cannibus

Saturday October 14, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 14, 2017

The Next Big Thing in the Cannabis Industry

 
Canada has a pot problem, as Quartz Media recently warned us, but it’s a lucrative problem to have. One thing holding back this $8-billion market Forbes Magazine, April 13, 2017) is supply, and one little-known company plans to be the steward of it in a big way.  
 
When Canada legalizes recreational marijuana in less than a year, in line with a bill pushed through by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, legal supply is likely to be limited. There may not even be enough even if we are only considering medical marijuana usage. Keeping an eye on Insys Therapeutics (NASDAQ:INSY), Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE:SMG), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZYNE), Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIRP), Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TEVA).
 
The supply picture is so fantastically tight that Health Canada has had to streamline the approval process for growers because medical marijuana users have tripled in number since last year alone, according to Quartz. When it becomes legal recreationally, a Deloitte report estimates the economic  impact will be worth $22.6 billion annually in other words, more than the combined sales of beer, wine and spirits.
 
Meet Cannabis Wheaton the world’s first cannabis streaming company, backed by a powerhouse team, with the biggest industry trailblazer leading the way.
 
Not only is Cannabis Wheaton jumping into a huge potential market where supply is forecast to struggle to reach demand, but it’s offering a lifeline to new and existing growers who need financing to get off the ground fast.
 
Producers need a miracle grow strategy, and Cannabis Wheaton is stepping in to fill the gap with a ‘royalty’ business model that is new to this market.
 
And for investors, the major upside is that this model removes the risks associated with putting all your money into a single-crop producer.
 
Cannabis Wheaton is intending to ‘stream’ pot, and 15 partners have already been lined up, along with 1.4 million square feet of growing acreage. (Source: Markets Insider) 

 

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Thursday April 21, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday April 21, 2016 Marijuana legislation coming to Canada next spring CanadaÕs legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations. During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan Òchallenges the status quo in many countries,Ó but she said the Liberal government is convinced itÕs the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety. Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the governmentÕs approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes. ÒI am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm,Ó she said. ÒAs a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp.Ó Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse. The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said. ÒShe described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life,Ó she said. ÒStories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as CanadaÕs minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens.Ó PhilpottÕs address happened to coincide with 4/20 the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture l

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 21, 2016

Marijuana legislation coming to Canada next spring

Canada’s legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday January 13, 2016 The Blair roach project has won a powerful supporter. Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is pleased Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, now Scarborough Southwest MP, to lead the marijuana legalization efforts. ÒI have a lot of respect for Bill Blair. I think that heÕll do a great job and his taking on of that role is the beginning of that national conversation that I said we have to have,Ó Wynne told reporters Monday at QueenÕs Park. The premier added that she was heartened that Blair is embracing her proposal to have cannabis sold through government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets. ÒIÕm encouraged that he had, as a preliminary approach, that he thinks that it might make sense to use a distribution network thatÕs in place, . . . (although thatÕs) not a foregone conclusion,Ó she said. ÒHeÕs got a lot of people to talk to and heÕs got a lot of questions to ask and a lot of decisions to make over the coming months, so I look forward to that conversation.Ó Blair, a rookie MP who is parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, will work with a three-member cabinet team and a soon-to-be-named federal-provincial-territorial task force to develop the policy for legalizing marijuana. On Friday, Blair said Ottawa will look to Colorado and other jurisdictions that have legalized marijuana sales. ÒWe have pretty robust systems of regulation for other intoxicants in this country, mostly overseen by the provinces, and so weÕve already got a model, a framework we can build on here,Ó he said. ÒI think there are certain modifications or adjustments that we may have to make for cannabis as opposed to alcohol, but I think there is already a strong system in place for the control and regulationÓ of marijuana sales here. The police veteran, who himself has never smoked marijuana, pointed out that it is Òvery difficul

January 13, 2016

During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan “challenges the status quo in many countries,” but she said the Liberal government is convinced it’s the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety.

Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the government’s approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes.

