Photo by Vince Fedoroff
THE FINAL TOUCH – Kelly Construction workers installed the Cannabis Yukon store sign this morning for the 11:00 opening. Allister Kucherean, Dave Galbraith and Reg Andrews are seen left to right after the installation.
Photo by Vince Fedoroff
THE FINAL TOUCH – Kelly Construction workers installed the Cannabis Yukon store sign this morning for the 11:00 opening. Allister Kucherean, Dave Galbraith and Reg Andrews are seen left to right after the installation.
The Yukon RCMP feel they’re ready for the long-anticipated legalization of cannabis, which came into effect today.
The Yukon RCMP feel they’re ready for the long-anticipated legalization of cannabis, which came into effect today.
“I think we are (prepared),” Staff-Sgt. Jane Boissonneault told the Star Tuesday.
She outlined what drivers can expect with legalization. She wanted to remind everyone that it was already illegal to drive under the influence of any drugs, including cannabis.
“That’s not changing,” Boissonneault said.
Police will continue to enforce the impaired driving laws already in place. She said officers will keep an extra eye out for “high” driving, but it will remain as part of impaired driving overall.
Police will be running the usual check stops during the holidays.
Boissonneault explained that driving high is not much different from driving drunk. It is still impairment, but caused by a different substance.
Both create issues of an individual’s ability to safely drive.
There is no set limit of THC, the substance in cannabis that causes impairment, that can be found in a driver’s blood concentration to qualify as driving high, according to Boissonneault. She said this will be part of legislation that will come out on Dec. 17.
She was unsure of what those levels will be.
As for roadside tests, she said police have a standard field sobriety test. This examines someone’s co-ordination, motor skills and cognition.
The goal is to identify possible impairment.
Boissonneault revealed there are 15 officers in the territory trained to administer such tests. Most are stationed in Whitehorse, with some in the other communities. She was not able to say how many are outside the capital.
Police are aggressively pursuing further training opportunities, Boissonneault added.
The RCMP will also have access to a device to test drivers.
The oral fluid screening device will test a person’s saliva for traces of drug use. Boissonneault has not seen this device before, but she explained that saliva is gathered in a cartridge and analyzed.
The machine tests for multiple drugs, not just cannabis, but it does not test for blood concentration.
Should someone test positive, he or she would be brought to the nearest RCMP detachment for further testing administered by a drug recognition expert. Charges could be issued, pending the expert’s findings.
Boissonneault said there will be one oral fluid screening device coming to the territory. It’s still in the procurement process, and she is not sure when it will arrive.
There are no plans to order more. The RCMP are looking at several other devices, though Boissonneault is unsure what could happen.
She added this machine will be well adaptable to northern winters.
Boissonneault reminded Yukoners that people are permitted to carry 30 grams of cannabis. When transporting the drug, it must remained sealed and out of the driver’s reach.
“Put it in the trunk,” she advised.
She clarified that may be difficult for pickup truck and SUV owners, but as long as the package is out of the grasp of the driver, it should be fine.
As for issues moving forward, Boissonneault said, there will definitely be growing pains with legalization of the substance. She said both the public and the police may be unsure of the regulations.
“We’re still learning,” she noted.
It will take time and effort for everyone to familiarize themselves with the legislation, she added, but this does not take away an individual’s personal responsibility to know the rules.
The territory’s Cannabis Control and Regulation Act is available online in both English and French at www.gov.yk.ca/legislation/legislation/page_c.html.
Since cannabis will now be legal, Boissonneault said, there may be people trying it for the first time.
She recommended taking it slow, consuming smaller amounts. This way, you can learn how the substance will affect you.
The RCMP, Boissonneault said, are not planning an awareness campaign, as the territorial government has been handing out information on this front.
Canadians are being cautioned not to attempt to take cannabis across the U.S. border, even into states where possessing the drug is legal.
