Food bank fundraiser
CP HOLIDAY TRAIN ARRIVES TODAY AT 5 P.M. DETAILS, A19
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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DECEMBER 15, 2016 | Volume 29 No. 151
REPORT: MODEL POT SALES AFTER TOBACCO RULES CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
ASK Wellness Centre executive director has been personally impacted by the overdose epidemic as a staffer and a client both died from overdoses last week.
OD prevention sites coming DALE BASS
STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
Bob Hughes is fine with his agency being the location of overdose prevention sites that will open on Friday in Kamloops — but not on a permanent basis. “This is a thinner line than I’d like,” the executive director of the ASK Wellness Centre said of
provincial plans to open the two locations. “I’m not happy.” On Monday, Health Minister Terry Lake issued an order directing regional health boards to provide overdose-prevention services for the purpose of monitoring those at risk of overdose and providing rapid intervention as needed. Hughes said what that means
to him and his staff in practical terms is there will be a nurse at ASK’s location on Tranquille Road on the North Shore and at the Crossroads Inn on Seymour Street downtown. There will also be more resources, such as the kits it receives with 10 naloxone doses in each. See SITES, A6
A federal task force is recommending the Liberal government bring in a plain-package system similar to tobacco sales when it legalizes marijuana. The final report of the federal marijuana task force was released Tuesday. Among its recommendations is marijuana be allowed for retail sale to anyone 18 and older — although provinces would ultimately be responsible for setting the legal age. That goes against a Canadian Medical Association ideal age of 25 and a minimum age of 21. The task force recommends tobacco-like restrictions, forcing retailers to sell product in plain packaging with the listing of the THC and CBD content. It also recommends against marketing, promotion and advertising and does not want it sold in the same location as alcohol. The latter recommendation will run up against lobbies in B.C. and Ontario that marijuana be sold in liquor stores. “The current paradigm of marijuana prohibition has been with us for almost 100 years. We cannot, and should not, expect to turn this around overnight,” the report states.
The report recommends a conservative model that would also hike tax based on the THC content and tax medical and recreational pot at the same rate. The medical component would remain separate from the consumer side under the recommendations. Kamloops entrepreneur Chad Moats, who helped run a marijuana dispensary in Victoria before it ran into problems with a landlord, commended most of the recommendations, particularly selling pot in a different establishment than a liquor store. “In Victoria, we got a lot of people trying to get off liquor and use cannabis as a substitute . . . People would say ‘I don’t want to go to a liquor store — it will trigger me,’” he said. The report received something of a ringing endorsement from the province. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Morris said it takes into consideration B.C.’s concerns with drugged driving and keeping legal weed out of the hands of children. “The illegal market for cannabis that exists today has abetted criminal organizations while also saddling many young Canadians with the stigma and ramifications of a criminal record for possession,” he said. See KAMLOOPS DOCTOR, A11
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