Law Canada MJ News

[Killick]

Sadly the Canadian legal framework is all about maximizing profits for Licensed Providers, aka LPs, and not geared towards patient safety. The testing has been downloaded to the LP to carry out. One LP, OrganiGram, lost their Organic certification after a whistleblower pointed out that OrganiGram was hiding banned chemicals and pesticides in their office ceiling tiles when the inspectors came for their pre-scheduled visits...

Here's the official documentation. It outlines what LPs are supposed to do, but doesn't mention anything about actually checking to ensure these are being followed.

***

Good Production Practices
Licensed producers are subject to Good Production Practices that are meant, among other things, to ensure the cleanliness of the premises and equipment. The licensed producer is required to employ a quality assurance person with appropriate training, experience, and technical knowledge to approve the quality of fresh and dried marijuana, marijuana plants and seeds, and cannabis oil prior to making it available for sale.

Product Quality
Licensed producers must conduct tests on their products, including, as applicable:

• for microbial and chemical contaminants of fresh and dried marijuana, and cannabis oil
• for disintegration of capsules or similar dosage forms of cannabis oil
• for residues of solvents in cannabis oil for content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, cannabidiol and cannabidiolic acid

The Technical Specifications for Testing Dried Marihuana for Medical Purposes guidance document provides specific information for licensed producers to help them meet some of these requirements.
***the link referenced above, a 'guidance document', is dated 2016 and is archived and not updated).

Other requirements
Licensed producers must also meet other requirements under Good Production Practices under the ACMPR including, but not limited to:

• Sanitation Program
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Establishment of a Recall System

Information on Good Production Practices can mainly be found under Subdivision D of the ACMPR.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-can...ss-cannabis-medical-purposes-regulations.html

 

[Killick]

More heinous fuckery... canada needs more prisons...

As of December, Canadian law enforcement will have expanded powers to conduct roadside tests on drivers regardless of whether they show signs of impaired driving. The new regulations—put in place to prepare for cannabis legalization in the fall—also apply to drunk driving, eliminating what used to be a requirement of “reasonable suspicion” to conduct a sobriety test.

These newly expanded powers have been the subject of controversy and were initially removed from Canada’s impaired driving bill—a standalone alone piece of legislation known as C-46—by the Senate in June. But the Liberal government, led by pro-cannabis Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, put the provisions back in place insisting that law enforcement must play a crucial role in legalization.

https://herb.co/marijuana/news/canada-cannabis-impaired-driving-c46

 

[momofthegoons]

But the Liberal government, led by pro-cannabis Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, put the provisions back in place insisting that law enforcement must play a crucial role in legalization.

Oh man... another case of watch what you wish for..........

 

[Killick]

06:19PM


EDITORIAL: Marijuana becomes legal in Canada, but there are perils for the unwary
By - The Washington Times - Monday, July 2, 2018


ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Oh, Canada. Land of funny accents, mounted police, and soon, legal marijuana.

The Canadian parliament has made “recreational use” of the weed legal, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supports the new law, which legalizes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for Canadians 18 and older, effective Oct. 17.

“We have seen in the Senate tonight a historic vote that ends 90 years of prohibition of cannabis in this country, 90 years of needless criminalization, 90 years of a just-say-no approach to drugs that hasn’t worked,” Sen. Tony Dean, a sponsor of the legislation, said with considerable glee when the votes were counted.

Canada becomes the second nation to legalize marijuana. “Medical marijuana” has long been legal north of the border. The other is tiny Uruguay. While the Netherlands boasts a thriving marijuana-smoking scene, the weed is technically only decriminalized, not legalized. Amsterdam is lovely though seriously strange, and the stoned tourists who parade through the city center in various streams of consciousness do it no favors. Nine states and the District of Columbia have “legalized” marijuana, but this is a pleasant fiction, much like the fuzzy view of the world through the eyes of a pothead. It’s still against federal law.

Proponents of getting legally stoned, including the prime minister, make the baffling argument that by legalizing marijuana there will be less abuse of it, and fewer young people will light up. “It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana,” the prime minister said. “Today, we change that.” But this sounds odd, like distant voices in a pot high. Pot will be much more accessible, and thus prevalent, now that it’s legally sanctioned. A study described in the Journal of American Medicine found that pot smoking among 8th and 10th graders increased in Washington state and Colorado after marijuana got the seal of the law. Legalization does not necessarily mean normalization. Sen. Leo Housakos of Canada’s Conservative Party observes that “we have a bill that has an overarching goal to reduce the marijuana use among young people in this country and what it does right off the get-go is normalizes it.”

Nearly everybody agrees that reducing marijuana smoking, especially among the young, is a good public policy goal. “A growing number of studies show regular marijuana use — once a week or more — actually changes the structure of the teenage brain, specifically in areas dealing with memory and problem solving,” National Public Radio reported in 2014. An Arizona State University researcher reports that “people who began using marijuana in their teenage years and then continued to use marijuana for many years, lost about eight IQ points from childhood to adulthood, whereas those who never used marijuana did not lose any IQ points.” America hardly needs more people with their heads in the clouds of smoke.

‌
The strange gets stranger. As part of the drug legalization, the provinces of Quebec and Ontario want to create marijuana sales monopolies. Quebec has already set up one, the Quebec Cannabis Company. The provincial governments will naturally want to increase the use of marijuana because taxes on it will increase revenue. Even as they work to reduce abuse of the drug on public health grounds, profitability expands when more potheads toke up.

