Cannabis regulation discussion 

www.vancitybuzz.com/events/lift-cannabis-forum/

May 7th at UBC Robson Square at 6:00pm.

Although 'recreational' regulation of marijuana remains a hot topic, Canada already currently has one of the most comprehensive, federally legal medical marijuana regulatory systems in the world under Health Canada's Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). Licensed Producers – the only legal, commercial producers of marijuana in Canada – must adhere to quality assurance standards similar to those in place for commercial pharmaceuticals.
Within the industry, there is an ongoing debate about these quality assurance practices and how they relate to production, sale, and public health. To engage community members in this dialogue, Lift Cannabis Co. will be holding a forum on May 7th at UBC Robson Square at 6:00pm.
The panelists represent all facets of the industry, from Brent Zettl, President and CEO of CanniMed (the oldest legal, commercial licensed producer in Canada), to Dieter McPherson, Executive Director of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (one of the oldest medical marijuana dispensaries in Canada). UBC adjunct professors Jonathan Page (Botany Department) and Mark Haden (School of Population and Public Health) round out the panel and will examine testing methodology and the effects of regulation on public health from a harm reduction standpoint.
Topics for discussion at the forum include: adhering to existing pharmacopoeia, passing Health Canada inspections, when and where irradiation is important for those with compromised immune systems, and costs of implementing these regulations.
The forum also features three special presenters:
-Philippe Lucas, VP of Patient Research & Services at Tilray and PhD student in the University of Victoria's Social Dimensions of Health program
-Emily Kirkham, VP of Laboratory Operations at Signoto, a leading provider of quality control consulting to the Canadian medical cannabis industry
-Jonathan Zaid, a 22-year-old Ontario student who was one of the first Canadians to successfully argue for and obtain private health care coverage of his medical marijuana costs, and by doing so, set a legal precedent for the country
Hilary Black, the founder of the first medical cannabis dispensary in Canada, will moderate the forum.

--
David BrownCommunications Director | Lift

This e-mail (including any attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient or an authorized representative of an intended recipient, you are prohibited from using, copying or distributing the information in this e-mail or its attachments.

 www.vancitybuzz.com/events/lift-cannabis-forum/

Although 'recreational' regulation of marijuana remains a hot topic, Canada already currently has one of the most comprehensive, federally legal medical marijuana regulatory systems in the world under Health Canada's Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). Licensed Producers – the only legal, commercial producers of marijuana in Canada – must adhere to quality assurance standards similar to those in place for commercial pharmaceuticals.
Within the industry, there is an ongoing debate about these quality assurance practices and how they relate to production, sale, and public health. To engage community members in this dialogue, Lift Cannabis Co. will be holding a forum on May 7th at UBC Robson Square at 6:00pm.
The panelists represent all facets of the industry, from Brent Zettl, President and CEO of CanniMed (the oldest legal, commercial licensed producer in Canada), to Dieter McPherson, Executive Director of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (one of the oldest medical marijuana dispensaries in Canada). UBC adjunct professors Jonathan Page (Botany Department) and Mark Haden (School of Population and Public Health) round out the panel and will examine testing methodology and the effects of regulation on public health from a harm reduction standpoint.
Topics for discussion at the forum include: adhering to existing pharmacopoeia, passing Health Canada inspections, when and where irradiation is important for those with compromised immune systems, and costs of implementing these regulations.
The forum also features three special presenters:
-Philippe Lucas, VP of Patient Research & Services at Tilray and PhD student in the University of Victoria's Social Dimensions of Health program
-Emily Kirkham, VP of Laboratory Operations at Signoto, a leading provider of quality control consulting to the Canadian medical cannabis industry
-Jonathan Zaid, a 22-year-old Ontario student who was one of the first Canadians to successfully argue for and obtain private health care coverage of his medical marijuana costs, and by doing so, set a legal precedent for the country
Hilary Black, the founder of the first medical cannabis dispensary in Canada, will moderate the forum.

--
David BrownCommunications Director | Lift

This e-mail (including any attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient or an authorized representative of an intended recipient, you are prohibited from using, copying or distributing the information in this e-mail or its attachments.
If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete all copies of this message and any attachments.

 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/drugs-families-and-society-time-to-change-approached-lecture-4-tickets-16695154657

 

 

Keith Smith,

Founder

SANSU

Surrey Area Network of Substance Users

"...We Live Here Too!"

