Hundreds of people line up at a government cannabis store on Oct. 17, 2018, in Montréal as the legal sale of cannabis begins in Canada.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
The Ontario Cannabis Store’s performance greatly improved but still trailed Quebec’s. However, both provinces still lack a sufficient number of outlets.
Cannabis producers must ensure the quality of their products is high, but not too “high.”
Dimitri Bang/Unsplash
To deliver good-quality cannabis, producers must simultaneously aim for both careful science and carefree highs.
A woman smokes a large joint in a Toronto park on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, as they mark the first day of legalization of cannabis across Canada.
Lead Caption: Research shows that cannabis legalization is unlikely to either reduce criminal involvement or reduce availability to youth.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Research shows that cannabis legalization is unlikely to either reduce criminal involvement or availability to youth. Could legalization be a result of neoliberalism, or a way to woo young voters?
A team of Canadian therapists have filed an application with Health Canada seeking permission to provide psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to patients with terminal cancer.
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Research shows therapeutic psilocybin to be a safe and effective antidote to end-of-life anxiety and depression. Does prohibition therefore violate our right to “life, liberty and security?”
Cannabis seedlings are shown at the new Aurora Cannabis facility, November 24, 2017 in Montréal.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)
Cannabis legalization in Canada is a public health strategy. Let’s harness this opportunity to understand how cannabis could fit into a multi-faceted opioid prevention and response strategy.
Brian Harriman, Cannabis NB president and CEO, displays some cannabis products at a Cannabis NB retail store in Fredericton, N.B., on Tuesday October 16, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray
In Canada’s newly-legal cannabis market, retailers will face tough competition from the established black market.
The new cannabis legislation in Canada does not give enough thought to those who were overly punished for cannabis-related activities.
Jakob Owens/Unsplash
Now that cannabis is almost legal in Canada, many are celebrating. Before we forget, we should remember those that have been arrested for previous crimes and push for amnesty.
Will U.S. border officials have problems with Canadians who purchase weed online when they try to enter the country?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch
As Canada moves to legalize marijuana and online sales become commonplace, privacy concerns can’t be an afterthought; they must be built into the system from the outset. That’s not happening.
Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s finance minister, and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney talk to the media after announcing Ontario’s cannabis retail model on Aug. 13.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Ontario’s change to private sector cannabis stores will give consumers more convenience. That will mean stronger competition against the black market, but potentially higher consumption too.
A parade of bar men protest Prohibition along Yonge Street in Toronto in 1916.
Library and Archives Canada
History has shown that prohibiting popular intoxicants spurs illegal and sometimes excessive use. Ontario municipalities taking up Doug Ford’s offer to ban local retail weed sales should take note.
The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) of Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia unanimously voted on March 5, 2018 to ban all smoking of marijuana products on campus — for health and safety reasons.
(Flickr/Chuck Grimmett)
In advance of marijuana legalization in Canada, one university in British Columbia has taken a firm stance, banning all smoking of cannabis products on campus.
Recent research shows that many students who are using cannabis for medicinal reasons are also replacing their prescription medications with it.
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More places, including Canada, are legalizing cannabis, but how do we figure out when it’s no longer safe to drive?
A man smokes a large marijuana joint during the annual 4/20 marijuana celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 20, 2018. With legalization ahead, provinces are taking different approaches in how they sell weed to the public.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Canadian provinces are choosing various approaches to cannabis sales as legalization approaches. Ontario’s will combine aspects of computer stores, wine boutiques and post-prohibition liquor outlets.
Canada is on track to legalize marijuana on July 1. But why was it criminalized in the first place?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Canada is legalizing marijuana on July 1. But how the drug became criminalized in the first place is an interesting saga that involves anti-Chinese racism and international influence.
Workers produce medical marijuana at Canopy Growth Corporation’s Tweed facility in Smiths Falls, Ont.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
In competing with Canada’s black markets, legal cannabis has potential strengths and weaknesses. Most flow directly from governments’ policy choices.
A 2015 study from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse describes youth perceiving marijuana as “relatively harmless” and “not as dangerous as drinking and driving.”
(Unsplash/Conor Limkbocker)
Provincial policies to implement the legal consumption of marijuana are unlikely to protect children and youth. High school teachers and parents will be on the front line.
Lack of clear evidence on impairment from cannabis use has led to vastly different workplace policies. Police officers in Ottawa and Vancouver face no restrictions on their off-work use of cannabis as long as they are fit for duty, officers in Calgary have been banned from use and in Toronto they face a 28-day abstinence period.
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Will offices, construction sites and medical clinics become less safe now that marijuana is legal in Canada? Our experts review the evidence, or lack of it.
Cannabis is the most widely available and most used illegal substance in the world, and Canadian youth are among the top users.
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