Canada’s cannabis stocks have surged already in anticipation of what happens in October. Matt McCall of the Penn Financial Group is particularly bullish. “I believe the incredible tail winds blowing at legal marijuana’s back make it [much like] the opportunity internet stocks offered in 1994, or the one Bitcoin offered in 1995.”

Marijuana, or cannabis, stocks were among the best-performing shares on the Canadian stock markets last year. Canada’s Global News reports that those who invested in those stocks last year have reaped “bitcoin-like returns.” Canopy, Canada’s largest marijuana producer, saw the value of its shares increase by 7 percent; Cronos Group, another producer, gained 6.2 percent and the worth of Aurora increased nearly 4 percent.

Canadian producers, eager to make a market, expect a surge of profits late this fall when legalization day arrives, but Canadian analysts say there might not be enough pot to go around and some companies won’t be able to meet their commitments. “I think there are companies very well suited to back up what they’re saying,” an analyst at Cacaccord Genuity tells Bloomberg News, “and I think there are some that are just hoping for the best. Allan Gregory, a professor of economics at Canada’s Queen University, says marijuana is not “an investment for the faint of heart.”

There’s peril aplenty for the unwary. Several big American banks declined to do business with banks in Uruguay, which legalized pot five years ago, because they are wary of getting entangled in U.S. banking regulations against money laundering and drug trafficking. One wrong step and everything goes up in the pungent aroma of an innocent joint.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jul/2/editorial-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-canada-but-th/

 

[Killick]

Coming up on the news: We're all doomed!

A recent article that appeared in major media outlets across Canada claimed that cannabis use killed 8,851 Canadians in 2014.

The figure supposedly came from a report prepared by the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), with backing from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).

The focus of the study was on the financial costs to society associated with use of various substances, but it included death tallies as well.

After the story was printed, I seem to have been the only person to notice and question the astounding claim of 8,851 cannabis deaths. Could this be true?

https://www.straight.com/cannabis/1...-claims-8851-annual-deaths-cannabis-use-truth

 

[momofthegoons]

After the story was printed, I seem to have been the only person to notice and question the astounding claim of 8,851 cannabis deaths. Could this be true?

More than likely it's just fear propaganda. There seems to be a lot of that going on in Canada right now with the new legalization.... look at this load of misinformative crap...apparently it is not 'safe or moral' to use cannabis?

Prendergast: Temperance teachings needed with legal recreational use of marijuana on the way

Laws used to somewhat reflect what is healthy or moral. Not anymore. The government endorsement of the personal use of cannabis, effective this Oct. 17, will not magically make its consumption safe or moral.

Two generations ago, we did not have proof that tobacco use led to addiction, illness and death. That gave rise to a public health disaster. Government policies and lawsuits have sought to contain the damage in the decades since. Ironically, our governments are soon to approve and even market another substance with well-documented deleterious effects.

Physically, the damage that smoking marijuana causes is similar to that of tobacco cigarettes. The American Lung Association reports comparable respiratory exposure to toxins, irritants and carcinogens, leading to chronic coughing, wheezing, phlegm production and acute bronchitis.

Exposure to tar is greater because marijuana smokers tend to inhale deeper and hold their breath longer. Cannabis suppresses the immune system. Second-hand marijuana smoke exposure is dangerous.

Other delivery methods are also risky. Vaping damage to lungs is still under study. Ingestion, with its slower psychotropic effect, has led to larger doses than intended and dangerous disorientation. Children have been poisoned by marijuana lollipops and brownies. Cannabis is addictive.

Heavy exposure results in “use disorder” in about 30 per cent of consumers. Cannabis significantly impairs judgment, motor co-ordination and reaction times, making driving while high particularly hazardous.

Dreaming, a necessary outlet for a healthy mind, is suppressed by cannabis.

The recreational use of cannabis is part of a continuum of substances that some people use to escape the burdens of life. This is deceptive because that apparent escape actually aggravates the situation. It impairs the ability to face life’s problems and sometimes worsens financial or relationship struggles.

There is a link between heavy consumption in youth and an increased risk of mental disorders, including anxiety, paranoia and lethargy. Cannabis use harms cognitive development during the formative years, even changing the brain’s structure. The maturation process ceases, referred to as arrested development.

There are negative impacts on learning, memory and impulse control. Cannabis use is strongly correlated with binge drinking.

Young people will be the main target market for cannabis sellers who want to entice “early joiners.” This is precisely the group that is the most prone to risky behaviour and the most vulnerable to its long-term consequences.

It will be vital for parents to teach teens to respect their bodies’ and brains’ needs by resisting the recreational use of this harmful substance. If a teen’s parents forbid marijuana use, another moral issue then comes into play — that of disobeying God’s commandment to honour one’s parents by following their guidance.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2290 points to the key principle applicable to recreational drug use: that of temperance. “The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt that, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.”

In response to the impending legalization, Church leaders will need to teach on temperance. Directives for confessors should help them assist penitents with wise guidance in this matter, just as they have with other contemporary plagues like pornography.

In contrast, where other options do not work, the medically supervised use — not abuse — of therapeutic cannabinoids to alleviate symptoms such as nausea or loss of appetite from chemotherapy does not carry the moral censure of recreational drug use.

