instance? Do they think anything will change? 

“This is the perfect time to bring up conversations about marijuana and to really find out what your kids think,” she said.

It can be uncomfortable at first, but Cindy Andrew, a consultant for the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said parents might just have to suck it up.

“Lots of parents have the same struggles when it comes to talking about sexuality with our kids,” she said. “Like sexuality, the time to start that conversation isn’t when they’re teenagers in high school.”

Andrew said parents can capitalize on “teachable moments” — like news reports or real-life events involving weed — to start a conversation.

“We need to start to shift the conversation not just about the risks but about the more nuanced, complex perspective and behaviour and help each other figure it out,” she said.

Myths persist, but education is key

Leadbeater noted that young people are often given conflicting information about marijuana, which can lead them to believe that the drug is risk-free.

“Young people need to know about [the risks]. There’s a lot of myths out there,” she said.

Andrew points to the idea that weed is a totally safe alternative to alcohol — “that it really doesn’t have any harm, it’s way better to smoke pot than it is to drink” — as a pervasive one.

“Pot is not a benign substance,” she said.

Leadbeater said that much of the reason myths about pot persist is because of a lack of funding into studies.

“There’s a lot of mystery and part of the mystery has been because it’s illegal and the research has not been done,” she said.

In order to better inform adults and kids alike, she said, that research is an important first step.

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Ottawa’s pot advisor warns more info needed before legalization

Leave a comment

Research and education needs to be provided, Dr. Mark Ware, a professor in family medicine and anesthesia at McGill University, told a drug policy conference in Ottawa.
By: Tonda Maccharles

Canada needs a “lot more infrastructure” to support the nests of “very good researchers around the country,” who are studying plant sciences, pharmacology, and clinical research as well as policy, said Dr. Mark Ware. (ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO)

OTTAWA—Canada should immediately boost spending on intensive public education and research into the impacts of marijuana and not wait until 2018 , says the co-chair of Ottawa’s pot task force. 

Dr. Mark Ware, a professor in family medicine and anesthesia at McGill University, told a drug policy conference in Ottawa that a bill to overhaul Canada’s marijuana law is just the first step of what he predicts will be an “unbelievably deep and tangled web” with provinces, territories and municipalities who will be responsible for much of the scheme. 

Meanwhile, Ware said, “research and education needs to be provided. This is something I’m still pushing for.” 

“I haven’t felt, yet, that we have capacity to support this kind of legislative change in terms of measuring and understanding what the impact of this is on individual health and on public health.” 

Ware was among dozens of experts at a conference on the future of drug policy in Canada looking at medium- and long-term recommendations for policy-makers.

But Ware had advice for the short term. 

Canada needs a “lot more infrastructure” to support the nests of “very good researchers around the country,” who are studying plant sciences, pharmacology, and clinical research as well as policy, “but they’re not well connected and we’re not talking to one another,” said Ware. 

He said for the legalization policy “to be rolled out and be implemented effectively and to respond to the realities that we get when it’s launched, we need that network to be in place.” 

Ware also said provinces and municipalities need support to ensure they have the “required elements for licensing, for regulating, for inspecting.” 

“This is a huge undertaking. I think we underestimate how deep this is going to go.” 

Many at the conference supported the federal Liberal government’s desire to reduce the harms associated with illegal cannabis sales and use. 

However Mark Kleiman, a professor of public service at New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, had a stern warning. “Legalization and regulation are not a panacea. There is not a solution to the drug problem that consists of getting the criminal law out of the way and turning it over to the doctors and the public health folks.” 

Kleiman, whose work was consulted by Ottawa’s task force, pointed to alcohol and tobacco as industries where legalization has not reduced public health harms. Instead, he said, commercialization supported industries with a vested interest in marketing a harmful product to dependent users, and these industries “aren’t down in the trenches advocating for a public health approach to addiction.” 

