Health
Cannabis legalization will be a mess, says reader
Re: “Cannabis Policy Briefing,” (The Hill Times, Jan. 22, pp. 15-25). Come July 1, this will be a new problem across the country, since provinces are treating it very differently. This reminds me of the famous quote of Laurel and Hardy: “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.” And it will be a mess. […]
Embracing new technology for a new cannabis industry
With Bill C-45, Canada’s cannabis legalization bill, moving through the Senate, politicians and pundits have furiously debated our best path forward. Reduction of youth consumption, decriminalization of adult possession, and the eradication of black-market profits are shared objectives between government and industry that have driven legalization discussions to date. While these priorities are often discussed […]
Liberals to put sexual harassment, cannabis, transparency bills in the window as opposition parties hammer ethical lapses
Bills on sexual harassment on the Hill, political fundraisers, and cannabis legalization top a list of the legislation the federal Liberals will prioritize when the House returns Jan. 29, according to the Office of the Government House leader. The opposition Conservatives will get back to hammering Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) for breaking the […]
Best practices and pitfalls, how lessons learned stateside can inform Canadian cannabis legalization
Colorado and Washington are often referenced for pioneering the legalization of adult-use cannabis in 2012. Today, eight U.S. states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws legalizing cannabis for adult-use, with a total of 44 U.S. states providing legal medical or adult-use access or both. As recently as Jan. 1, sales of adult-use cannabis […]
Sen. Unger’s got it wrong on marijuana legalization
Re: “Marijuana legislation will not achieve its objectives and should be defeated,” (The Hill Times, Dec. 20, online). Senator Betty Unger’s op-ed against Bill C-45 is false and deceptive. Unger claims that Colorado now leads the United States in cannabis use amongst 12- to 17-year-olds. In February 2017, the Journal of the American Medical Association […]
Trudeau government should create process to pardon, expunge criminal records of Canadians with cannabis offences
When the Liberals promised Canadians cannabis legalization in the last election, Canadians understood legalization to mean the end of criminalization, the end of stigmatization, and the end of the prohibitionist approach to cannabis. It is why the NDP, along with millions of other Canadians, were somewhat surprised to read the fine print of Bill C-45 […]
MJ-101: time for ‘higher’ knowledge about cannabis
KINGSTON, ONT.—While many psychoactive substances like caffeine, cocaine, tobacco and heroin have plant origins, none has proven a contemporary social phenomenon as marijuana—a plant with both medicinal and recreational potential. Very few companies or indeed countries can boast the iconic brand recognition of the cannabis leaf; certainly, none of the aforementioned plants. Science, industry, agriculture, […]
A look ahead at cannabis legalization in 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set off the countdown clock when he announced last month that cannabis would be legal in Canada by the summer of 2018, however there are still plenty of issues to sort out before Canadians can legally light up, and some that will linger even after that. Legislation introduced by the Liberal government […]
Cannabis legalization in Canada: the case for pardons and preferential licensing
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s proposed date for legalizing the recreational use of cannabis is fast approaching and the Senate is debating Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act. Given the social harms associated with drug prohibition, legalization cannot come soon enough. We also need to go further and right past wrongs by pardoning those convicted of minor […]