To steward our bodies well, we should abstain from substances that impair our decision-making and that harm our health. That includes cannabis.

 

[momofthegoons]

Sigh.....

Some provinces plan to hire teens for marijuana sting operations

Four provinces are planning to launch sting operations against marijuana retailers to test whether they’re keeping underage customers out of their stores.

B.C., Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador all forbid people under 19 from buying or trying to buy cannabis, but carve out an exception for teens hired by an enforcement authority to try and find retailers selling pot to minors. .

The programs would be similar to those run for years in several provinces to find retailers who sell tobacco or alcohol to underage customers.

They would also be similar to one run by Oregon’s liquor authority, which regularly sends minors to legal marijuana stores there, and publishes the results. Over nine days in January, officials sent underage shoppers into 70 marijuana stores across the state. (Pass rates varied from 60 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on the region. )

Test shoppers have to use their own real ID, and are not allowed to lie. (A retailer who wants to follow the law should find it easy: Oregon driver’s licences for youths are marked in red with “Under 21 until:” and the holder’s 21st birthday.)

Colorado also sends underage shoppers into marijuana stores; the compliance rate is around 95 per cent.

Saskatchewan plans a version of the program they now use for alcohol, using “contract minors,” says David Morris of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

“We hire contract minors to go into liquor-permitted establishments to ensure that they’re being checked for ID and that alcohol is not being sold,” he explains. “With cannabis, we’ll have the same ability to do that.”

As in Oregon, Saskatchewan’s test shoppers aren’t allowed to “mislead or persuade,” or use fake IDs. A liquor inspector “is there to intervene if there was a situation,” Morris says.

Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador’s cannabis retail will be run by the private sector, while Nova Scotia’s will be run out of government-run liquor stores, and B.C. will be a mixture of public and private.

Nova Scotia doesn’t actually plan to use its new power, provincial spokesperson Andrew Preeper said in an email.

“Nova Scotia is selling cannabis solely through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation,” he wrote. “The NSLC does its own compliance work, so this provision is not required at the present time.”

The clause was included “in case our model were to evolve,” Preeper wrote.

“We felt it was prudent to include, even if there are no immediate plans to make use of that clause.”
In any province, test shoppers would have to be 18, and not younger, to avoid running afoul of the federal minimum age of 18. The concept wouldn’t work in Quebec and Alberta, where the provincial minimum age is 18, unless federal law was changed to allow for it.

Fines for selling pot to someone who’s provincially underage vary from a $10,000 fine in N.L. to a $50,000 fine in B.C. There is also a chance of jail. Saskatchewan allows for a fine of up to $100,000 for a corporation.

 

[Baron23]

06:19PM


EDITORIAL: Marijuana becomes legal in Canada, but there are perils for the unwary
By - The Washington Times - Monday, July 2, 2018


ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Oh, Canada. Land of funny accents, mounted police, and soon, legal marijuana.

The Canadian parliament has made “recreational use” of the weed legal, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supports the new law, which legalizes possession of less than an ounce of marijuana for Canadians 18 and older, effective Oct. 17.

“We have seen in the Senate tonight a historic vote that ends 90 years of prohibition of cannabis in this country, 90 years of needless criminalization, 90 years of a just-say-no approach to drugs that hasn’t worked,” Sen. Tony Dean, a sponsor of the legislation, said with considerable glee when the votes were counted.

Canada becomes the second nation to legalize marijuana. “Medical marijuana” has long been legal north of the border. The other is tiny Uruguay. While the Netherlands boasts a thriving marijuana-smoking scene, the weed is technically only decriminalized, not legalized. Amsterdam is lovely though seriously strange, and the stoned tourists who parade through the city center in various streams of consciousness do it no favors. Nine states and the District of Columbia have “legalized” marijuana, but this is a pleasant fiction, much like the fuzzy view of the world through the eyes of a pothead. It’s still against federal law.

Proponents of getting legally stoned, including the prime minister, make the baffling argument that by legalizing marijuana there will be less abuse of it, and fewer young people will light up. “It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana,” the prime minister said. “Today, we change that.” But this sounds odd, like distant voices in a pot high. Pot will be much more accessible, and thus prevalent, now that it’s legally sanctioned. A study described in the Journal of American Medicine found that pot smoking among 8th and 10th graders increased in Washington state and Colorado after marijuana got the seal of the law. Legalization does not necessarily mean normalization. Sen. Leo Housakos of Canada’s Conservative Party observes that “we have a bill that has an overarching goal to reduce the marijuana use among young people in this country and what it does right off the get-go is normalizes it.”

Nearly everybody agrees that reducing marijuana smoking, especially among the young, is a good public policy goal. “A growing number of studies show regular marijuana use — once a week or more — actually changes the structure of the teenage brain, specifically in areas dealing with memory and problem solving,” National Public Radio reported in 2014. An Arizona State University researcher reports that “people who began using marijuana in their teenage years and then continued to use marijuana for many years, lost about eight IQ points from childhood to adulthood, whereas those who never used marijuana did not lose any IQ points.” America hardly needs more people with their heads in the clouds of smoke.

‌
The strange gets stranger. As part of the drug legalization, the provinces of Quebec and Ontario want to create marijuana sales monopolies. Quebec has already set up one, the Quebec Cannabis Company. The provincial governments will naturally want to increase the use of marijuana because taxes on it will increase revenue. Even as they work to reduce abuse of the drug on public health grounds, profitability expands when more potheads toke up.

