April 20, 2006 nyt Medical marijuana debate
A government statement that "no sound scientific studies" support the use of marijuana contradicts prior research, The Times's Gardiner Harris reports. (Producer: Adam B. Ellick)
F.D.A. Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana

2005

Thursday Sep 15, 2005 rci OTTAWA:

PHARMACIES WOULD SELL MEDICINAL POT
Health Canada says it will launch a pilot project early next year to find out the advisability of allowing certain pharmacies to sell medicinal marijuana. The pharmacies would sell the marijuana only to authorized patients. At present, 943 are authorized to possess marijuana to treat a variety of medical conditions, including AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Canada and The Netherlands are the only nations to have legalized medical marijuana.

Sunday Sep 11, 2005 rci Dozens of people smoked marijuana openly in front of the city hall in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, as part of a compaign in support of Marc Emery, an avowed marijuana seller. Mr. Emery, who lives in British Columbia, is facing extradition to the United States on charges of selling marijuana seeds over the internet. He is the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party. Last July, he was arrested during a music festival in Nova Scotia that raises money for an organization that uses marijuana as a medical treatment. One protester who has multiple sclerosis says that Mr. Emery saved her life by giving her access to marijuana. Another protester said that if Mr. Emery broke the law, he should be prosecuted in Canada, not the United States. Other protests were also reported in support of Mr. Emery across Canada.

Monday Aug 29, 2005 nyt Marijuana Pipe Dreams
By JOHN TIERNEY
When it comes to marijuana research, the federal policy is "Just Say Know-Nothing."
Tuesday Aug 9, 2005 rci TIMMINS: ONTARIO BUSTS MAJOR MARIJUANA GROW-UPS
Police in Ontario made their biggest bust of marijuana grow-ups in raids during the past two weeks. In one bust in Matheson, 60 kilometres from Timmins, more than 18,000 pot plants were found. In another bust in Iroquois Falls near Matheson, police found 21,000 plants. Three men from Toronto were arrested in connection with the raids. Police say that illegal marijuana growers are taking advantage of cheap land prices in northern Ontario and the relatively small numbers of police patrols.

Tuesday Aug 9, 2005 A Russian mini-submarine that was trapped underwater for nearly three days was successfully brought to the surface on Sunday with all seven crew members alive. The vessel was stranded beneath the Pacific Ocean near the Kamchatka Peninsula after becoming entangled in fishing nets and debris. With the crew's air supply running short, a British navy remote-controlled vehicle was able to cut through the gear that trapped the submarine. "There were a lot of difficulties involved. We went down using our cameras and our sonar and located the mini-sub near the sea bed tangled up in a quite considerable mess of fishing nets," said the leader of the British team, Commander Ian Riches. The Russian crew is being examined by hospital officials in the port of Petropavlosk-Kamchatsky. Russia praised Britain and other countries for their help in the rescue.

Friday Jul 22, 2005 Border tunnel discovery buries B.C. men 
Accused of a crime that seems borrowed from a Hollywood heist film, three men have been charged with digging a tunnel about the length of a football field beneath the Canada-U.S. border to smuggle marijuana. 
Cross-border tunnel called `quite a venture`
LANGLEY, B.C.—Accused of a crime that seems borrowed from a Hollywood heist film, three men have been charged with digging a tunnel about the length of a football field beneath the Canada-U.S. border to smuggle marijuana.

Sunday Jun 12, 2005 Justice and health ministers of Canada's four western province have called on the federal government to enact harsher penalties to punish the makers and traffickers of two illegal drugs. The minister demanded at the end of their meeting in Regina, SK, tougher penalities against methamphetamine ("crystal meth") and the GHB (the "date rape") drug. The federal health minister, Ujjal Dosangh, reacted by saying that "crystal meth" should be considered as serious as other illegal substances.

Tuesday Jun 7, 2005 ts
Medical marijuana patients take a hit
WASHINGTON—People who smoke marijuana because their doctors recommend it to ease pain can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

Saturday Apr 9, 2005 ec
Marijuana as medicine Not so dopey The active ingredient of cannabis may protect against heart disease and strokes
THERE is a certain cognitive dissonance associated with the word “drug”. On the one hand, it can mean “life-saving medicine”. On the other, it can signify “probably illegal and possibly life-threatening recreation”. Some substances fall into both categories. Heroin, for instance, has legitimate medical uses (though it tends to be branded as the more user-friendly “diamorphine” when administered in hospitals). But for those drugs without established medical track records, such as marijuana, there is a lot of resistance to the idea that they might heal as well as harm.

