Weekend Weather Thursday
H 16º
Friday
L 7 H 19º
H 19º
L 7º
Sunday
Saturday
L 9º H 23º
L 10º
As reported from Environment Canada www.weatheroffice.gc.ca Harrow AAFC
Volume 6, Issue 14
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Wednesday, April 29, 2015
By Bryan Jessop Aphria Medical Marijuana co-founder Cole Cacciavillani had a rare public opportunity to respond to the stigma commonly associated with his business. The Leamington District Chamber of Commerce invited Cacciavillani to attend their annual general meeting as guest speaker at the Rhine Danube Club Wednesday, April 22. The Leamington-based company’s co-founder, chief operation officer and director followed the AGM’s agenda with a presentation on how Aphria was launched following a rigorous process to meet government regulations. Cacciavillani also compared the attributes of medical marijuana to traditional remedies such as Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Oxycotin and opiates as a means of dispelling some of the myths associated with his company’s products. “Everybody knows what we’re doing and that we’re doing something a little different,” Cacciavillani explained. “It’s (medical marijuana) really misunderstood. Unfortunately, marijuana still has this stigma that we, as part of the new culture of marijuana, are battling against. I’m here to tell you there are a lot of good things about marijuana.” Cacciavillani pointed out that marijuana is a naturally-occurring drug that does not produce the sometimes-fatal side effects of common prescription medications such as overdoses that occur following the development of dependence or addiction. He went on to explain that medical marijuana is not addictive and has no records of a fatal overdose. His presentation noted that over-the-counter medications have caused the deaths of more than 3,400 patients between 1991 and 2004 — 52 per cent of which were unintentional. The guest speaker explained that the journey to offering legalized medical marijuana in Canada began with a court case in 2001 when an individual argued that with medicinal properties, the drug should be made available to him. “Unfortunately, from 2001 to 2014 they (the Canadian federal government) didn’t do a very good job with that whole regulatory framework that they had developed,” Cacciavillani explained. “In agriculture, we’re always looking to grow something different. For us, medical marijuana is really just another plant that we can grow and culture inside the greenhouse. We look at it strictly from a science-based growing of a plant.” (Continued on Page 9)
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Aphria Medical Marijuana chief operating officer, director and co-founder Cole Cacciavillani describes the hurdles his company has had to maneuver to reach full production during the Leamington and District Chamber of Commerce’s 79th annual general meeting at the Rhine Danube Wednesday, Apr. 22.
Leamington mourns loss of Rick Atkin
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Leamington municipal councillor Rick Atkin speaks prior to the creation of a rain garden alongside the parking lot at Seacliff Beach Tuesday, June 10, 2014. (FILE PHOTO)
By Bryan Jessop The community continues to deal with sentiments of shock and sadness following the sudden and unexpected death of Leamington municipal councillor Rick Atkin. Atkin was found in his home by Leamington Ontario Provincial Police officers on the afternoon of Tuesday, Apr. 21 after they were contacted by Mayor John Paterson. Paterson, along with David Bain and Leamington bylaw enforcement officer Jeff Armstrong, also traveled to Atkin’s home, where their worst fears were confirmed. Paterson asked Armstrong to stop by the house after Atkin uncharacteristically missed a municipal council meeting on the evening of Monday, Apr. 20. Armstrong discovered that Atkin’s car was still in the driveway. Also, before Atkin was found in his bed by OPP officers, Paterson received a concerned phone call from Bain and his wife. David, the son of Essex County warden and Lakeshore mayor Tom Bain, raised horses along with Atkin for the past several years and began suspecting something was wrong when the third-
term councillor didn’t arrive for a routine morning of training. Reports indicate that Atkin died of natural causes. An avid jogger who was seen regularly at the Leamington Kinsmen Recreation Complex, he was considered by most who knew him to be in good health and physical condition. Complex staff members are alleged to have seen him at the LKRC on Monday morning. “It’s absolutely a shock to all of us,” Paterson explained. This is a very big loss for Leamington. Rick not only participated well in council, but also in his community. He was very active in supporting Leamington in different ways — he touched a lot of people’s lives. He will be greatly missed.” Atkin moved from Windsor to Leamington in 1985 — the same year he became the municipality’s recreation director, a position he held until amalgamation. He then became director of community services and played (Continued on Page 2)
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