Canada’s cannabis stocks have surged already in anticipation of what happens in October. Matt McCall of the Penn Financial Group is particularly bullish. “I believe the incredible tail winds blowing at legal marijuana’s back make it [much like] the opportunity internet stocks offered in 1994, or the one Bitcoin offered in 1995.”

Marijuana, or cannabis, stocks were among the best-performing shares on the Canadian stock markets last year. Canada’s Global News reports that those who invested in those stocks last year have reaped “bitcoin-like returns.” Canopy, Canada’s largest marijuana producer, saw the value of its shares increase by 7 percent; Cronos Group, another producer, gained 6.2 percent and the worth of Aurora increased nearly 4 percent.

Canadian producers, eager to make a market, expect a surge of profits late this fall when legalization day arrives, but Canadian analysts say there might not be enough pot to go around and some companies won’t be able to meet their commitments. “I think there are companies very well suited to back up what they’re saying,” an analyst at Cacaccord Genuity tells Bloomberg News, “and I think there are some that are just hoping for the best. Allan Gregory, a professor of economics at Canada’s Queen University, says marijuana is not “an investment for the faint of heart.”

There’s peril aplenty for the unwary. Several big American banks declined to do business with banks in Uruguay, which legalized pot five years ago, because they are wary of getting entangled in U.S. banking regulations against money laundering and drug trafficking. One wrong step and everything goes up in the pungent aroma of an innocent joint.

https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jul/2/editorial-marijuana-becomes-legal-in-canada-but-th/

Both newspapers in Washington DC are actually political party news organs.....one for the left and one for the right. But between the two, and as unbelievable as it is to find a paper even more biased than the Post, the Times is by far the worse rag sheet, IMO.

 

[Killick]

@Baron23 Are you saying there is something incorrect about the article? I'm interested in reading your corrections.

 

[Baron23]

@Baron23 Are you saying there is something incorrect about the ? I'm interested in reading your corrections.

No, what I’m saying is that it and the Times has a definite editorial bias. The WaPo also has a clear editorial bias. I believe you an see this in the clear editorialization in all of their articles. Times to what we call the right and WaPo to what we call the left.

To me, news is facts and not some media outlet trying to steer my view of the facts.

Still respect BBC and public/radio news.

Cheers

 

[Killick]

I just posted the article because it's accurate. I don't read any one news source and call it gospel. Interestingly I don't trust any British journalism - they have dozens of newspapers, and they all tend to feature the same headlines. When you actually read a few different newspapers the stories are all different, based on the writers own views of the facts. BBC is a TV version of the same school of journalism, and shouldn't be used as a sole source of news. It's nicely marketed tho.

 

[Baron23]

I just posted the article because it's accurate. I don't read any one news source and call it gospel. Interestingly I don't trust any British journalism - they have dozens of newspapers, and they all tend to feature the same headlines. When you actually read a few different newspapers the stories are all different, based on the writers own views of the facts. BBC is a TV version of the same school of journalism, and shouldn't be used as a sole source of news. It's nicely marketed tho.

Well, accurate in a news article is often difficult to define. My objection to the article is the pejoratives terms used (like "stoner" and "pot") when more neutral terms exist. I see this as spin and editorizalizing while I don't think that article was from the editorial page, right???

Then there is this:

The recreational use of cannabis is part of a continuum of substances that some people use to escape the burdens of life. This is deceptive because that apparent escape actually aggravates the situation. It impairs the ability to face life’s problems and sometimes worsens financial or relationship struggles.
​

Now, I don't know how anyone could call this "accurate" as I view it as a pure editorial comment reflecting the personal views (in this case clearly anti-MJ) of the author.

Of course you are free to see it differently without comment from me.

 

[Killick]

The bulk of the article is fine. If you can find opinion piece writers that you agree with 100% - good job. Poking holes in what isn't a bad article for a couple of little nit-picking points doesn't add value to the discussion. I do agree with you, and have had conversations with newspaper editors due to their slack use of verbiage. Things are changing, just not as fast as we'd like. Those words will change. They are changing rapidly. I'd suggest that if you have an issue with an article, or a newspaper chain, take it up directly with them. Things won't change without feedback from their audience, and their audience isn't me, I just shared an article. I don't really care what the source is, as long as the article is useful.

 

[momofthegoons]

Wow... this is nuts.... a lifetime ban? Well how about if they change occupations? So over the top.

Canadian cannabis workers targeted by U.S. border guards for lifetime bans

VANCOUVER—As tensions between Canada and the U.S. have risen in recent months, a quieter, slower-burning conflict has been developing along the border: Canadians associated with the cannabis industry — even if they have never used the drug — can be banned for life from America.

Despite Washington State legalizing cannabis within state boundaries, the border is under federal jurisdiction. And since cannabis, along with drugs such as heroin and cocaine, is a Schedule I substance, past or current association with the drug is considered a federal crime in the U.S.

Canadians involved in the cannabis economy are finding themselves hit with lifetime bans on entry to the U.S. for violating federal drug law. Immigration lawyers and policy experts say there is little hope of the situation improving. (ELAINE THOMPSON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Jay Evans, CEO of Keirton Inc., an equipment manufacturer, was recently given a lifetime ban on entering the United States when border guards discovered some of his machines are used by cannabis producers. Experts say an increasing number of Canadians involved in the cannabis economy are learning the same lesson the hard way. (JENNIFER GAUTHIER / STARMETRO)

In addition to those who have used marijuana, Canadians who are involved with the cannabis economy have been labelled “inadmissible” because they are considered to be living off the profits of the drug trade. Once banned for life, they must seek legal waivers from an immigration lawyer — good for between one and five years — for the rest of their lives when they wish to cross the border.

A Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs press officer for the U.S. State Department told The Star via email that “admission requirements into the United States will not change due to Canada’s legalization of cannabis.”

Blaine, Wash.-based immigration lawyer Len Saunders said he hears from Canadians seeking waivers for inadmissibility because of cannabis at least once or twice a week — up from one or two cases per year 15 years ago.

Because: “How are you getting paid?” Saunders asked. “You’re getting paid by your Canadian company which is making money through marijuana.”

 

[Baron23]

This has to be one of the dumbest things I have seen our Fed government do and that's a high bar to hurdle.

So, over 2/3's of Americans live in under some level of MJ legalization. 2/3's. That's about 200M people. And we are banning Canadians.

Alright Trump...you promised common sense approach to issues....time to put your money where your mouth is at on MJ and fix this fucking mess.

 

[Baron23]

Key facts from the Canadian Cannabis Act’s 400 pages of regulations

Canadians have known for a while that legal recreational cannabis would soon become a national fact.

But no one knew the precise specifics of the Cannabis Act’s regulations, which contain much of the minutiae and rule-setting that fill in many of the blanks in the federal legislation.

The Canadian government recently released 400 pages (!) of Cannabis Act regulations, covering everything from cultivation, processing, and sales of cannabis flower to the shape and colour of barcodes on cannabis packages. (There can only be one per package, and it must be square and in black and white.) Here are six of the most interesting regulation takeaways.

1. Cannabis Gains ‘Southern’ Access
Orally-consumable cannabis capsules have been available to authorized medical patients for years, but the Cannabis Act is broadening the scope of these products, enabling not just oral products, but also rectal and vaginal suppositories.

2. Industrial Hemp Farmers Can Grow, Sell CBD
Industrial hemp farmers are now legally allowed to take cannabidiol (CBD) produced by their plant and deliver it to a federally-licensed cannabis processor, which in turn can make it into cannabis oils (which can then be used in the now-legal suppositories we just mentioned).

3. Outdoor Commercial Cultivation Is a Go
Prior to the Cannabis Act, commercial cultivation of cannabis could only take place indoors. Health Canada has decided to allow outdoor cultivation, which could lead to decreased production costs and overall lower market prices for consumers.

One hope-bestowing revelation in the regulations: the creation of a new license class for “cannabis pharmaceuticals.”
4. No More Client Labels on Bottles
Licensed medical cannabis patients are used to having their medicine labelled with their full name, shipping date, registration expiry date, and a “separate document” that comes in the form of a paper receipt or card issued with each order. Going forward, this information will not be required.

Instead, Health Canada will require medical cannabis sellers to give each patient a “registration document” when they sign up, outlining the terms of the prescription and serving as proof of medical authorization.

5. Simple Possession Convictions Can No Longer Bar Industry Participants
If the only blemish on a citizen’s criminal record is a charge of simple possession of a small amount of cannabis, this cannot form the basis of a refusal for a security clearance, which is required for key cannabis-industry personnel. However, past illicit acts with cannabis can be taken into consideration while issuing (or denying) security clearances.

6. New Cannabis Drug Licenses Will Allow for Prescription Cannabis Drugs
One particularly hope-bestowing revelation in the regulations: the creation of a new license class for “cannabis pharmaceuticals.” This will hopefully spur development of cannabis-based prescription medications, which would be exempt from the excise tax, unlike most medical cannabis products. This could also allow cannabis medicines to be assigned drug-identification numbers, which are necessary for a medicine to qualify for insurance coverage.

There are, of course, many other provisions in the thick new rulebook. For example, retailers may sell pre-rolled joints, but these pre-rolls may only contain up to one gram of cannabis. (Lovers of fat blunts will have to roll their own.) A much-feared THC limit on dried cannabis, however, is nowhere to be found.

The regulations will come into force on October 17, 2018.

 

[momofthegoons]

B.C. government announces 31 licensed cannabis producers set to supply the recreational market

• 
  
  After October 17, legal retailers will be able to stock their shelves with over 150 pot strains from 31 federally licensed cannabis producers.

The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) has signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with 31 federally licensed cannabis producers (LP) to supply the recreational market come fall.

In a news release today (July 11), the LDB, the sole authority charged with legal cannabis distribution in the province, says the selection will “form an extensive and competitive wholesale product assortment” that offers over 150 strains. The release says licensed retailers will be able to offer a spectrum of quality, from value to ultra-premium, at “competitive” price points.

The list, which represents just under a third of the country’s licensed producers, is the largest and most diverse spectrum of wholesale producers announced by a province since Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, received Royal Assent in June.

The LDB says it selected LPs, which includes globally-expanding leviathans Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth Corp., based on those who fulfilled their request for information process and are able to supply a sufficient amount of cannabis after October 17, the official date of legalization.

“We are thrilled to be reaching this significant milestone in developing a competitive wholesale assortment for non-medical cannabis,” said Blain Lawson, LDB’s general manager and CEO, in the release.