Federal legislation outlawing cannabis supersedes state law, and Canadians carrying the drug could be turned away from the border or even charged.
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Comments (21)
Up 0 Down 1
Doug Ryder on Oct 23, 2018 at 7:02 pm
You have not presented any counterfactuals merely your opinion through other people’s works. You have also misinterpreted the research to make it say what you want to believe - That is often referred to as academic fraud.
Do you and Woodcutter get together and role play Jay and Silent Bob? Bluntman and Chronic - Superstoners?
Donovan - Most marijuana users are delusional while the others are just psychotic. It’s the nature of the affliction - Cannabis Use Disorder.
This is what happens when you smoke too much MJ. The killer craze while lighting the blaze:
Crazed cannabis user, 31, who gouged a seven-month-old boy’s eyes then threw him and his mother out of a window is jailed for life.
Retrieved from:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6020661/amp/Crazed-cannabis-user-31-tried-kill-baby-jailed-life.html
Up 7 Down 1
long comments should go. on Oct 23, 2018 at 12:10 pm
Remember when the Star used to limit comments to 1000 characters? Yeah, I miss those days. I don't read those long non-sensical comments--especially when they are just back and forth bashings.
Up 2 Down 2
Donovan McGlaughlin on Oct 23, 2018 at 11:59 am
@Doug Ryder
You call me delusional and Blah,Blah,Blah every time I call you on your "facts". Your delusions of grandeur are laughable at best. And now you claim to be "studying" mental issues, perhaps so you can diagnose your own severe mental defects. I am afraid you are speaking about yourself when you misdirect and lash out like you do at me and I now feel sorry for you. Your low self esteem issues have grow into LARGER Psychosis. Have A good day and try to relax.
Up 1 Down 7
Doug Ryder on Oct 22, 2018 at 6:36 pm
Hello Donovan? Donovan, anybody in there? When I joined in this discussion I thought I was dealing with someone who possessed a minimal level of intelligence.
You say I misrepresent and then you go on to say that I am citing a manuscript? Put the bong down for a bit and sober up before posting. The 20% figure comes from your research and from not me. This is from the sources you cited earlier.
So, it looks like you see wrong twice on the same information. Man oh man, you can’t make this stuff up! Maybe you can? I should consider the possibility you an idiot savant and this fictive writing is your gift - It’s like you are a marijuana Rain Man...
You are going to hurt a lot of people with your misinformation. Perhaps Trudeau has some useful idiots too...
Up 6 Down 2
Donovan McGlaughlin on Oct 21, 2018 at 5:24 pm
@Doug Nice try at increasing the data to match your "fact" it wasn't 20%.
"The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that 7.1% of pregnant women aged 18–25 have used illicit drugs in the month prior to being surveyed"
7.1% and your 20% are way different. And you are quoting a manuscript, NOT an actual clinical trial. 400 years ago manuscripts stated that the Earth was flat and the sun revolved around us, these too were written by the most learned of men, but like you they were wrong in the most part.
There are 1000's of these types of manuscripts written by Doctors and Professors. But they are all OPINIONS of the author and vary from person to person. Try reciting facts based on controlled studies by accredited facilities and not "Dr. Joe Blow said" propaganda.
Up 5 Down 6
Doug Ryder on Oct 20, 2018 at 8:57 pm
Some Research to Start:
Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance among pregnant women. Human epidemiological and animal studies have found that prenatal cannabis exposure influences brain development and can have long-lasting impacts on cognitive functions.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252200/
One study found that about 20% of pregnant women 24-years-old and younger screened positive for marijuana. However, this study also found that women were about twice as likely to screen positive for marijuana use via a drug test than they state in self-reported measures.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/can-marijuana-use-during-pregnancy-harm-baby
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/life/health-and-fitness/health-advisor/will-smoking-marijuana-during-pregnancy-harm-the-child/article35982408/
The impression that marijuana is safe.
http://m.emboj.embopress.org/content/early/2014/01/27/embj.201386035.full
Researchers studied marijuana's effects on mice and brain tissue from human fetuses, and found that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, interferes with the formation of connections between nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher thinking skills and forming memories.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/amp.livescience.com/42853-marijuana-during-pregnancy-baby-brain.html
Up 7 Down 4
Josey Wales on Oct 19, 2018 at 8:48 pm
Awesome...roadside bodily fluid and DNA collections.