Nov 17th 2004 NEW Cannabis
Many Canadians Use Medical Marijuana for MS

Sunday Mar 20, 2005 ts
Grow op: a crime without penalty It was every indoor marijuana grower`s worst nightmare: Police pounding at the door, the prospect of a lost crop and jail time. Lenordd, 50, a former pot grower who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity. says it was just one of the many ``close calls`` he remembers in the two decades he spent growing pot in Toronto. Betsy Powell reports.

Wednesday Jan 12, 2005 bbc
If... Drugs Were Legal
Evidence from Switzerland suggests that prescribing heroin can reduce crime and increase levels of employment among addicts.

Friday Dec 10, 2004 gaz
McGill launches pot study

MONTREAL -- The first-ever safety study of medical marijuana use has been launched.

Researchers will follow 1,400 chronic pain patients, 350 of whom use cannabis as part of their pain management.

Lead researcher Dr. Mark Ware, of the McGill University Health Centre, says they won't be recruiting cancer patients for the study.

Ware says participants will typically have pain from spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, arthritis or other kinds of hard-to-treat neuropathic or muscle pain.

Seven participating pain clinics across Canada are now enrolling patients for this study.

Dr. Jean-Paul Collet of McGill says participants will have access to research-grade herbal cannabis and followed for one year.

He says they'll look at a range of safety issues, including adverse events, kidney, liver, heart and lung function and hormone levels.

Since 1999, Canadian patients have been able to use cannabis for medical reasons, under specific circumstances.

But the safety of cannabis used for medical purposes has not been studied.

Thursday Nov 25, 2004 globe
Pot use on the rise: study Major drug and alcohol use among Canadians finds marijuana use nearly doubled in the past decade
The number of Canadians who say they have smoked pot in the past year has nearly doubled in a decade, a major new study on addiction says.
More than 44 per cent of Canadians say they have used marijuana at least once in their lifetime, a figure that spiked to 70 per cent among 18 to 24-year-olds,

Monday Nov 22, 2004 np
CEOs fear reefer madness
OTTAWA - Canada's largest and most influential business group warns that a federal bill to decriminalize marijuana could harm the economy. It is calling for the legislation to be delayed until its impact on the workplace has been thoroughly studied.
Executive vice-president David Stewart-Patterson said substance abuse in the workplace is costing the economy an estimated $18.4-billion a year, and that is likely to be exacerbated by the relaxation of cannabis laws.
''We really don't know what the effect is going to be on the workplace in terms of health and safety, in terms of productivity and absenteeism and employer-paid health costs,'' said Mr. Stewart-Patterson.
Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, has predicted more liberal Canadian marijuana laws would result in a U.S. border crackdown at crossings that are already congested.
Business groups have likewise raised concerns over possible tie-ups resulting from more liberal marijuana laws, saying the current border morass already costs Canadian businesses billions of dollars a year. It is estimated that $1.2-billion in goods and services cross the border each day.
Mr. Stewart-Patterson points to a 1999 study of New Zealand forestry workers that suggests looser drug laws could lead to higher on-the-job injuries and lost days. 3x
Although the users said getting stoned helped them do a ''better quality job,'' the study concluded that cannabis use actually increased their fatigue and the chances they would make errors in judgment and get involved in an accident.
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse also lists a 1996 study by Texas Christian University of marijuana use among 4,600 municipal employees in four cities in the Southwest. About 8% were marijuana users and the survey found they reported more absenteeism, tardiness, compensation claims and job turnover than workers who had not used the drug.
Supporters of decriminalization refer to a Senate report in 2002 that found the cost of prosecuting drug offences in 2000-2001 was $57-million, with only $5-million spent on cannabis possession offences.
Irwin Cotler, the Minister of Justice, reintroduced the marijuana bill this month.
Federal officials noted New York, California and at least eight other states have already decriminalized simple marijuana possession, a fact acknowledged by Mr. Cellucci. But the U.S. ambassador said this month he was perplexed by the timing of the new bill. ''Why, when we're trying to take pressure off the border, would Canada pass a law that would put pressure on the border?'' he said. ''If people think it's easier to get marijuana in Canada, then our people at the border are going to be on the lookout, and I think they will stop more vehicles ...'
Paul Martin, the Prime Minister, said Canada reserves the right to pass laws as it sees fit. ''Firstly, the legislation is before the House of Commons, then the parliamentary committee will have its discussions on all the various points, and we'll wait to see the legislation that comes from that,'' he said. ''But Canada will make its own laws, pure and simple.''