“Expecting the nascent legal cannabis industry, or the existing legal alcohol industry, to worry about substance abuse is like expecting Exxon Mobil to worry about global warming. That’s the business they’re in.” 

His advice: Canada should ensure cannabis is priced or taxed so that the cost “to get stoned,” which he put at about $1.50, doesn’t change, that appropriate health information is available at the point of sale, that marketing by commercial industry is restricted, and that retail sales clerks selling cannabis across the counter are trained in substance abuse and pharmacology, so they can advise their customer of the risks, and help identify those who need help.

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Legalizing marijuana will hurt Canadian alcohol sales, study predicts

Leave a comment

Some U.S. brands saw 4.4% drop in sales when states legalized pot. 
By: Jerri Southcott. 

 In the United States, beer sales declined in areas where cannabis became legal. (CBC). 

The legalization of marijuana may cut into beer and other alcohol sales across Canada, a study by the firm Deloitte says. 

“If marijuana is legalized in Canada, we will see a decrease in purchases of beer, wine or spirits. So that’s something that the alcohol industry is going to have to understand and think about and try to anticipate what that means,” said Mark Whitmore, who co-authored the study on recreational marijuana. 

Some of the study’s findings show that about 80 per cent of current cannabis consumers rarely mix the drug with alcohol and they’re also drawn to marijuana for the same reason people choose alcohol: to have fun or help connect with others. 

Beer sales fell up to 4.4% in U.S.  

Recent reports show domestic beer sales fell in Colorado, Washington and Oregon after pot was legalized, with sales of Coors Light and Bud Light dipping as much as 4.4 per cent. 

Matthew Bellamy, associate professor of history at Carleton University and a brewing historian, believes Canadian beer sales will fall after the legalization of weed. 

 Legal marijuana may cut into beer sales in Canada, a Deloitte study shows. (CBC)

“The Canadian brewing industry has passed through many of the same phases in its evolution as the industry in the United States,” he said. 

“Like its counterpart south of the border, Canadian brewing emerged as a significant industry between 1865 and 1915; went through the dark years of prohibition from about 1915 to 1930; experienced a renaissance between 1930 and 1945; witnessed the emergence of a national brewing oligopoly after the Second World War; saw the onset of a craft beer revolution in the early 1980s; and underwent significant restructuring since 1990 due to globalization.” 

There will be competition 

Justin Zinck of Garrison Brewery in Halifax says the legalization of marijuana is certainly on their radar, but argues the decline in sales in the U.S. is limited to beer sold in retail establishments, not to bars and restaurants. 

Zinck said they have to be ready for the day when consumers will have a choice of spending their money on alcohol or pot. 

Garrison has been in the craft beer business for 20 years and Zinck says they plan to stay the course and advertise quality over quantity to maintain their hold on the craft beer market. 

“You’re trying different things; the marketplace is the market. It’s our job to make sure that we’re the best craft brewery we can be and market ourselves the best way we can and make people enjoy our product the best,” he said. 

“So it’s our job to realize there’s a new player in the game, we have to up ours as well. Just like if there was a new craft brewery coming along, we have to up our game.” 

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Ottawa councillor says marijuana won’t be sold in current dispensaries

Leave a comment

Coun. Mathieu Fleury says delay in legal framework frustrating.
By: Ryan Tumilty. 

 Product on display at the Cannabis Culture location on Bank Street. The dispensary opened Feb. 22, 2017. 

Ottawa city councillor Mathieu Fleury said he’s frustrated by news that it could be another 15 months before there is a legal framework for marijuana sales. 

Reports surfaced this week that the federal government intends to have marijuana legislation in place by July 1, 2018. 

Fleury has said previously that the dispensaries operating in Ottawa now won’t be the way marijuana is sold legally, and he is frustrated about the resources they’re consuming now. 

He said this news is just a continuation of that problem. 

“It feels like we have been in that grey area for over a year now, so its frustrating but there are no new pressure points,” he said. 