Email: sansusurrey@gmail.com

Ph: 604-612-7070

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS E-MAIL COMMUNICATION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION WHICH IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL.  IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY AND DESTROY THE ORIGINAL. THANK YOU.

 

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/health-minister-warns-vancouver-not-to-regulate-illegal-marijuana-dispensaries/article24090887/

 

Ottawa warns against plan to regulate Vancouver pot dispensaries

Andrea Woo

VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Apr. 23 2015, 5:35 PM EDT

 

The federal Health Minister is warning Vancouver’s mayor not to regulate the city’s illegal medical marijuana dispensaries, which she says would encourage drug use and increase addiction.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose made her remarks in a strongly worded letter to Mayor Gregor Robertson on Thursday, one day after the city announced details of a proposed licensing system for marijuana-related businesses.

The city says its proposal is a public-safety response to the rapid growth of such businesses, from 20 in 2012 to 80 today.

Ms. Ambrose argued that regulating them would “normalize” the use of a drug that remains illegal in Canada – sending a dangerous message to youth.

“Legitimizing and normalizing the use and sale of marijuana can have only one effect: increasing marijuana use and addiction,” she wrote.

The move appears to set the stage for a confrontation between the city and the federal government.

While Ms. Ambrose did not explicitly say her government plans to intervene, she emphasized that the dispensaries operate outside the law. “Storefronts and dispensaries do not operate within a ‘grey zone’ and the law is clear: they are illegal,” she wrote.

Canadian courts have ordered the government to allow access to marijuana when it is prescribed by a physician. However, only Health Canada-licensed producers and patients are allowed to grow it legally.

Vancouver’s dozens of dispensaries are not part of the legal medical marijuana system operated by the federal government. Local police have prioritized enforcement based on the risk to public safety, so dispensaries that operate without issue can typically do so with little interference.

Under the city’s proposed licensing system, dispensaries would have to pay an annual fee of $30,000 and would be prohibited from operating within 300 metres of a school, community centre or another marijuana-related business. They would also have to stay out of the impoverished Downtown Eastside and away from the Granville Strip entertainment district.

City Councillor Kerry Jang, who has taken the lead on the file, said the regulations were drafted precisely to keep marijuana away from children. He said the Health Minister has “clearly been misinformed as to the intent of Vancouver’s bylaws.”

Further, he said it is the federal government’s new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations program that has contributed to the spike in local dispensaries. Patients have argued that marijuana from licensed producers is too expensive. And those producers are prohibited from making or selling edible cannabis products.

“People lost access to their medical marijuana and they had to turn to other places, like dispensaries,” said Dr. Jang, who is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.

Ms. Ambrose’s letter appears to be driven by ideology rather than public-health policy, Dr. Jang added.

“What I find really offensive about all this is that they use Health Canada as part of a political machine,” he said. “Health Canada is there for public health – for Canadians. It’s misuse of a public department.”

Mark Haden, an adjunct professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, applauded the city’s willingness to have what he called an important discussion about regulation.

“Before, we had unregulated gang involvement. The banner of drug prohibition produced widely available, unregulated cannabis,” said Mr. Haden, who is also a former Vancouver Coastal Health Addiction Services supervisor. “Now that we’re moving away from prohibition, it’s turning into commercialization. It’s the other end of the U-curve. What we need is something in the middle, that will reduce the harms that are produced by the two ends of the spectrum.”

The matter goes to council for a public presentation on Tuesday. A public hearing is expected six to eight weeks after that.

 

 

 

 

 

Vancouver's booming marijuana retailers could face new regulations $30,000 licensing fee, mandatory distancing requirements proposed for city's medical marijuana shops CBC News April 22, 2015

 

 

Hi all,

The attached lectures are available with a single registration for each lecture…. The first lecture is sold out.

YOU CAN NOT REGISTER FOR ALL 6 REMAINING LECTURES

 

Registration for the April 14^th lecture will OPEN on the morning of the 8^th…( the morning after the last lecture…and so on …and so on……there are a lot of people already poised to register on the 8^th…

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Keith Smith,

Founder

SANSU

Surrey Area Network of Substance Users

"...We Live Here Too!"

Email: sansusurrey@gmail.com

Ph: 604-612-7070

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS E-MAIL COMMUNICATION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION WHICH IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL.  IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY AND DESTROY THE ORIGINAL. THANK YOU.

