• Cannabis in Canada: Pardoning people for possession isn't enough

    More than half a million Canadians have a criminal record because of cannabis possession
    BBC News (UK)
    Saturday, October 20, 2018

    Canadians will get pardons if they were convicted of possessing marijuana before it was legalised. That means their criminal record for cannabis possession is kept separate from other criminal records - but it doesn't erase the crime. It could still affect people in situations like job applications, travelling abroad and getting houses - and the person who wants a pardon has to apply and pay for it. Some politicians argue that pardoning doesn't go far enough and something called expungement - when all government records of the crime are erased - should happen instead. "We now need to go back and be able to remove the stain that is on the record," the New Democratic Party's Guy Caron said.

  • Cannabis farmers in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley fight government push for legalisation

    Farmers see legalisation as the government stealing their revenue
    ABC (Australia)
    Friday, October 19, 2018

    A plan to legalise cannabis production in Lebanon faces resistance from some of the growers themselves. In the eastern Bekaa Valley, where the crop has been cultivated for centuries, the local farmers are suspicious of government efforts to create a legal cannabis industry. "We view the legalisation of hashish as theft from our people," says one grower, Abu Jafaar. "As this crop generates a lot of revenues, so our politicians want to legalise it to steal that production." Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri has said the Lebanese government is preparing legislation that will allow the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes. The move followed a report by consultants McKinsey into the ailing Lebanese economy.

  • Cannabis price collapse putting billions in consumers’ pockets

    For the industry, price is driving a shift from flowers to more processed and value-added cannabis extracts and edibles
    Leafly (US)
    Thursday, October 18, 2018

    Wholesale cannabis prices could hit as low as $30 an ounce in some parts of the U.S. as another record crop of outdoor cannabis floods markets and sinks prices. The legal recreational market in Oregon continues to drown in a multi-year surplus. Oregon produced 10 times the cannabis it needs each year, and approximately 825,000 pounds of unsold dried wholesale flower now sits in the state’s tracking system, says Jonathan Rubin, CEO of Cannabis Benchmarks, which tracks wholesale prices. The trends point to what many people expected: a segmentation of the flower market into commodity products and, importantly, premium craft products that consumers will pay top dollar for at retail.

  • Advocates say black market will thrive until small pot growers and sellers are included

    Illegal pot shops remained open across Canada
    The Toronto Star (Canada)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    “It’s not fair to expect the government to deliver everything perfectly Day 1 when this is a huge transition,” said Ian Dawkins, president of the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada. “But let’s be realistic, these (illegal) retailers were very sophisticated retail enterprises in line with what you would see in a place like Colorado and Washington. ... All of that sophistication is about to be blown out of the window by a tidal wave of Budweiser-grade cannabis.” It’s not only dispensaries that feel shut out of the legal market as small-scale growers are still waiting for the federal government to open an application portal for micro-cultivator licences. (See also: B.C. RCMP raid two cannabis dispensaries in first apparent crackdown after legalization)

  • Canada's legalization of marijuana could hurt farmers in poorer countries

    The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has set up a marijuana commission which recently published recommendations to decriminalize the drug
    CNN (US)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    Cannabis cultivation in MoroccoFor decades poor farmers in countries like Jamaica and Morocco have risked the wrath of governments to grow cannabis as a cash crop. But as Canada becomes the first country in the G7 leading industrial nations to legalize marijuana, those countries where the crop has traditionally been grown risk losing out on new legal markets worth billions of dollars. And with no international institution to represent them because of the illegality of marijuana in most of the world growers risk being left behind. "It's all about trying to bring some of these small farmers into the opening market," says Martin Jelsma of the Transnational Institute (TNI). "The big risk is there is a complete corporate capture going on."

  • Cannabis Amnesty welcomes Liberal government's promise of pardons, but says they require "four central features"

    Without expungement, individuals convicted of possession remain vulnerable to having their convictions reinstated
    The Georgia Straight (Canada)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    The half-million Canadians with criminal records for cannabis possession received some encouraging news. Four Liberal cabinet ministers held a news conference to announce that the government is bringing in legislation to expedite pardons for those who were busted with amounts of 30 grams or less. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters that the intention is to remove the stigma of criminal records for simple possession, which will make it easier for people to find housing, employment, and volunteer in their community. (See also: Pardons for past cannabis crimes have major limitations, and there's no simple fix | NDP introduce a private member's bill calling for cannabis amnesty)

  • Cannabis Day 1: How Canada greeted legalization from coast to coast

    Canada is officially the world’s second country to legalize recreational marijuana
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    From St. John’s to Vancouver, from Southern Ontario to the Far North, Canada’s nearly century-old prohibition on recreational cannabis lifted on Wednesday – and in Ottawa, the Trudeau government also promised new legislation to let people convicted of simple possession apply for pardons more easily. Not everyone who wanted to smoke up on the first day were able to: Relatively few bricks-and-mortar stores were open, and in Ontario, the most populous province, online retail is the only option until physical stores get the go-ahead next year. While demand was strong, supply was short on Day 1, and could be for the weeks to come. (See also: Canadians welcome legal pot sales, put up with supply issues on opening day)

  • Globe editorial: With legal pot, Canada sets an example for other countries

    Canada has positioned itself to be the leader in an industry that seems destined to grow internationally
    The Globe and Mail (Canada)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    And so, here we go. The recreational use of cannabis is now legal in Canada, making ours only the second country, after tiny Uruguay, to take a leap that is both epic and overblown. Overblown because, in one critical way, nothing will change. According to Statistics Canada, 4.9 million of us consumed $5.7-billion worth of cannabis in various forms, both medical and non-medical, in 2017. Canadians don’t need a change in the law to be encouraged to use pot. The essence of the moment is that a government has acknowledged the scope of cannabis use by its citizens, and the reality of its limited health risks, and pushed through a bold reform. That alone makes Oct. 17, 2018, a remarkable day. (See also: Canadians with past pot convictions won’t have to pay or wait to apply for a pardon)

  • UN drugs board slams Canada cannabis legalization

    The board said it would remain engaged with the Canadian government
    Deutsche Welle (Germany)
    Wednesday, October 17, 2018

    Viroj SumyaiAfter recreational marijuana became legal in Canada, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) slammed the decision in a statement calling the step incompatible with UN international drug treaties. "The legalization by Canada of cannabis for non-medical purposes is incompatible with the legal obligations incumbent on states parties under the international drug control framework," said the United Nations body that monitors governments' compliance with the three international drug control treaties. INCB President Viroj Sumyai also said the body is "deeply concerned about the public health impact of these policy choices on the health and welfare of Canadians, particularly youth." (See also: Russia warns Canada cannabis legalization will lead to increased trafficking)

  • Dazed and confused: Canada cannabis legalization brings complex new laws

    Recreational marijuana will be legal throughout the country, but rules will vary from province to province
    The Guardian (UK)
    Tuesday, October 16, 2018

    Canadacanada legalization will this week become the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana, but as they negotiate a patchwork of new legislation and inconsistent enforcement, smokers may soon find that their enjoyment of weed is still blunted. New rules governing cannabis use are different in each of the country’s 10 provinces and three territories, and campaigners warn that experimentation could still result in hefty fines – or even arrest. (See also: Summary of Provincial and Territorial Cannabis Regulations | Toronto police shut down five marijuana dispensaries, vow to close more)

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