Canada’s Cannabis Journal since 2010
Wherever medical marijuana has taken root, officially speaking, ads for the plant have been bringing new life to newspapers.1 The Colorado Springs Independent (CSI) has recently put out a 48-page medical marijuana ad supplement, featuring retailers like “Mile High Mikes,” “Happy Buddha,” and “Healthy Connections.” Village Voice Media now issues two advertising supplements: the “Chronic-le” in Denver, and “The Rolling Paper” in San Francisco and Orange County. The Denver […]
We once had alcohol prohibition in North America. The arguments that promoted it are depressingly similar to those that maintain cannabis prohibition today. Both revolve around the notion that mind-altering plants harm children and families. But there, as they say, the similarity ends. Alcohol prohibition, for all its faults, was attended by widespread public dialogue. Moreover, it didn’t last long. Within half a generation, it was over and […]
1. The Indian Hemp Commission was carried out in India at the behest of British Parliament. Some of the wealthier classes had complained that “Indian Hemp,” as Cannabis as called, was making the working classes lazy. The Commission found the “hemp drug” innocuous. 2. Albert Hofmann discovered LSD in 1938. In 1943 he took […]
In 2015, Canadians will be heading into a federal election. A key issue will be legalizing marijuana. The contending Liberal Party of Canada led by Justin Trudeau, supports the idea. The ruling Conservatives led by Stephen Harper oppose it. But while the Liberals have taken the lead by proposing this legislation, it is their opponents who have […]
Anyone who delves into cannabis history, in pulp form or online, will have read that THC, the molecule and its specific structure, was discovered in 1964 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem by Israeli researcher, Raphael Mechoulam and his associates. Cannabis Culture calls him ‘The Man.” If books aren’t your favourite, do a Google search on who discovered THC and you will see this fact for yourself. Until […]
This article was inspired by an interview with the manager of Ocean Grown, one of Victoria’s younger medical marijuana dispensaries. I was intrigued to hear that she had gotten her training from an online certificate program with Cannabis Training University (CTU), completed intensively over two days.1 The interview was enjoyable, but the CTU portion of […]
The Victoria Cannabis Buyer’s Club (VCBC), Vancouver Island’s senior medical marijuana dispensary, is located on a quiet section of Johnson Street at the edge of downtown Victoria, BC. Its storefront window bears a perpetual ‘Under Renovations’ sign. Aside from this, the dispensary, lodged in an old red brick building, has nothing to mark its […]
Plus Thoughts on Mark Haden’s Attempt To Make Cannabis Boring By Judith Stamps A few days ago, On July 10, 2014, CBC News ran an article describing Mark Haden’s take on legalizing marijuana in BC.1 The province, says the UBC adjunct professor, should apply to the federal government for a ‘section 56’ exemption. Hmm. It’s […]
Battling Daren the Lion This is the story of Educators For Sensible Drug Policy. It begins in 2001, when 21-year-old Adam Jones, an education major at the University of Montana at Billings, was arrested for possession of ½ gram of psilocybin mushrooms. He was sentenced to five years in prison, a sentence later […]
On May 2, 2011, the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) suffered the worst defeat in its political history. Having won 34 out of 308 federal seats, the party found itself knocked into third place for the first time. It had a mere 19% of the vote, and held only 4 seats west of Ontario. For many it was a profound shock, raising for the first time the question of the party’s survival. One […]