On October 19 2015, Justin Trudeau, currently our Prime Minister, led the Liberal Party of Canada to victory with a comfortable parliamentary majority. Legalizing and regulating the sale of cannabis to adults was part of the party’s platform. In June 2016, Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould announced the formation of a task force to develop a legalization […]
Tag: Trudeau
Trudeau on the International Stage: Implications for Cannabis Activists
This past weekend, Victoria BC played host to a matched set of visitors: British Royals, Prince William and his partner, Kate Middleton; and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accompanied by partner, Sophie Gregoire. The intense ceremony that surrounded this event reminds us that, for citizens of a classless society, at least in principle, we Canadians […]
Last Chance To Complete Task Force Surveys
Last month the federal government task force on legalization released 5 surveys and asked Canadians to share their opinion by August 28. That is right, Sunday is the last day to fill out the surveys. So if you are getting ready to party with Sublime this weekend or do some other wild and crazy thing, […]
What Are Needs? And Who Gets to Define Them? Reflections on Cannabis Law
Judith Stamps Biologically, a need is something required by a living organism, something that enables it to live a healthy life, and the deficiency of which would bring adversity. Psychologically, it is something that drives organisms to acquire the things needed. In the late 1960s, American Psychologist, Abraham Maslow, identified what he called a hierarchy […]
Surveys Show Liberals Ready To Corporatize Cannabis
Ted Smith Survey #4- Enforcing Public Safety and Protection Strengthened laws and appropriate enforcement response: Establishing a successful legalization regime will require the strengthening of laws that will minimize or eliminate criminal involvement. It could also require the strengthening of laws to punish those who choose to operate outside of its parameters, including those who […]
Tough Messages on Cannabis from Central Canada: What Next?
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 […]
Cannabis Task Force Survey Shows Home Cultivation Ruled Out Before Debate Starts
Survey #2 Establishing a Safe and Responsible Production System GOVERNMENT LINK Production Model: Experience with both home cultivation and government-controlled production in the context of relatively small numbers of medical users suggests neither approach would be in the public interest in the context of the larger numbers of users expected in a legalized market. Therefore, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Battleground BC: Legalization May Trump Craft Cannabis
Ted Smith People that do not even smoke cannabis know that BC has some of the best herb in the world. For decades cannabis farmers have illegally used first hidden valleys, and then basement hydroponic setups to produce volumes of high grade herb. But with legalization on the cusp those days are soon coming […]