“The volume, variety and quality of our product assortment speak to the LDB’s commitment to working towards eliminating the illicit market.”

While the list ensures product from all over Canada will be available in B.C. retail stores, a number of the LPs on the list are tied through a handful of acquisitions, mergers, and strategic partnerships that have taken place over the last year.

To name a few: Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corp. owns Okanagan producer DOJA Cannabis Ltd. In what was deemed by media as the “largest drug deal in history”, Aurora Cannabis acquired MedReleaf Corp. in an all-share stock transaction valued at $3.2 billion in May. And Ontario-based greenhouse growers, Aphria, acquired Vancouver Island-based Broken Coast Cannabis in February.

Currently just 12 of the assortment are B.C.-based LPs, including Tilray Canada Ltd. and Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp., but the LDB says they intend to “invite additional licensed producers to engage as suppliers” after legalization.

A number of LPs on the list have also signed MOUs with other provinces. The Supreme Cannabis Company and Tilray Canada Ltd, for example, are set to supply wholesale cannabis for the province of Manitoba. Zenabis Ltd. will also be providing 4,000 kilograms of cannabis products to New Brunswick—the retail value of which is more than $40 million.

The 31 licensed producers that have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LDB are:

• Acreage Farms Ltd.
• Agrima Botanicals Corporation
• Aphria Inc. Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc.
• Bloomera Inc.
• Broken Coast Cannabis Ltd.
• Canna Farms Ltd.
• CannTrust Inc.
• Canopy Growth Corporation
• Cronos Group Inc.
• DOJA Cannabis Ltd.
• Evergreen Medicinal Supply Inc.
• Experion Biotechnologies Inc.
• Hydropothecary
• Maricann Inc.
• MedReleaf Corp.
• Natural Med Company
• Redecan Pharm
• Seven Oaks Inc.
• Solace Health
• Starseed Medicinal Inc.
• THC BioMed Inc.
• The Flowr Corporation
• The Supreme Cannabis Company/7 Acres
• Tilray Canada Ltd.
• United Greeneries Ltd.
• UP Cannabis Inc.
• WeGrow BC Ltd.
• WeedMD RX Inc.
• Whistler Medical Marijuana Corp.
• Zenabis Ltd.

The LDB also announced the first B.C. Cannabis Store, the government-run storefronts, will be located within Kamloops’ Columbia Place Shopping Centre. The store will employ around 20 “extensively trained staff” staff, including “knowledgeable cannabis consultants”. The LDB says they plan to apply for municipal approval of the store, a provincially required step, when the City of Kamloops begins accepting applications for recreational cannabis retail outlets in September.

“We welcome this announcement that the LDB is applying to open the first government-operated BC Cannabis Store in Kamloops,” said Mayor Ken Christian in the release.

“Kamloops City Council supports the work of the provincial government as they map out the future retail cannabis landscape in B.C. Their mixed model for cannabis sales, allowing both public and private retail, has many benefits to B.C. communities. The proposal, like all applications, will require the city’s approval before it will operate.”

The LDB says it is considering a number of future locations for B.C. Cannabis Stores and is focused on providing “the best possible customer experience” while meeting health and safety regulations.

Recently, the LDB also announced its 6,500 square-metre distribution warehouse will be located on No. 6 Road in Richmond, B.C., and it will be using Shopify to develop the province’s online sales platform.

 

[momofthegoons]

The 3 Biggest Risks Facing Canada's Legal Marijuana Industry
Despite passage of the Cannabis Act, the weed industry isn't without concerns.

This has been nothing short of a transformative year for the legal cannabis industry. On June 19, Canada's Senate approved an amended version of Bill C-45, which is more commonly referred to as the Cannabis Act. Effectively, this approval allows Canada to become the first industrialized country in the world, and the second overall behind Uruguay, to green-light the sale of recreational marijuana to adults.

According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has long lobbied for the legalization of marijuana, the Cannabis Act will officially go into effect on Oct. 17, 2018. The nearly four-month delay between its passage and the proverbial green flag waving is to give retailers enough time to get product in their stores, as well as to allow provinces time to get their regulatory infrastructure in place.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

For investors, this approval is considered by some to be nothing short of a Holy Grail opportunity to get rich. With a medical cannabis market worth just a few hundred million domestically, a green light for adult-use marijuana is expected to add up to $5 billion a year in sales. Between domestic demand and the ability to ship cannabis products to foreign markets where medical weed is legal, the table would appear to be set for marijuana stocks to prosper.

The biggest risks facing Canada's legal weed industry
But before you uncork the champagne, understand that the pot industry still has some kinks to hash out. Though financing is no longer a concern following passage of the Cannabis Act, three risks still remain for the Canadian legal marijuana industry.

1. Regulatory worries
One of the biggest surprises is that although the Cannabis Act has passed, regulations, or a lack thereof, within Canada could disrupt the legal pot industry.

As an example, one of the most prominent concerns raised by opponents of Bill C-45 was the idea that legal access to cannabis would increase the number of people driving under the influence of the drug. Though driving while under the influence of marijuana data is somewhat limited, there is no question that cannabis impairs drivers.

However, legislation that would grant law enforcement additional authority to conduct testing on drivers believed to be under the influence of cannabis have yet to be passed by the House of Commons or Senate. This creates a substantial gray area with regard to how people suspected of driving under the influence of cannabis will be dealt with by law enforcement.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Making matters worse, though there are a handful of marijuana-based breathalyzers in development at the moment, some of which are being tested on a small scale by law enforcement, none are ready for mass adoption. Cannabis is a potentially tricky drug to detect in a user's system because, unlike alcohol, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gets users "high" can stick around for days or weeks. This makes establishing recency of use, and thus impairment, much tougher.