He said if the government waits until 2018 it won’t change anything for the dispensaries, which are — and, he believes, will remain — illegal. 

“It’s a reminder that buying marijuana within those dispensaries is the same as buying marijuana off the street,” he said. 

Fleury said when the time comes he hopes the city will regulate locations for marijuana dispensaries and have them in regulated stores.  

“We prefer having a model like the LCBO, understanding it won’t be in the LCBO,” he said. 

An independent panel reviewing marijuana legislation concluded that it should not be sold in places where alcohol is sold. 

“The product will be sold as a controlled substance just like it is for alcohol,” said Fleury. 

He said police have begun to warn landlord of dispensaries that they can’t just look the other way and he hopes the dispensaries will find it more difficult to operate. 

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Canada’s Justice System Is Crumbling As Cannabis Raids Continue

Leave a comment

 

Canada’s justice system is in the midst of a major crisis. Many hundreds of important cases across Canada have been dropped due to a lack of court resources. These include some very serious crimes. 

In Ontario, 6,500 cases in provincial court could soon be dropped due to delays, including 38 for homicide or attempted murder. In one terrible case last year, a man named Kenneth Williamson was convicted of raping a minor over 100 times, but because of lengthy delays in taking his case to trial, his conviction was overturned. 

Late last year, two men had charges of first degree murder dropped because of long delays in getting to trial. In unrelated cases, alleged killers Lance Regan and Adam Picard both walked free from murder charges. Regan was accused of murdering a fellow inmate, while Picard was accused of shooting a man to death during a robbery. 

Cannabis cases clogging courts 

Considering this justice system crisis, cannabis should obviously be the lowest priority for police and the courts, but it’s not. Not only are police launching more raids against dispensaries than ever before, but ridiculous charges for small-scale “cannabis crimes” are continuing from coast to coast. 

Every single one of these cannabis raids is an assault on our justice system.

In Alberta alone, over 200 serious criminal charges have been dropped this year due to clogged courts. Yet I’ve got a two-day hearing in Calgary May 9 and 10, over giving away low-THC cannabis seeds! My trial will begin next year. Seeds for high-potency cannabis plants are openly sold in every Canadian city, including over a dozen outlets in Calgary, but prosecutors are willing to waste precious court resources on me for a free seed giveaway? How absurd. 

The recent raids on Cannabis Culture dispensaries in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton are the result of a lengthy investigation, and have taken months of police work to pursue. Hundreds of hours of precious court time will now be spent on processing and hearing these charges over the coming months and years, along with charges from many dozens of other pointless dispensary cases in other cities. 

Every single one of these cannabis raids is an assault on our justice system. Every dollar spent charging, processing and trying people for cannabis is a dollar taken away from the enforcement of serious laws against violent criminals. 

  Employee Alyssa Vail sits in front of a police vehicle during a police raid of the Cannabis Culture shop in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday March 9, 2017. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/CP) 

Mandatory minimums and more police 
Back in 2013, the National Post was reporting on the clogged-courts problem, noting that “the recent introduction of mandatory minimum sentences” was also a big part of the problem, as they delay trials and “give greater incentive for charges to be more vigorously and aggressively fought.” Yet Trudeau hasn’t done anything to get rid of Harper’s vicious mandatory minimums, even though his party voted against them when Harper was passing the legislation. What’s he waiting for? 

Meanwhile Bill Blair, Trudeau’s spokesperson on cannabis, is telling us that the biggest impact of legalization will be that “we’re going to have to ask more of the police.” How can this be? Under what rational form of legalization will we need even more police to arrest more people? If cannabis legalization doesn’t mean a massive reduction in police time spent on cannabis, then it’s not really legal at all. 

Alleged killers are walking away without trial while dispensary raids are accelerating and minor cannabis cases are getting high priority. Now Trudeau’s spokesperson is saying we’ll need more cops after legalization than ever before! This is not what Canadians voted for, and after having had a year in office to fix these problems, Justin Trudeau should be ashamed of himself. 