 

 

 

From: Mark Haden [mailto:mark@markhaden.com]
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2015 3:20 PM
To: 'John Doe'
Subject: RE: SANSU-Poster PROTOTYPE ONLY- Mark Haden 7 Community Educational Lecture Series

 

Hi Keith,

Do you have a final poster?  I will send out widely.

Cheers,

Mark Haden

 

From: John Doe [mailto:sansusurrey@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2015 3:14 PM
To: Shayne Williams; Erin Gibson; Stephen (Steve) Dooley; Aileen Murphy; Kerr, Colleen; Tokaryk, Jacki; Ron Moloughney; Sandy Moro; Marie Schneider; Nancy Fitzpatrick; Mark Haden
Subject: SANSU-Poster PROTOTYPE ONLY- Mark Haden 7 Community Educational Lecture Series
Importance: High

 

Good Day All

 

The attached

SANSU PROTOTYPE POSTER

is for your immediate feedback for changes, additions, subtractions, etc.

 

Your feedback will be due by Friday March 6^th 4:30pm

 

The final poster will be released Saturday, March 7^th for your further dispersal

 

 

Drugs, Families & Society

Series of 7 Community Education Lectures

BY
Mark Haden, M.S.W.

Adjunct Professor UBC School of Population and Public Health

At Simon Fraser University-Surrey Campus 13450 – 102nd Avenue, Surrey, BC

All Lecturers Start at 6:00pm-8:00pm Sharp

Refreshments & Networking at 5:30pm

 

Lecture & Discussion 1: The Development of Addiction- Tues, April 7^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

Understanding problematic substance use

Lecture & Discussion 2: Chemicals and the Body- Tues, April 14^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

How the body systems are effected by alcohol and other drugs

Lecture & Discussion 3: The Recovery Process- Tues, April 21^th, 2015-Room SUR 5140

What is treatment?

Lecture & Discussion 4: The Family Context- Tues, April 28^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

Family dynamics where addiction is a problem

Lecture & Discussion 5: Helping others- Tues, May 5^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

What you can do if your child, partner or family member has problematic substance use

Lecture & Discussion 6: Harm Reduction Theory- Tues, May 12^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

This presentation explores the theory, history and evidence behind the harm reduction approach to drugs and drug users

Lecture & Discussion 7: Healing our Society- Tues, May 19^th, 2015-Room SUR 5240

A public health approach to illegal drugs or “why drug prohibition does not work” and “what are the alternatives”?

***These lecturers are bold in the exploration of new ideas***

 

Some of the themes and topics explored in this lecturers include:

ü  Honest drug education – which offers an apology for the dishonesty of the past

ü  Addiction as an attachment disorder

ü  Supervised injection sites are a compassionate service response

ü  A public health approach to the regulation of currently illegal drugs

ü  Harm reduction is keeping someone alive long enough to seek help

 

RSVP via Eventbrite.com                       Limited Audience Capacity

 

                               

 

Hosted by: SANSU- Surrey Area Network of Substance Users

Partnered Educational Sponsors: Fraser Health Authority, City of Surrey, Simon Fraser University, Lookout Society,

Royal Canadian Legion-Peace Arch Zone- Ladies Auxiliary

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Keith Smith,

Founder

SANSU

Surrey Area Network of Substance Users

"...We Live Here Too!"

Email: sansusurrey@gmail.com

Ph: 604-612-7070

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS E-MAIL COMMUNICATION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE ADDRESSEE AND MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION WHICH IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL.  IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.  IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY AND DESTROY THE ORIGINAL. THANK YOU.

 

 

 

See attached

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/prohibition-on-drugs-doesnt-work-no-longer-the-answer-to-addiction/article23533161/

 

 

From: Mark Haden [mailto:mark@markhaden.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 4:55 PM
To: mark@markhaden.com
Subject: FW: Psychedelics and Palliative Care

 

Heroin Assisted Treatment in Vancouver - come hear from the experts (patient, researcher, MD)!

Mar. 26 @ SFU 7-9 

rm 7000

https://www.facebook.com/events/1588771028030943/

 

Heroin Assisted Treatment in Vancouver - come hear from the experts (patient, researcher, MD)!

Mar. 26 @ SFU 7-9 

rm 7000

https://www.facebook.com/events/1588771028030943/