cannabis

Wednesday October 10, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 10, 2018

Minister confident police in Canada ready for cannabis legalization next week

Police forces across Canada should be ready for legalization of recreational marijuana next week because the federal government has provided funds, training and approval of drug-screening technology ahead of the big deadline, says a federal cabinet minister.

January 13, 2016

Bill Blair, minister of border security and organized crime reduction, says the government provided up to $161 million one year ago for police training in how to detect the presence of drugs in drivers. In August, it also approved the use of roadside drug screening equipment to identify those driving while high.

“For the first time ever, the police have been given the training, the tools and the technology to actually detect and deter,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Tuesday.

In the last 18 months, there has been a 60 per cent increase in the number of police officers trained as drug recognition experts in Canada, he said. There are now more than 880 police officers in Canada trained to recognize drug-impaired drivers.

August 13, 2018

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, however, has said there should be 2,000 trained to fulfil the government’s push to crack down on drug-impaired drivers.

Blair said police forces have access to the new Dräger DrugTest 5000, which tests saliva for cocaine and THC, the main psychoactive agent in cannabis. The device, which includes an “analyzer” and cassettes, received approval from the federal Department of Justice.

“People are already and have been for years driving under the influence of drugs and police have never had the ability to detect it,” he said. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Saturday September 15, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 15, 2018

Canadians who smoke marijuana legally, or work or invest in the industry, will be barred from the U.S.: Customs and Border Protection official

Canadians will be barred from entering the United States for smoking marijuana legally, for working in Canada’s legal marijuana industry and for investing in legal Canadian marijuana companies, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official says.

Todd Owen, who spoke to the U.S. website Politico, said the U.S. does not plan to change its border policies to account for Canada’s marijuana legalization, which takes effect on Oct. 17.

“We don’t recognize that as a legal business,” said Owen, executive assistant commissioner for the office of field operations.

Owen’s comments corroborated anecdotal reports that have accumulated over the course of the year. Canadians with links to the nascent legal industry, including venture capitalist Sam Znaimer and the chief executive of a B.C. agricultural machinery company, have already been given lifetime entry bans.

Owen said border officers will not begin asking every Canadian about their marijuana use.

He said, however, that officers might ask if “other questions lead there,” or “if there is a smell coming from the car,” or if a dog detects marijuana residue.

Owen did not specify how much equity a Canadian has to hold in a cannabis company to be denied entry. Scott Bernstein, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said he is troubled by the lack of clarity.

Thousands of Canadians have shares in cannabis companies, which are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

“They’re investing in a completely legal industry in Canada, but it happens to be the cannabis industry …. That person who owns a mutual fund and maybe doesn’t even know where their money is going, are they going to be covered as well?” Bernstein said.

Bernstein, who also expressed concern about U.S. profiling of people stereotyped as likely marijuana users, said the Canadian government should negotiate with the U.S. at least to secure entry for workers and investors.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that he does not think he has the right to press the U.S. on its admission policy. (Toronto Star) 

 

Wednesday June 27, 2018

 

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 27, 2018

Doug Ford wants consultations on cannabis sales in Ontario

With the legalization of recreational cannabis now months away, Ontario’s incoming premier said he wants to consult further with municipalities, stakeholders and his caucus before deciding whether to change the plan laid out by his predecessors for the sale of marijuana.

January 23, 2018

The outgoing Liberals had planned to roll out 150 standalone pot stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario by the end of 2020, with the first 40 scheduled to open this year.

Doug Ford, who was elected this month, had previously suggested he would be open to greater privatization of marijuana sales.

But when asked about his plan for pot sales on Thursday, Ford said he’s focusing on the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which he said already has infrastructure in place that would allow it to sell marijuana once it becomes legal this fall.

“What I said is I’d be focusing on the LCBO. I’m private sector, I don’t believe government should stick their nose into everything, but again, this is a path we have never went down,” he said. “We’re going to tread carefully on this and we’re going to consult with the local municipalities and we’re going to make a decision after we talk to caucus.”

January 23, 2014

The Progressive Conservatives say when the premier-designate talks about focusing on the LCBO, he’s referring to Ontario Cannabis Stores run by the LCBO, as the outgoing Liberal government planned.

Ford also suggested Thursday that Ottawa had left the provinces with little support to prepare for legalization.

“This is a path that the federal government has dumped on all the provinces,” he said.

The federal government announced this week that Canadians will be able to legally purchase recreational marijuana starting Oct. 17. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said legalization was pushed back at the request of several provinces who sought more time to make the transition. (Source: CTV) 

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Tuesday June 26, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 26, 2018

Trudeau to visit three cities on Canada Day, skip Parliament Hill festivities

Justin Trudeau will skip Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill this year.

March 28, 2017

Instead, the prime minister will be on the road, celebrating Canada’s 151st birthday in three cities in three different regions.

Trudeau is scheduled to visit Leamington, Ont., Regina and Dawson City, Yukon — all on July 1.

He will still put in an appearance on Parliament Hill but it will be via video from Leamington.

Spokesman Cameron Ahmad says Trudeau wants to spend Canada day with “Canadians and their families” in parts of the country he doesn’t often get a chance to visit.

June 1, 2018

But in at least two of the three cities, the tour seems designed to reflect the looming trade war between Canada and the United States.

Trudeau will meet steelworkers in Regina, who’ve been hard-hit by President Donald Trump’s imposition of crippling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

And in Leamington, he’ll be meeting workers at the French’s ketchup factory.

Ketchup is one of many U. S. goods upon which the Trudeau government intends to slap $16.6 billions worth of retaliatory tariffs, starting on July 1. The Leamington visit appears aimed at reminding Canadians they can still get made-in-Canada ketchup, on which no tariff will apply. (Source: CTV) 

 

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Friday June 22, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 22, 2018

Justin Trudeau says pot will be legal as of Oct. 17, 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canadians will be able to consume marijuana recreationally without criminal penalties starting on Oct. 17, 2018 — many months later than the government’s initial target date.

August 23, 2013

“One of the things that we heard very clearly from the provinces is that they need a certain amount of time to get their bricks and mortar stores — their online sales — ready. Producers need time to be able to actually prepare for a regimented and successful implementation of the regime … This is something that we want to get right,” Trudeau told reporters at a press conference held today before the House of Commons rises for its summer recess.

“By giving the provinces more time to ensure that they are fully ready for the day of coming into force of this legislation, it will be a smooth success in all the ways that we can hope for.”

While the federal government was responsible for the bill that will ultimately legalize recreational marijuana possession, home growing and sales to adults — by dismantling key aspects of the Criminal Code that ensured prohibition for 95 years — the practical details of implementing legalization have been left largely to the provinces and territories.

December 12, 2017

As is common in the Canadian system of federalism, each province has taken a different approach — and some are more prepared than others. New Brunswick, for example, has already built its first retail storefront, while Nunavut only passed its legal framework on Tuesday.

The government has long said there would be a buffer of eight to 12 weeks between the bill’s passage and full legalization to allow provinces to get their systems up and running to sell recreational marijuana from storefronts. (Source: CBC)

 

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