What about the era of stop signs, reasonable speed limits, and collective agreements that killing each other is bad...era?
Given the collective stupidity out here, seems everyone is high these days.
Be awesome if our Mounties could get all nostalgic, and go back to when we were a civilized society weeding out (no pun intended) the Trevor the human types and their minions nefarious scumbags from our very unhealthy community of at least Whitehorse.
So y’ll rejoice in team reds ultimate pander tactic if you like, I see a dark side to this kinda like...
Say a loooong time ago, some self acclaimed team of do gooder from afar washed ashore...
Looked around at all the cool things they could loot, all the nice camping spots...then as historical legend has it?
“You want a few drinks of firewater and some cheap trinkets....and just a few extra folks camping here too”
As the community rejoiced in all the novelty and shiny trinkets.
Okay completely outta my mind...that version of history but seriously?
You all enjoy getting your taxed electric lettuce, getting baaaked but please do try to pay a spore of some attention to the details .
As the snake oil crews, politicians will always take far more than given.
Wonder how long till random roadside body cavity searches?
If it saves but one life, and you have nothing to hide....for the love of (insert preferred fictional entity) will you think of the children.
Mind you with Mr. dress up in charge, we might as well replace it with Tommy Chong whilst we blaze our country into ashes.
Up 3 Down 10
Doug Ryder on Oct 19, 2018 at 8:08 pm
For Donovan - Stop your creative writing. You are misinforming everyone.
That Canadian Medical Association strongly oppose the use of marijuana for medical reasons in the absence of supporting scientific evidence.
That Canadian Medical Association recommends that physicians not participate in the dispensing of medical marijuana under the existing Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.
Courts have not addressed the ethical position in which physicians are placed as a result of becoming the gate keeper for access to a medication without full knowledge of its effectiveness, proper dosage, or short and long-term side effects.
Up 5 Down 4
Always Questions on Oct 19, 2018 at 6:49 pm
The babies that are born with high THC levels, what does that mean for the little ones? What does 'fail' mean? Where are these babies now? How are they? Did they suffer withdrawal like alcohol or 'hard' drugs? Do they have developmental problems? Is it like FAS as a lifetime challenge? I tried 'googling' it, but didn't get a real answer. Doug can you post the link to the study?
Legalization is going to allow 'us' to find the answers to these questions. I am looking forward to reading results of studies that may previously have been illegal on these questions and many others. The fact that women are imbibing while pregnant or breastfeeding probably isn't a new thing either.
Up 7 Down 8
Joseum Wales on Oct 19, 2018 at 6:28 pm
Great difference from feeling a little high and being stoned.
In university someone told me a van with 4 people drove for miles and only when they stopped did they realize the tire was flat and they were so stoned they could not figure out the noise the vehicle was making.
My point is you can be very stoned what means you are impaired and a menace to others. I THINK Doug gets this but people who blindly defend pot smoking are wearing special slippers.
Up 4 Down 8
Doug Ryder on Oct 19, 2018 at 6:22 pm
Good post. No, I do not believe that all imbibers are unicorn slipper wearing monologuers. Although, I have known some who are.
I agree. We should protect our freedoms in whatever form they may manifest and from whatever corrosive source may erode their potency.
Yes. I argue as passionately for all issues that I feel are important to invest my time in. And I am aware as has been implicitly noted in these forums that individuals differ in their response to any substances whether that be: marijuana, alcohol, prescription medications and as our friend Woodcutter has suggested, Big Macs and sugar.
