Judith Stamps There are hostile vibes, these days, emanating from Ontario’s elite, at least on the subject of cannabis. The country is on the slow boat to legalization; nine months into the government’s first term, and we have a task force. We also have an online survey, asking for our feedback. But its tone is […]
Politics
Melding Medical and Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries: A Pragmatic View
Judith Stamps On the Melding Medical and Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries: A Pragmatic View Interviews with Dana Larsen and Dori Dempster, with input from Neil Allard; Jason Balaam; Maureen Bourke; Sarah Campbell; Marc Emery; Nicholas Fraleigh; and Martin Lee. The Backstory. Cannabis is an ancient medicine and spiritual balm. During its prohibition in the early 20th […]
Answers For the Cannabis Task Force – Minimizing Harms of Use
Ted Smith Questions – Minimizing Harms of Use This is my answer to the first of five surveys the federal government task force has created to guide them as they introduce laws to legalize cannabis. Over the next 4 weeks I will be posting my responses. Everyone has until August 28 to fill in these […]
Lobbying For Craft Cannabis
Michael Geoghegan Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn has made no secret of the fact she wants marijuana in Ontario sold exclusively through government liquor stores, or the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) as they are known there, when the Trudeau government gets around to legalizing weed next year. As the Toronto Star reported a a […]
Troubles in Toronto: Project Claudia
Tracy Lamourie It’s becoming a little exhausting being a cannabis activist in Ontario. In the time it takes to smoke a pin joint in a crowd, it seems the entire landscape has changed…and before you even have time to do a dab, it’s changed again. Originally I had planned to use this space only to […]
Who Sits On The Federal Task Force on Cannabis?
Ted Smith When Bill Blair announced who was on the task force making recommendations to the federal government regarding the legalization of cannabis on June 30, the cannabis community was clearly shut out of the process. Instead, lawyers, doctors and police officers will make up the panel that will write the general framework upon which […]
Cannabis Regulation and the Demons of Absolute Control
Judith Stamps I have begun to suspect that that the minds of some contemporary regulators are under the control of demons. I offer the following examples. Example One In September 2015, the State of California passed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), a comprehensive State licensing system. The Act requires the State to […]
So This Is Transparency: A Timeline on Deciphering Trudeau
Judith Stamps July 2013: At a political rally in Kelowna BC Justin Trudeau announces that he is in favour of legalizing and regulating the sale of Cannabis in Canada; cheers all ‘round. October 19, 2015: Trudeau wins a comfortable majority. His platform includes legalizing and regulating cannabis. Activists are cautiously optimistic. Trudeau strives for gender […]
Licensing Cannabis Dispensaries Undermines Gangs
Ted Smith Legalizing cannabis will help generate revenue by taking an industry that has traditionally operated underground and allowing it to prosper under a regulated market, while also saving vast amounts of valuable government resources currently spent on enforcing the laws. Prohibition has created a civil war, with government troops on one side and organized […]
Public Prosecutor Zealots Push For Toronto Police Raids
Ted Smith Everyone knows by now that Toronto police raided 43 cannabis dispensaries on Thurs May 26 but it is still not clear to everyone who influenced the chief of police in his decision to create Project Claudia. Mayor John Tory, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are all washing their hands […]