“I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm,” she said.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday November 27, 2015 The LCBO wants to sell you pot Stocking weed alongside wine at the LCBO is the best way to protect public health, say addiction experts. But for marijuana advocates it's more of the same prohibition. In a statement released Monday, the union representing LCBO workers said the provincially owned stores are the ideal place to sell marijuana, should the federal government legalize it. "If they do legalize it, then it's a drug," Warren (Smokey) Thomas told the Star. "So we think that, like alcohol, it should be controlled." Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said secure warehouses and staff trained to check ages are some of the reasons the LCBO should be the sole source of legal pot in the province, as it is with most alcohol. The scheme would also generate revenue for the government to combat the potential social costs. But marijuana advocates say those social costs and the spectre of public danger are overblown, and government-run sales would continue a prohibitionist regulatory approach. "Our view of course has always been that marijuana is one of the safest drugs. It's not any worse, slightly better, than coffee," said Blair Longley, the leader of the federal Marijuana Party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals won this fall's election with an campaign platform promising to "legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana." However, Longley maintains the drug should be proportionately restricted based on its danger. So ideally, he said, anyone should be free to grow and use the plant how she wishes with the informed consent as to any danger. Hugo St-Onge, leader of Quebec's Bloc Pot party agrees that government stores are not the way forward. "We need to stop comparing marijuana to alcohol," he said. "Marijuana should have its own model, its own system." He prefers a food-model regulatory system, with sales done in a similar fa

November 27, 2015

“As a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp.”

Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse.

The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

January 30, 2014

“She described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life,” she said.

“Stories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as Canada’s minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens.”

Philpott’s address happened to coincide with 4/20 the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture lovers, which takes on greater significance in Canada this year, with the government planning to green-light recreational marijuana use. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

2016-04-21tearsheet

Published in the London Free Press

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July 23, 2006

A visit to the Church of the Universe

To put some context to the latest local cartoon I feel compelled to explain who I placed in the position of God in my parody of Michelangelo’s famous painting “The Creation of Adam”. It’s Michael Baldasaro, and most Hamiltonians know who he is. For the record, here’s a photo essay I created after I was invited for a visit in February 2004.

An update on onetime federal PC leadership candidate, and mayoral candidate, the Rev. Michael Baldesaro, and his campaign manager, Brother Walter Tucker.

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When you put the words “politics” and “Hamilton” together, the first name that springs to mind is Sheila Copps. But did you know that along with left leaning Coppsian politics, steeltown is also known for the political movement to legalize cannabis? The crusade has been led for years by the two founders from the Hamilton based Church of the Universe. On February 9, I was invited to their temple. Here is my photo essay:

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The first thing one notices upon entering the temple is the high security system. Before being allowed in, I was observed from a closed circuit surveillance monitor. Following admittance, the door was secured behind me. Brother Michael tells me the building has been prey to trouble makers desiring free access to the church’s leafy sacrament.

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That’s a George Foreman grill to the left of the door.

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Once comfortably seated in the temple kitchen, Brother Walter spoke about previous busts, jail sentences, and court challenges, as Brother Michael rolled a joint.

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And they worshipped the sacrament…

We talked about some of the cartoons I had drawn of them, and they presented me with a framed drawing I had done in May, 1999.

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The brothers, also known for advocating naturism, lobbied the city to consider creating a nude beach at the edge of Hamilton Harbour. Brother Walter, pictured in the cartoon on the right, confided that the cartoon motivated him to lose weight.

I had them pose together with the cartoon:

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After an hour and a half visit it was time to get back to the office. Brother Michael offered me a brownie cooked by members of the church’s ladies auxillary. Unfortunately, I had to decline consuming the brownie owing to the fact that I’ve been limiting my carbohydrate intake recently. He suggested I offer it to a colleague, and I obliged by handing it over to my office neighbour, The Spectator’s City columnist upon my return to the office. Then I got busted by my boss, the Editorial Pages Editor, a former RCMP officer, who interrogated me and my colleague before confiscating the baked good for disposal.

For more information, visit the Church of the Universe website at:
http://www.iamm.com