Perhaps my message should be clearer: Our personal experiences and opinions [mine included] have little bearing on a manifest reality and little in common with factual accounting. The reason for this is again, individual. Therefore, whether marijuana, alcohol or any other substance is good or bad depends on the outcome of a particular and is not an inherent quality of the substance at issue.
Anyway, when I wrote “Grow-op” in a previous post I was not necessarily intending to reinforce the high school argument thesis although the license could have easily extended that way. It was a matter of opportunism in my part to be ambiguous. Apologies Donovan.
In a previous life I have worked with marijuana induced psychotic patience. Not pretty. I have also heard from many, many marijuana users that they drive better stoned than most people do sober.
It was disconcerting for me on my first time in the Horse since legalization that I happened to stopped at the traffic light on Two Mile Hill beside a white vehicle with 2 dudes in it, the passenger sparked up, drew in some smoke, exhaling some brilliant, thick white smoke... The full on olfactory detection of skunk... Another inhale... Hold... Hold... Exhale, another brilliant cloud of thick white smoke...
The light changed and the driver sped off at 80 kph down the hill... To McDonalds maybe?
Up 9 Down 8
Mark on Oct 19, 2018 at 5:47 pm
The RCMP need to come out in force and start nailing enforcement hard to send a message. Get a few arrests under their belt to show the seriousness of impaired driving and contributing to minors. Make some examples of people to get point across.
Up 7 Down 4
drum on Oct 19, 2018 at 5:35 pm
Nothing said about the armed robbery on Oct 17. at Trails North!!!!!!!
Up 14 Down 3
ProScience Greenie on Oct 19, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Hope you're that hard on people that drink any amount of booze, prescription pill addicts and hard drug users Doug as there's is way more death and destruction caused by that than weed. Just saying.
Not sure what you mean by unicorn slippers. Do you think all in support of legalizing weed are hippie-dippie leftists? If so, you're very wrong there. While many of my friends that are more conservative than I have issues with the way legalization was done, none of them see weed in the 'reefer madness' way that you and others do. Facts are facts, most Canadians wanted weed legal and now it's done. Not perfect I'll admit but definitely not the end of the world.
Bottom line as a fiscal-con and small 'L' libertarian type I pretty much oppose everything social-cons and SJWs push for - limits to freedom of expression, reefer madness, eroding the separation of religion and state, the stupid LGR, carbon tax etc.
Again, both social-cons and SJW are the same in my eyes - fear mongering snowflakes wanting legislation to control as many aspects of our personal lives as they can get away with. Between the two camps it's a death of a thousand cuts to liberty and our inherent freedoms. Not good.
Up 2 Down 14
Doug Ryder on Oct 18, 2018 at 10:21 pm
@ PSG - Yes. The appeal to emotional extremes. The stoners handbook go to deflection.
Chapter 1 - Rule 1 - If you are a stoner who is dependent on the kush and someone tries to provide you with some reality or factual evidence about marijuana use/abuse do the following:
1) Stare blankly back at them as if nothing registers
2) Go on a monologue about the prettiness of your unicorn slippers
3) If the full buzz has not taken over - run, get out fast; and
4) Engage in irrational rhetoric such as: “The old "Won't somebody please think of the children?" thing with MJ legalization eh? Others who pull that card are the global warming alarmists, anti-same sex marriage, and anti-gun types. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between social conservatives and SJW these days. Sorry, but cannabis legalization will not be the end of the world as much as some are hoping for.”
Up 13 Down 5
Groucho d'North on Oct 18, 2018 at 4:09 pm
Not to take away from the fun all of us are having posting their views on the new laws, but I'd like to point out something I believe will make travel on our highways and roads much safer - vehicles in poor mechnical condition. Start pulling these people over and fine them for lights that don't work...brake lights especially! Some are dragging parts underneath in a shower of sparks, bald tires - forget snow or winter tires, the summers they have on are dangerous already. Broken windows covered with plastic you can't see through and many similar faults that put all travelers at risk when these vehicles fail. No fancy, unproven chemical tests required, just inspect the vehicle for safety minimums. Thanks to M division in advance.