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Law legalizing marijuana to be introduced this spring, Blair says during Durham visit

Leave a comment

Bill Blair Marijuana Discussions | Jason Liebregts / Metroland

DURHAM — Legislation to legalize marijuana will be introduced in the House of Commons this spring, the government’s point man on the file confirmed during a visit to Durham Region Friday. 

“We’re going to keep our promise,” Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice, said. “But we’re committed to taking the time to do it right.” 

Blair met March 10 at Durham Region headquarters with local politicians, first responders, public health workers and others as part of a consultative process that’s taken him across the country. The roundtable format allowed local representatives to hear about the government’s progress with legalization, and also to voice their concerns, he said.

“I think their perspective is a really important one and a really valuable one in making sure the regulations and the controls that we put in place are workable at the local level,” said Blair. “All three levels of government have a responsibility here, and working together collaboratively is the way to get this thing done.” 

Central to the government’s rationale for legalization is regulation of a substance that is widely used by Canadians, to encourage “healthful and responsible” use and to wrest control of distribution from criminals, Blair said. The former Toronto police chief said he’s particularly concerned about young people accessing pot, something the current regime of prohibition is failing to prevent. 

“The current system is not particularly effective in keeping this drug away from our kids. And it has in many respects created opportunities for the criminal element to profit enormously,” said Blair. “By taking away the profit from organized crime we believe we can make communities safer. Through control of production and distribution, we can do a better job of restricting youth access.” 

Blair noted that until legislation is passed, police will continue to target storefront dispensaries. Durham police raided shops in Oshawa and Whitby last summer, laying charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking. 

And even after legalization occurs, distribution will be tightly restricted, he said. 

“The law is crystal clear on this. We’re not talking about legalizing the activity that’s taking place in those dispensaries. We’re talking about it being distributed through a licensed, regulated regime, not by criminal profiteers,” he said. “What they’re doing isn’t going to be legalized.” 

In attendance Friday was Marko Ivancicevic, an Oshawa-based marijuana advocate who provides consulting services for medical cannabis users. He said that while Blair’s efforts to consult with Canadians are laudable, he’s concerned they may not be gathering input from everyone with a stake in the issue. 

“They need to get the perspective of everybody that’s going to be affected,” he said. “I think there needs to be a more fulsome discussion with medical marijuana patients and people who have been part of the industry.” 

Ivancicevic said that with legalization pending, police should implement alternatives to charging people with simple possession. 

“Resources and finances are wasted on simple possession,” he said. “I think that has to stop.” 

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Trudeau dragging his feet on pot legislation stinks

Leave a comment


Police inside the Cannabis Culture store on Church Street. Police raid Cannabis stores across the country on Thursday March 9, 2017. (Craig Robertson /Toronto Sun)
You’d think they would be out of doobies.

Even after Toronto Police cleaned the place out of all their pot, the stench of marijuana was ripe inside the store. Police took out tens of thousands of dollars worth of product from envelopes and jars.

But they didn’t get it all.

Staff found police left behind some rolled joints and undetected envelopes of pot.

The smiling group, who got off on warnings by the same police who did charge owners Marc and Jodi Emery, quickly rolled and sparked up the spoils in defiance right in front myself and colleagues Maryam Shah and photographer Craig Robertson.

The message was clear.

“We will be open again tomorrow,” General Manager Jamie McConnell insisted. “When you are in the pot dispensary business, you expect this.”

Having said that arresting the Emerys on the airplane and “raiding every store” did “come as a surprise.”

Meanwhile, even though the aroma inside Cannabis Culture at 461 Church St. was strong, it’s not the biggest stink in this story of the mission by the federal Liberal government to “legalize” marijuana.

That big corporate entities, and big government, would prefer to corner the market and cut out small pot pioneers is what smells the most.

“Government wants the large player dispensing model for tax collection and profit but the buying public want this storefront model,” said McConnell. “We pay our taxes and we serve 2,000 people every day.”