Understand that this is just one of example of how regulation could prove to be a push-pull catalyst on the legal cannabis industry.


2. Supply concerns
Believe it or not, cannabis supply could actually be a big problem for the Canadian legal weed industry.

Generally speaking, strong demand and limited supply is a good thing. It tends to keep the price of a good high, which can ultimately buoy the margins of the businesses selling that good.

Initially, there's expected to be a shortage of cannabis in Canada, which should inflate the per-gram price of dried cannabis. Though we know the Cannabis Act is approved now, there were no guarantees of its approval seven or eight months ago. This meant most growers were hesitant to approve projects costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars back then. As a result, despite breakneck capacity expansion, most projects won't be complete until between mid-2018 and the end of 2020.

For instance, Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQOTH:ACBFF) is expected to complete is 800,000-square-foot Aurora Sky project anytime now, which'll yield 100,000 kilograms a year. Meanwhile, OrganiGram Holdings, which should be among the largest players, won't complete its expansion at its flagship Moncton, New Brunswick, facility until April 2020. These staggered project completions significantly increases the likelihood of an initial supply shortage.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

What's more, there are two under-the-radar issues pushing down the potential of the Canadian legal pot industry... and they both relate to Health Canada. The regulatory agency overseeing the rollout of legal marijuana is responsible for approving cultivation licenses for growers. The problem is that there's a backlog of more than 500 licenses at the moment waiting for approval. It often takes months to years to review these production license applications.

Secondly, even if a grower gets a thumbs-up from Health Canada to begin licensed production, it then needs to obtain a sales permit for its cannabis. On average – I repeat, on average – it takes 341 days to get approval once a sales permit application is filed with Health Canada, according to Marijuana Business Daily.

If there's a persistent shortage of marijuana, the per-gram price of dried cannabis has the potential to increase. But if it goes up too much, it may coerce users to turn to black market channels. Remember, the black market has virtually no traditional overhead costs. There are no storefronts to maintain and no federal taxes to pay -- the federal excise tax rate is about 10% per gram. Even though the black market is illegal, it could easily undercut legal channel pricing and slow or halt the pace at which consumers move into legal sales channels.

In short, yes the margin boost from a shortage is nice, but an extended shortage could prove disastrous.

3. Long-term oversupply
And then there's a problem at the opposite end of the spectrum: the possibility of a glut of weed supply.

What investors have to remember is that there is no precedent to a country of Canada's size legalizing recreational marijuana. But what we do know from Washington, Colorado, and Oregon to the south is that the legalization of recreational marijuana usually leads to an oversupply over time and a precipitous decline in per-gram dried cannabis prices.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

On the surface, oversupply would be welcome for consumers since it would probably lead to a decline in per-gram cannabis prices. Of course, it's bad news for marijuana growers as it would threaten to shrink margins. Economies of scale would certainly come into play here, with larger growers being able to handle a significant decline in per-gram prices, while small- and mid-sized growers could find themselves in trouble.

While production is incredibly fluid, my expectation is that aggregate Canadian production could hit an annual run rate of 2.5 million kilograms by the end of 2020. In fact, the four-largest producers -- Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth Corporation, Aphria, and The Green Organic Dutchman -- are on track to produce 1.5 million kilograms between them by 2020. Comparatively, Health Canada has suggested that domestic demand will only total around 1 million kilograms.

So, what happens to what could be 1 million to 1.5 million kilograms in oversupply? The hope is that it'll be gobbled up by foreign markets where medical marijuana is legal. But keep in mind it's not that simple. Even with more than two dozen countries having legalized the use of medical weed, not all are importing or allow dried cannabis, preferring instead to only allow oils. Finding a home for so much excess supply could prove tougher than many pundits expect -- and if a home for all of this expected oversupply can't be found, a precipitous decline in per-gram prices and margins could follow.

There's no doubt that these are exciting times for Canada's legal weed industry, but it's certainly not without risks.

 

[momofthegoons]

Ontario’s Disability Support Program Will Not Cover Medical Marijuana

The Disability Support Program in Ontario, Canada is refusing to cover medical marijuanaunder the Ontario Drug Benefit Program. And the failure to provide coverage, according to the CBC, is forcing some patients to seek relief from chronic pain with powerful opiates instead. Injured workers covered by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board have recently been denied reimbursement for medicinal cannabis costs, as well.

Bobby Assoun of Ottawa, Ontario is licensed to use medical marijuana to treat the chronic pain caused by multiple sclerosis. She had been paying for her medicine herself, but a recent financial hardship has made that impossible. Without access to medicinal cannabis, she will have to resume taking the powerful opioid hydromorphone instead.

“There’s only one thing that it will mean, which is that I’ll be going back and using my Dilaudid,” said Assoun, using a brand name for the prescription medication.

But when Assoun has used the drug in the past, fears of addiction led her to limit her use. But that also meant the medicine was less effective. She said that of all the options she’s tried cannabis provides her with the most relief.


“I look at all the medications I’ve taken over the years, and they don’t help like medical marijuana has done for me,” Assoun said. “I find that it would just be like a wave, and the pain would just go away.”

