legalization

Friday October 26, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 26, 2018

Ontario Cannabis Store mum on backup delivery plan amid Canada Post strikes

October 17, 2018

As Canada Post strikes continue, the Ontario Cannabis Store is refusing to say when it will implement a so-called “contingency plan” to get pot to consumers.

That’s despite hundreds of people complaining online that their orders have been stalled or cancelled altogether in the week since legalization.

Cannabis became legal in Canada on Oct. 17 with provinces and territories launching a range of models using either retail or online stores, or both.

In Ontario, private stores will not open until April 2019 and in the meantime, the Ontario Cannabis Store is the only legal retailer for cannabis in the province.

September 15, 2016

But in the week since legalization, hundreds of Ontario consumers have taken to social media to complain the online retailer has failed to meet its promised one- to three-day delivery window, cancelled orders without notice and is failing to give any information to consumers about how they plan to deal with the ongoing Canada Post strike.

And as of Wednesday, its customer service hotline is also out of service “due to circumstances beyond our control.”

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the Ontario Cannabis Store said it has processed 100,000 orders so far.

That’s roughly the same amount it had previously said had been placed by consumers over the first 24 hours of legalization. (Source: Global News) 

 

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Thursday October 18, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 18, 2018

Liberal government to waive fee, waiting time for pot pardons

The Liberal government will waive the fee and waiting period for Canadians seeking a pardon for a past conviction for simple pot possession.

March 7, 2013

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced today that the government intends to table legislation to expedite the pardon process for those with a criminal record for pot.

The fee for normal record suspensions is $631. The waiting period to apply is usually five years for a summary offence or 10 years for an indictable offence.

Goodale said it will “shed the burden and stigma” and break down barriers to jobs, education, housing or volunteer work.

But he could not give a timeframe for when someone could apply and obtain a pardon, noting that the “critical point” is getting the legislation tabled and passed in Parliament.

September 28, 2012

He said legalization represents a “fundamental transformation” of a legal regime that’s been in place for over a century.

“That is not a singular event. That is a process,” he said.

A record suspension does not erase the fact that you were convicted of a crime, but keeps the record separate and apart from other criminal records.

The NDP is calling for the expungement of criminal records, which would erase the criminal conviction entirely.

NDP Justice critic Murray Rankin called the pardon plan a “half-baked measure” that won’t remove the existing barriers the criminal record presents for travel, housing or volunteering. People who are asked on a form if they have a criminal conviction will still be required to answer “yes.”

“If you call that an expungement, then you will completely solve the problem that I think will, continue to exist,” he said.

Goodale said the government did not adopt that approach, because it is for cases where there has been a “profound historical injustice,” such as when a charter right was violated. (Source: CBC)  

 

Wednesday October 17, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 17, 2018

Canada becomes second country to legalise recreational marijuana

The nationwide market for cannabis opened Wednesday at midnight amid lingering questions about the impact on health, the law and public safety.

Preparations included mailings to 15m households detailing the new cannabis laws and public awareness campaigns.

But there remain concerns, including about the readiness for police forces to tackle drug impaired driving.

Canadian provinces and municipalities have been preparing for months for the end of cannabis prohibition.

Provinces and territories are responsible for setting out many of the details for where cannabis can be bought and consumed within their jurisdictions. 

This has created a patchwork of legislation across the country as jurisdictions choose more or less restrictive frameworks for selling and using cannabis.

Shops in the province of Newfoundland, the most easterly time zone in Canada, opened as midnight struck for the first legal sales of cannabis in the country.

There remain unanswered questions on some key issues around how legal cannabis will work in Canada.

A number of analysts are predicting a shortage of recreational marijuana in the first year of legalisation as production and licensing continues to ramp up to meet demand.

And the marketplace itself is still in its infancy.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, will only begin opening retail stores next spring, though residents will be able to order cannabis online.

British Columbia, one of the provinces with the highest rates of cannabis use, will only have one legal store open on Wednesday.

Until retail locations are more widely available, some unlicensed cannabis retailers, which have flourished in the years since the law was first proposed, may stay open.

It is unclear if police will crack down on them immediately, or if they will turn a blind eye. (Source: BBC News) 

Tuesday October 16, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 16, 2018

Worried You Reek Like Weed? Prelam Has An ‘Odour Eliminator’ For You

The makers of Just’a Drop odour eliminators are stepping into the recreational cannabis market when it becomes legal October 17. Prelam Enterprises will launch the LUKY8 spray that day, which it claims will eliminate, and not just mask, the odour that comes with marijuana smoke.

June 22, 2018

“My goal was to give privacy to those people who will want to experiment because it’s legal all of a sudden,” said Prelam co-founder Luc Jalbert. “I figured there’s going to be millions of people trying it. There’ll be a lot of people buying it in the store because it’s legal, but they don’t want to advertise it, they don’t want their kids to know they had a puff.”

Jalbert said people who don’t traditionally use the substance may want to try it, including Baby Boomers. But as most people know, marijuana has a distinct smell that many may find too strong and obvious.

“Sometimes I’ll be in line at a bank or something and I can smell the cannabis on the guy behind me, it’s like, ‘wow, that’s a very distinct smell’,” Jalbert said. “My objective was to remove that taboo feeling that you could have a joint but you don’t have to advertise it.”

Jalbert said the LUKY8 is unlike other odour elimination sprays in the market because it “encapsulates the molecule [that creates the odour] and actually knocks it out.”

He used a formula aimed at the agricultural sector, he said. The product was researched, designed and manufactured in Moncton.

Users of the product just need to spray the air around them, their clothes or their furniture after consuming marijuana. Once sprayed, the LUKY8, which is safe for pets, will leave a light berry scent. (Source: Huddle Today) 

Thursday October 11, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 11, 2018

Privacy advocates have plenty of questions about how data from buying marijuana online will be handled

When Canadians go to buy their first grams of legal cannabis next week, many of them will do so through the internet, creating huge quantities of data as a side effect of their purchases.

But with only one week until legalization, privacy advocates say they still have plenty of questions about how that data will be handled.

And the answers could have serious ramifications: The United States still considers cannabis to be an illegal substance and concerns have been raised that Canadians could be blocked from travelling to the U.S. if customs officials find out that they have purchased the drug, or been involved in legalized production.

“It’s going to be an issue, and it’s going to present problems and challenges in terms of how that data is used, how it’s protected,” said Matt Murphy, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who is now vice-president of compliance for Khiron Life Sciences, a Toronto-based cannabis company.

“I’m not aware of much guidance relative to how that data is protected, how it’s used, how it’s stored. These are all interesting questions that I think we’re going to have to deal with — probably sooner rather than later.”

Murphy downplayed the concerns about the U.S. going to great lengths to figure out who bought a gram of cannabis — he said they’re more worried about terrorists and illegal migrants — but he said that potential privacy breaches could affect people’s employment, or simply cause public embarrassment. 

But then there’s the credit card companies. (Continued: Financial Post)