But it’s the Shoppers Drug Mart, or perhaps even an LCBO-style model, that is the way government is taking legalization – clearly a different direction than letting people like Emery get a foothold into that future multi-billion dollar goldmine. They don’t have to look back far in history to see how people with names like Bronfman, Kennedy and Sleeman were thorns in the side of the law during prohibition times but later became pillars of society.

Ironically many of today’s pillars and powerful who have invested in a pot full future.

While you certainly can’t blame police for doing it’s job – and they did it professionally Thursday as the people in the store admitted – you can question Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he smoked marijuana as a member of the House of Commons, did it come from a legal source or from the grey market like the Emerys operate?

There’s a lot of hypocrisy to go around.

Yes, the laws are there – but to cut the pot enthusiast pioneers out of the legislation pot quest is unreasonable. There’s nothing wrong with being fair and to work with, and talk to, the Marc Emerys of the pot world instead of jailing them.

And accept there’s enough financial buzz for both models to exist.

“We will take as much time as it takes to do it right,” Federal pot czar Scrarborough MP and former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told Bloomberg in an interview Monday. “I’m pretty reluctant to suggest a specific time frame, frankly, because I don’t know how long this will take in each of our 10 provinces and three territories.”

Perhaps the Trudeau government should let them all smoke or get off the pot altogether.

Original article can be found here

Misc Other

Minister Philpott responds to Senate questions on legalization

Leave a comment

Canada’s Minister of Health responded to questions about age limits, intoxicated driving, and international treaties as it relates to the government’s pledge to legalize marijuana


Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott, took questions today in the Senate’s Question Period, responding to numerous questions about various issues under Health Canada’s review, including two separate questions relating to cannabis legalization.

The first question on marijuana legalization came from Senator Claude Carignan, the Conservative Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who asked Minister Philpott why the government was rejecting the Canadian Medical Association’s’ recommendation that an age limit of 21 be set for recreational cannabis at a national level.

The CMA also recommended that quantities and the potency of marijuana be more restricted to those under age 25 to discourage use and sharing with underage friends.

The second question came later from Senator Linda Frum, who asked about the international treaties Canada will be violating by legalizing marijuana. Minister Philpott told the Senate that Canada is working closely with various government agencies to address these concerns.

“The fact is that, in fact the world is looking at us very closely about this. I’ve had numerous international delegations who have come and wanted to speak to me specifically about this because it’s something that many countries around the world are very interested in. They’re watching Canada very closely, which speaks to the fact that we have got to get this legislation right.” -Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott

First, Senator Carignan characterized the government’s commitment to legalize as a rejection of this and other medical evidence showing the harms of cannabis on young brains, and said more research is needed on intoxicated driving before cannabis becomes legal.

“Why is the government both rejecting and ignoring science by going forward with plans to legalize marijuana?” asked the Senator in French.

Canada’s Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott, took questions today in the Senate’s Question Period, responding to numerous questions about various issues under Health Canada’s review, including two separate questions relating to cannabis legalization.

The first question on marijuana legalization came from Senator Claude Carignan, the Conservative Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who asked Minister Philpott why the government was rejecting the Canadian Medical Association’s’ recommendation that an age limit of 21 be set for recreational cannabis at a national level.

The CMA also recommended that quantities and the potency of marijuana be more restricted to those under age 25 to discourage use and sharing with underage friends.

The second question came later from Senator Linda Frum, who asked about the international treaties Canada will be violating by legalizing marijuana. Minister Philpott told the Senate that Canada is working closely with various government agencies to address these concerns.

“The fact is that, in fact the world is looking at us very closely about this. I’ve had numerous international delegations who have come and wanted to speak to me specifically about this because it’s something that many countries around the world are very interested in. They’re watching Canada very closely, which speaks to the fact that we have got to get this legislation right.” -Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott

First, Senator Carignan characterized the government’s commitment to legalize as a rejection of this and other medical evidence showing the harms of cannabis on young brains, and said more research is needed on intoxicated driving before cannabis becomes legal.