‘Opiates Out the Wazoo’
Other patients in the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) have had similar experiences. Shaun Gricken uses cannabis to treat anxiety. When several prescription medications didn’t work, he began using cannabis flower and CBD oil instead.

“Before it, I was pretty much literally a shut-in,” Gricken said.


Gricken said that he was shocked when he learned that the $350 per month he spent on the medicine would not be covered by the ODSP, although he was covered for alternatives that didn’t work for him.

“The fact that they’ll cover those and opiates out the wazoo, and not cover this, it’s ridiculous,” Gricken said.

Dr. Barbara Mainville treats patients using medicinal cannabis at the Canabo Medical Clinic. She wants more insurers and government benefit programs to start covering medical marijuana. She has seen injured people using cannabis medicinally successfully return to work. She also said that for some patients, cannabis works better and can be less expensive than alternatives that can have numerous side effects.


“Cannabis is so helpful for so many patients,” said Mainville. “It’s also cost-effective.”

She added that the opioid addiction epidemic is a clear indication that other remedies must be utilized.

“One of the principles I work on is ‘if what you’re doing isn’t working, you should do something else,'” Mainville said. “Opiates are killing people right, left and center, and I think that counts as not working.”

Cannabis Needs Approval Before Coverage
Although Canadians have been guaranteed the right to use medical marijuana by the country’s Supreme Court, regulators have not approved cannabis under the Food and Drugs Act. Until that happens, public insurance plans such as the Ontario Drug Benefit Program will not be able to cover medical marijuana, according to the Ontario Ministry of Health.

 

[momofthegoons]

My whole fear with legalizing recreational cannabis is that all the work that we have done to make it a viable medicine will be negated. I don't like that they're treating it like alcohol. And look what's starting to happen.....

Doctors want medical pot phased out after legalization: Canadian Medical Association

Doctors want medical marijuana phased out following legalization, says Jeff Blackmer, vice-president of medical professionalism for the Canadian Medical Association. (David Zalubowski/The Associated Press)


Doctors in Canada want to see the medical cannabis system phased out once legalization happens later this year, says a Canadian Medical Association vice-president.

"The medical profession, as a whole, has really struggled with the whole concept of medical cannabis. There's definitely some physicians who feel comfortable in that area but most don't," Dr. Jeff Blackmer, vice-president of medical professionalism for the Canadian Medical Association, told CBC Calgary News at 6.

"And [that is] primarily because of the lack of evidence, the lack of scientific studies showing it actually works, the lack of knowledge around dosing and interactions with other medications — all these types of things. Our recommendation was that once it is legalized, that there really is no reason for a separate medical system."

The federal government has tabled legislation that will make marijuana legal in Canada on Oct. 17.

Education, said Blackmer, will be important in the lead-up to legalization.

"The reason for that is there's a lot of misperceptions around cannabis and we know that, from surveys and studies that have been done," he said. "We really want people, when they're deciding whether or not to use cannabis once is becomes legalized, to make an informed decision. To understand there are risks associated with that, that there are potential health consequences."

Dr. Jeff Blackmer says many doctors don't feel comfortable prescribing marijuana due to a lack of study around the effects of consuming cannabis. (Robyn Miller)
One concern Blackmer has centres around teenagers using cannabis. Some provinces — including Alberta — have set the minimum age for use at 18, while others set the minimum age at 19.

"We know that more young people use this substance than older people. We know it is something teenagers often try in high school and we know that it has a detrimental impact," he said.

"There's a difference between a 15-year-old smoking cannabis versus someone who's in their 40s, where the brain is already fully developed. It does have a detrimental impact [in young people] and we've seen that in studies and surveys and other research."

Cannabis is set to be legalized in Canada on Oct. 17. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy)
Once legalization happens, Blackmer said, there will be no reason for people to access it through their doctor.

"If anyone can go down to the local dispensary and get cannabis, there's really no need for a separate medical authorization system. You really don't need to have people going to their doctors because anyone who has a medical condition and thinks they might benefit from it can go ahead and try it," he said.

"And there's nothing to stop them from asking their doctor, 'might it work for this condition,' or 'do you have any idea about what doses I should use,' or these types of things."

Doctors want education to be a big component of marijuana legalization. (Ron Ward/Canadian Press )
Blackmer says the number of medical authorizations has gone down in jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, something he expects to see here as well.

"The hypothesis is that there's a lot of people who may have initially turned to the medical system to get access who now don't need to do that anymore. So the number of prescriptions, or authorizations, seems to go down," he said. "And that's sort of what we're anticipating in Canada, that the system sort of phases itself out over time, as we get more experience with [legalization].

"There will be some physicians who feel that this has a real place in terms of treatment options and will continue to have those conversations with patients. But we're hoping for the vast majority of physicians who are uncomfortable, it will mean their patients can just seek it out on their own, they won't have to find another doctor or to go to a cannabis clinic. They can go down to the dispensary and see if it works for themselves."

Not a typical prescription
And it's "more accurate to say authorized," rather than prescribed, says Blackmer.

"It's not a typical prescription because it's not something where you'd give it to a patient on a piece of paper and they'd take it to a pharmacy of their choice — that's really a prescription," he said.

"An authorization is something the doctor authorizes and faxes it or emails it to a specific distributor of cannabis and then the patient goes through that distributor, so it's definitely a different process."