Up 14 Down 9
ProScience Greenie on Oct 18, 2018 at 1:24 pm
The old "Won't somebody please think of the children?" thing with MJ legalization eh? Others who pull that card are the global warming alarmists, anti-same sex marriage, and anti-gun types. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between social conservatives and SJW these days. Sorry, but cannabis legalization will not be the end of the world as much as some are hoping for.
Up 11 Down 7
JT little spud on Oct 18, 2018 at 8:44 am
This leagalization will create more case law than all of the other laws combined. Case law costs tax payers money, it clogs the courts and better yet let’s more often than not guilty people go, this after years of back and forth. The police simply do not have the tools to be effective although they do try and put on a brave front.
Up 6 Down 21
Doug Ryder on Oct 17, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Legalization of marijuana is not a good thing...
A whole lot more newborns are poised to fail drug tests
Cannabis is a powerful narcotic; that’s mainly why it’s so popular. And obstetricians are generally in agreement that powerful narcotics are bad for developing fetuses. Despite this, after Colorado legalized pot in 2014, hospitals across the state were reporting a rise in cannabis consumption among pregnant and nursing mothers.
At one particular hospital, roughly half of all newborn babies already had enough THC in their systems to fail a drug test. One possible reason? Marijuana vendors were literally recommending their product to pregnant women. In a study published earlier this year, researchers called 400 Colorado pot stores pretending to be a pregnant woman with morning sickness. The correct answer is “consult your doctor,” but an incredible 70 per cent of the stores instead recommended treating the nausea with cannabis.
Canadian pot stores will be a bit more tightly regulated. Nevertheless, Canada already has a constituency of cannabis-consuming pregnant women that could grow under legalization. “I am not hurting my babies. I am helping my babies,” one of them told CTV in 2016.
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Max Mack on Oct 17, 2018 at 4:31 pm
The new saliva testing devices detects trace amounts of THC in saliva. There is no scientifically defensible correlation between THC in saliva and impairment, especially given that THC is fat soluble (unlike alcohol, which is water soluble).
This troubling set of facts aside, the saliva testing device chosen by Trudeau's government is known to yield a high percentage of false positives in good conditions, and the device's reliability is hampered by a narrow temperature range, tilt angle and other conditions. For example, the driver must not have consumed any food or drink for at least 10 minutes before the saliva test (total test time is estimated to be about 1/2 hour: 10 minutes to confirm no food or drink, 4-10 minutes to swab, 10 minutes for sample to be analyzed).
Once this machine flags you with a positive result, undoubtedly you will be detained and taken for blood testing, your vehicle will be towed and impounded, and you will be summarily convicted of a criminal offense if the blood results come back with more than 2 nanograms per millitre of blood. How much is two nanograms? Two BILLIONITHS of a gram. And penalties increase from there based on THC, alcohol or other drug levels.
Meanwhile, police no longer need probable cause to demand a breathalyzer. This gives police the "power" to stop you anytime, anywhere, for no reason whatsoever. Once they stop you, they can and will use the breathalyzer stop as an excuse to "assess" you for drug impairment.
Note the new per se drug limits have arbitrarily and dramatically lowered the blood alcohol limit when THC is present.
I could go on, but is anyone really listening? Canada is about to create a whole new set of criminals.
All I can say is - beware, folks. And if the police pull you over, I hope you have very deep pockets.
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MH on Oct 17, 2018 at 3:40 pm
Funny that you mention it is adaptable to winters when tests would show otherwise, not to mention an alarmingly high rate of not only false positive, but also false negative results. Meaning you could be letting just as many impaired drivers go by as unimpaired drivers that you send for further invasive testing. I'm all for police having the tools to do their job but this is not proven to be a reliable tool as it is being touted.