“Why is the government both rejecting and ignoring science by going forward with plans to legalize marijuana?” asked the Senator in French.

Minister Philpott responded by pointing out that the task force report took into account considerations like the CMA’s and that extensive thought and research has gone into the approach the government is taking to ensure the protection of young people from the potential risks of cannabis use.

“This is a very good question and you’re absolutely right that our approach to the matter of cannabis is to be sure that we introduce legislation that is evidence-based and, in fact, there is a significant amount of evidence around cannabis, but I would say that it is an area where there is a shortage of scientific research in terms of the potential benefits and risks associated with it.

“Having said that, one of the things that we did in preparation for the introduction of legislation was to initiate a task force which was led by the Honourable Anne McClellan, who went across the country and met with a huge number of special interest groups who gave advice on that. I hope that senators have had the opportunity to read a very excellent report that the task force brought back to us which we’re examining, and this question in terms of age is a very important one … the legislation will be coming out this spring, so obviously we’ll see more about that at that time.

“I will point out one of the challenges around the age is the fact that the highest user group of cannabis is young people between the ages of 18 and 24, in which case one-third of Canadian youth in that particular age bracket of young adults are currently using cannabis, and so that’s something that has to be taken into consideration in the determination of what the legislation should look like. And obviously, the government’s goal is to make sure we minimize the risks associated with the use of cannabis and keep it particularly out of the hands of kids.”

Senator Carignan, as the Conservatives lead in the senate, has been openly critical of the Liberal Government’s pledge to legalize, and has several pointed questions about legalization still to be addressed in Senate. He announced yesterday he will be stepping down from his leadership position effective March 31.

“You’re absolutely right, we’re committed to introducing legislation the spring, 21 days away. The good news is that spring goes right until June the 21st so that gives us a little bit of a window in there. But we are committed to introducing that legislation in the spring.” -Minister of Health, the Honourable Jane Philpott

Senator Linda Frum, another Conservative member of the Senate, asked a follow-up about international treaties, including the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, noting that spring is ‘only 21 days away’ and the government had pledged to introduce legislation by the spring.

“These treaties have 185 and 189 members, respectfully,” said Senator Frum. “Presumably you intend to withdraw Canada form these treaties. With the prospect of retaliation from member nations, including our neighbour to the south, what conversation have you had with your international counterparts to address the possibility of lengthy wait times at the border because searches at point-of-entry once marijuana is legalized in Canada?”

“You’re absolutely right, we’re committed to introducing legislation the spring, 21 days away,” responded Minister Philpott. “The good news is that spring goes right until June the 21st so that gives us a little bit of a window in there. But we are committed to introducing that legislation in the spring.

“You raise an important point, which is that the matter of legalization of cannabis will put us in the scenario where we will be in contravention of three international treaties. This is something that I have discussed with my colleagues. I’ve discussed it with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and it has recently come up in discussions with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs who is very much aware of this, and we have discussed a range of options as to how Canada could respond to that reality.

“The fact is that, in fact, the world is looking at us very closely about this. I’ve had numerous international delegations who have come and wanted to speak to me specifically about this because it’s something that many countries around the world are very interested in. They’re watching Canada very closely, which speaks to the fact that we have got to get this legislation right. In terms of negative impacts, obviously those things need to be taken into consideration—what that could look like as we go forward and make a decision as to our response to treaties. It is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

“You will no doubt be aware that there are a number of states within the United States that do have legalized cannabis at the present time. Of course that doesn’t put them in contravention because it’s not a federal decision there. But it’s a reality that they are also cognizant of. And clearly we would not want to put Canadians travel in jeopardy and will certainly take these things into consideration and I would be happy to update you at a later time.”
This is the third time the Health Minister has taken questions from the Senate.

Original article can be found here