Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Let Canada do our cannabis homework

mpledger

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 09:49:14 +1200

So this doesn't look good

U.S. reportedly issuing lifetime travel bans for anyone even remotely connected to Canada's legal cannabis industry
https://www.straight.com/cannabis/1101001/us-reportedly-issuing-lifetime-travel-bans-anyone-even-remotely-connected-canadas

My Canadian relations have always been nudge-nudge, wink-wink about Trudeau's parentage.

Alfie

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 17:16:26 +1200

It's worth noting that this paper was based on an evaluation of 16 previous studies, the quality of which was variable to say the least.

We rated the quality of the evidence from studies using four levels: very low, low, moderate, or high. Very low-quality evidence means that we are…

Dennis Frank

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:06:07 +1200

I thought the most interesting bit from the SMH was this: "the results are not straightforward. Most of the cannabis users reported they personally felt it worked well to treat their pain – despite also reporting higher levels of pain."

A paradox, requiring interpretation. Most users got pain relief from…

nzlemming

Wed, 04 Jul 2018 01:11:03 +1200

An interesting study about the use of cannabis products for relieving chronic pain. I don't think it quite says what the Sydney Morning Herald thinks it does. The full report is available from the Cochrane link.

TL;DR Study says
The potential benefits of cannabis-based medicine (herbal cannabis, plant-derived or synthetic…

Ian Dalziel

Sat, 30 Jun 2018 09:03:58 +1200

A brush with the law?
These days, it’s a risky business being a contemporary art dealer. And it's a whole lot riskier when the artworks you are selling are made from an illegal substance.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/mary-jane-paintings

Craig Young

Fri, 29 Jun 2018 13:16:38 +1200

Ontario has just elected a provincial conservative government. I suspect that there may be setbacks there, although the current Premier Doug Ford's late brother Rob Ford was an infamous polydrug user while he was Toronto Mayor, especially crack cocaine.

Dennis Frank

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:22:37 +1200

Girls just wanna have fun. She went on to author four books, was actress, photographer, tv talkshow hostess, got awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from a university in Ontario. Tours giving talks on bipolar – wonder if she opines on the tendency of certain drugs to escalate that predisposition...

Joe Wylie

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 06:15:37 +1200

Not again, Margaret.

Dennis Frank

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 21:48:11 +1200

Yeah, Ian, indeed relevant. I happened on this too: http://www.blakkpepper.com/2018/02/is-canadian-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-son-of-fidel-castro/ Cool that Fidel's other son acknowledged Justin's co-paternity in his suicide note eh? Wonder if someone's told Justin yet.

Sceptics point to the lack of evidence of any conception opportunity in March '71. Common sense tells us that any such…

Dennis Frank

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 21:27:17 +1200

Thanks Russell, good appraisal & I agree we ought to get past convictions scrubbed (even if most such convicts are probably now dead).

Let's keep an open mind re the current Minister of Justice. Binding would be best, but if he designs one that has suitable text – to produce a…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 09:28:08 +1200

and an ad for a ‘smoke in’ in Vancouver’s Maple Tree Square – in the area known as Gastown – which became Grasstown

...and let's not forget http://www.veryimportantpotheads.com/trudeau.htm

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 09:25:50 +1200

Snapshots from the past...
Back in the ’70s Vancouver’s Georgia Straight and their resident comic and cover artist Rand Holmes contributed mightily in the push for changes to marijuana laws.
(Above: – Harold Hedd comics and
the coin Holmes designed to commemorate legalising Medical Marijuana back in 2001

Neil

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 20:48:37 +1200

I have heard some very good reports of Canadian oil. Marijuana seems a bit like whiskey – highly sensitive to the idiosyncrasies of the manufacturing process, but more than taste is at stake.

Russell Brown

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:03:32 +1200

I’d hate to see either big tobacco or big pharma control the local industry. You just need to look at what’s happening in Oregon to see how that might go.

Yeah. There’s been some criticism of the tight regulation in the Canadian law – which controls who can grow and…

Russell Brown

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:24:38 +1200

while others have created a free-for-all where big money will be allowed to dominate the market, effectively knocking out existing, smaller producers.

As I noted above, it'll be interesting to see how the "micro" licences announced only a week ago turn out. And I get the impression that some of…

Alfie

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:49:08 +1200

The Canadian system seems pretty chaotic at the moment, mainly because each state can decide its own laws. As Russell points out above, some states intend to allow users to grow their own modest crops, while other states will expressly forbid this. Some states encourage local businesses, while others have…

Russell Brown

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:45:49 +1200

Ontario has a state-run system for selling alcohol – rather like our licensing trust system. I think that these same outlets are also to sell cannabis.

Which sort of makes sense. But there's also a strong case for keeping cannabis sales away from alcohol sales.

Russell Brown

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:43:10 +1200

How about looking at Colorado as an exemplar?

Colorado got a few things wrong – allowing over-dosed edibles packaged like kids’ candy was never a good idea – but they’ve continued to pay attention and tweaked regulations as required. Their regulators and legislators seem motivated by evidence rather than scare…

Shaun Lott

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 16:15:29 +1200

How about looking at Colorado as an exemplar?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Amendment_64#Implementation

Helga

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:49:16 +1200

Ontario has a state-run system for selling alcohol – rather like our licensing trust system. I think that these same outlets are also to sell cannabis.

Public Address

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 15:49:16 +1200

Discussion from blog post.