With cannabis fresh on the legal Canadian market, consumers can expect a whole lot of plastic and cardboard packaging with their legal weed—a stark shift from the small plastic bags common in illegal cannabis distribution. Health Canada regulations specify that packaging needs to be “child resistant” and “tamper evident.” Dried cannabis, for example, is sold […]
cannabis
Posted inNews + Opinion
The amnesty agenda for cannabis
Joining the list of things that used to be illegal and aren’t anymore—featuring margarine, Sunday shopping, alcohol and the right to vote for anyone who isn’t a white male—is cannabis. After almost a century of prohibition, Canada’s path to legalization has not been clear-cut. And of all the groups considered in the long, costly task […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
“We owe an apology to the public”
“I feel like we have let the public down,” deputy mayor Waye Mason says about the launch of Halifax’s new smoking ban. With hours to go until cannabis is legal across the country, Halifax is admitting that its complicated, city-wide ban on smoking needs some fine-tuning. “I think we owe an apology to the public […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Legal weed’s roll-out
So, no big deal or anything, but cannabis becomes legal in Canada on Wednesday. This October 17 date has been a real, albeit still somewhat surreal, target for a while, giving lawmakers, producers and retailers a serious deadline to get a lot of shit figured out. And as that deadline gets ever closer, putting increasing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Secret access codes needed to buy NSLC weed online
Here’s a fun way to pretend you’re some kind of hacker man. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation announced today how it’s going to keep recreational cannabis that’s sold online out of the hands of those under 19. An online access code will be required to visit and make purchases at the province’s new online cannabis […]
Posted inLifestyle
Chelsea Handler shares her passion for pot with Halifax
A Civilized conversation with Chelsea Handler Sunday, October 7, 8pm Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, 6101 University Ave $63-$98 Willie Nelson—now more of a white-haired stranger—laughs as he passes Chelsea Handler a blunt. “Pot is like sex,” he chuckles. “Some is better than others, but it’s all good.” This is the fourth Episode of Handler’s 2016 Netflix […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New smoking bylaws to be enforced starting October 15
You’ve got two more weeks to light up on public property. Come October 15, Halifax will officially start enforcing its new bylaw amendments banning all smoking on public property outside of designated smoking areas. A “couple dozen” smoking areas will initially be in place come October 15, just two days before cannabis is legal. “We […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Micro grow-op, dispensary supporters say new cannabis land-use rules too strict
It’s not the most contentious of HRM’s new cannabis bylaws, but it still has its critics. Halifax regional council voted unanimously in favour of land-use amendments for cannabis production facilities and dispensaries in HRM following a public hearing Tuesday. The bylaw amendments are the third of a set of policy changes in anticipation of legalization […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cigarette smoking still restricted on Halifax property
Regional council defeated a motion Tuesday that would have exempted tobacco from the city’s new anti-smoking bylaw. Despite councillor Sam Austin’s attempt to amend the nuisance bylaw and separate cannabis and tobacco use, all smoking and vaping on municipal property will be restricted to designated areas after October 1. It wasn’t the outcome Austin was […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
City hall lawyers say smoking ban needs to include tobacco
A new staff report recommends Halifax continue its prohibition for all types of smoking on public property—that is if the city ever wants to be successful in prosecuting cannabis users. City council passed new bylaw amendments back in July outright banning smoking and vaping on municipal property outside of specially designated smoking areas. The motion […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cannabis patient worried about finding a place to rent in Halifax
Landlords in Halifax are putting their tenants on notice: growing and smoking cannabis inside will be prohibited even after legalization. The announcements have some medicinal cannabis patients worried they won’t be able to find an affordable place to live in the city. “A lot of us exist on little-to-no income. A lot of us are […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Sober second thoughts on Halifax smoking ban
After banning darts and breaking hearts, Halifax may ease off its public smoking prohibition—for cigarettes, at least. City council asked this week for a staff report on filtering out tobacco from the new public smoking ban that was created two weeks ago when HRM amended its nuisance bylaws. Dartmouth Centre councillor Sam Austin brought the […]