Nov 18th 2004 ec
After the Taliban New figures show Afghanistan's opium output is rising fast

Nov 17th 2004 NEW Cannabis
Many Canadians Use Medical Marijuana for MS

Saturday Sep 18, 2004 cbc
STUDENTS RECRUITED TO HARVEST MARIJUANA, SAYS PRINCIPAL A school principal in central Quebec says he worries the marijuana harvest is keeping his students out of the classroom.

Saturday Sep 18, 2004 cbc
VANCOUVER 'POT CAFE' GOES PUBLIC The owner of a café in Vancouver that openly sells marijuana is taking her story to the media, in the hopes that police and city officials will let her stay in business.

Saturday Sep 18, 2004 WASHINGTON: U.S. CONTINUES TO WORRY ABOUT MARIJUANA IN CANADA
The annual report by the U.S. government on countries with drug problems complains that Canada continues to have a lax judicial approach to marijuana. The White House report says that attitude and the possibility that marijuana might be decriminalized in Canada could offer opportunities to organized crime and obstacles to prosecutors. The report claims that Canadian law doesn't sufficiently punish marijuana offenses. However, Canada isn't on the list of the 22 countries which the U.S. government considers major drug-producing nations, or as a path of transit for drugs. The report also says that the Canadians, on their side, are worried about an increasing flow of cocaine and other illegal substances from the U.S. The document says both countries are collaborating closely on the war against illegal drugs.

Wednesday Jul 28, 2004 ts
We don`t need tougher drug laws Claims by politicians and police that we need tougher drug-law enforcement to stop Canadian marijuana flooding the United States have become pretty much conventional wisdom. It`s time that changed.

Thursday Jul 22, 2004 cbc
10 MILLION HAVE SMOKED UP: STATSCAN The proportion of Canadians age 15 or older who say they've used marijuana or hashish has nearly doubled in 13 years, a new Statistics Canada report says.

Tuesday Jul 13, 2004 ts
Bad vibes on latest medical pot
OTTAWA—Some patients are spurning a new batch of government-certified marijuana, dismissing Health Canada claims it`s a better-quality smoke.

Thursday Jun 10, 2004 cbc
FRASER INSTITUTE STUDY CALLS FOR LEGAL POT Legalizing marijuana could add $2 billion to government coffers and deprive criminals of pots of easy money, says a new study released on Wednesday by the Fraser Institute.

Sunday Jul 4, 2004 ec
Alcohol consumption
From The Economist print edition
Luxembourg leads the world in alcohol consumption. In 2002, its residents consumed an average of 12 litres of pure alcohol per person, in the form of beer, wine and spirits. Mexicans, by contrast, enjoyed only around a quarter as much. Some countries have been curbing their drinking. In France, for example, alcohol consumption fell by 30% between 1980 and 2002. Over the same period, however, beer-loving Czechs increased their alcohol intake by 12%

Friday Apr 16, 2004 WASHINGTON: U.S. WORRIES ABOUT CANADIAN MARIJUANA
The top American official charged with fighting illegal drugs says that Canada is a major exporter of extra-strong marijuana. John Walters says Canadian marijuana growers use hydroponic techniques to grow the plant indoors which make it seven times more potent than the product available to the average user in the 1960s. Last year, Mr. Walters' department estimated that the marijuana trade between the U.S. and the single Canadian province of British Columbia was worth $9 billion last year.

Monday 22 Mar 2004 ts Medical pot on way to drugstores
OTTAWA—Health Canada plans to make government-certified marijuana available in pharmacies, a move that could rapidly boost the number of registered medical users.

Tuesday Jan 13, 2004 cbc
ONTARIO POLICE SEIZE 30,000 POT PLANTS IN FORMER BREWERY Calling it the largest and most sophisticated marijuana operation in Canadian history, Ontario police said they have seized 30,000 plants which they say is worth more than $30 million in a former Molson brewery facility.

Sunday Jan 11, 2004
BARRIE: POT BUST IS ONTARIO'S BIGGEST EVER
More than 100 police officers seized thousands and thousands of marijuana plants in a raid on the site of a former Molson brewery in Barrie on Saturday. Authorities called it the largest pot grow operation in Ontario history. Officials said 10 people were arrested without incident and charges were pending. Molson closed the brewery in August, 2000. A company spokesman said it had been sitting idle since it was sold. "For Lease" signs were dangling from the building, which spans 11,000 square metres.

2003

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