News

First of its kind in Canada, program covers growing pot and its complex regulations It's got the greenhouse, the curriculum and the necessary approvals.

College and university graduates will be able to earn a certificate in cannabis production starting next fall, when Niagara College will launch Canada's first accredited program in the field.

Three of Ottawa's illegal pot shops have been sent notices from the city warning that they are violating zoning bylaws.

A southern Ontario college says it will be the first to offer a post-secondary credential in the production of commercial cannabis.

Opinions

Just a couple of years ago, discussions of how to deal with marijuana in the Inland Empire were limited. Now, several Inland jurisdictions are considering opening up to marijuana businesses, an overdue development given the failure of prohibition and the anticipated availability of commercial sales of marijuana in 2018.

News that Toronto is one big step closer to a long-term safe injection site is most welcome, particularly as this city, like many in North America, grapples with a growing opioid addiction crisis. It's also a reminder of the important work ahead.

We need to figure out how to sell weed in Nova Scotia - we also need to get more stores to sell healthy food.

The change in the weather you're feeling is not the approach of autumn - - it's hot air from Ottawa colliding with the cold front of turbulent outrage that hangs over modern politics.

Letters

Re Weed Wacker: Editorial cartoon, Sept. 17 This cartoon may have been funny 50 years ago, but it loses all of its humour by depicting a typical marijuana user as a dopey hippie from the past, complete with his peace sign and scruffy beard.

Saskatchewan cabinet minister Don Morgan is the latest provincial politician to say he wants marijuana legalization delayed for at least a year. Why?

Re: Big Weed will capitalize on cannabis at any cost to society, Opinion, Sept. 12 The government and Health Canada should fix the issues of access within the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations first. It's nothing short of pathetic that those previously licensed under the old regulations still don't have access. The government and Health Canada also need to end their sanctioned consortiums' profiteering off the backs of their clients. This has already cost Canadian veterans their coverage.

Re: Police urge feds to delay implementing legal pot plan, Sept. 13 Canada's police chiefs say they cannot police the limit of four pot plants per household. Do they currently police all households with respect to underage drinking? Of course they don't. It's impossible. There are some laws that cannot be fully enforced.

Although I would prefer a wider storefront distribution scheme that includes private dispensaries, I am OK with the government's initial plan for marijuana distribution. The coverage of the announcement mostly glosses over an important point: Online sales will be immediate, as soon as it is legalized.

Re: Lighting up the nanny narrative, Cohn, Sept. 12 Martin Regg Cohn argues a government-monopolized model is the best way to sell legal weed, as evidenced by the LCBO and the Beer Store.

Re: "Postpone legal pot, police exhort feds," Sept. 13. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police seem to see their role as being an obstruction to the implementation of public policy. To this end, they want a delay of at least six months in the legalization of marijuana. They say this is necessary in order to train officers and certify more officers to conduct roadside tests.