- Global Marijuana March in Toronto
- Sept. 19-20, 2015: Right to Grow Conference in Vancouver
- Portable System to Test Potency of Medical Cannabis Unveiled at Cannabis Business Expo
- Puerto Rico Governor Signs Executive Order to Legalize Medical Cannabis
- Texas House Panel Approves Full Legalization of Cannabis
Global Marijuana March in Toronto
NORML Canada was present among the joints, bongs, and plenty of smoke supporting the thousands of activists who gathered at Queen’s Park to march in favour of legalizing cannabis on Saturday May 2nd in Toronto, Ontario.
The event was yet another opportunity to highlight the NORML Canada’s plan to unseat the Conservatives and support the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2015 Federal Election. We continued our work by collecting hundreds of signed post cards to be addressed to Stephen Harper warning him to expect to see thousands of law abiding citizens coming out to vote in this year’s elections.
The event began with a crowd gathering around noon. Then at about 2PM, activists marched down major streets in the core of downtown Toronto openly enjoying cannabis and eventually returning to Queen’s Park. It was quite a sight to notice the helpful presence of Toronto police officers blocking traffic for this march in particular.
The march was led mostly by noted author and activist Matt Mernagh, a medical cannabis patient and advocate who, along with the Hash Mob, have been very supportive of NORML Canada’s work. Marc Emery and Jodie Emery were also in attendance and participated in the march.
Other cities across Canada held their own Global Marijuana Marches, as did other groups in other countries. It truly was a global event, and NORML Canada was glad to be involved across Canada, in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
Sept. 19-20, 2015: Right to Grow Conference in Vancouver
Cannabis-related legal challenges have become one of the more successful means of advancing positive change in Canada. It is empowering and heartening to see citizens turn the personal hardship and tragedy of criminal charges into a tool to attack our regressive laws. In such a climate it is incumbent on NORML Canada to aid worthy challenges to our regressive laws. Allard v. The Queen is the federal court case in which medical cannabis patients are challenging the new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) as unconstitutional. Under the MMPR patients are denied the power to grow for themselves. As a result, patients are forced to pay significantly more per gram than when they were growing for themselves. For many, the price is too steep and they cannot afford to purchase their own medicine from the government licensed suppliers. Also, patients no longer have full control over the strains they can consume as they would if they were growing for themselves. For many, growing cannabis is itself therapeutic. The patients are seeking the right to grow for themselves. This is not just a terrible for medical cannabis users, but the MMPR is potentially the template for recreational cannabis users under legalization. This means that the future of personal growing for everybody rests with Allard. NORML Canada will be assisting the Allard team to raise money for this historic fight. The case is being spearheaded by NORML Canada President John Conroy. Information about the case can be found at www.johnconroy.com. On September 19 to 20, 2015 NORML Canada will be hosting the Right to Grow Conference in Vancouver. The event will feature two days of speakers and workshops with fundraisers for Allard attached to the event. The event will be taking place one month before the important October 19 election. Furthering personal growing and taking vigorous election action will be the focus of the conference. More information about the conference is available on the Cannabis Digest website: www.cannabisdigest.ca and NORML Canada’s own website: www.norml.ca
Portable System to Test Potency of Medical Cannabis Unveiled at Cannabis Business Expo
Sage Analytics, of Boulder, Colorado, introduced their newest product at the Cannabis Business Conference and Expo, held in Chicago, May 19-21. The Luminary Beacon uses optical spectroscopy to instantly measure the potency of cannabis products at the molecular level and to separate and identify the different cannabinoids present.
Unlike gas chromatography (GC) and/or high performance liquid chromatography, which are the typical tests used to identify cannabinoids in the plant, the Luminary Beacon uses light to examine the chemical composition of cannabis and leaves the material unharmed and ready for use.
The emergence of such technology is another reminder that cannabis legalization is upon us and with it the need for further knowledge on the composition of the plant as it pertains to safe dosages.
For more on the SAGE Analytics Luminary Profiler: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxCQaORl8lg
For more info on how we currently test cannabis: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqh3-Xi27IA
Puerto Rico Governor Signs Executive Order to Legalize Medical Cannabis
On May 3rd, the governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, signed an executive order to allow the use of medical cannabis on the Caribbean island. The order goes into effect immediately. Puerto Rico’s health secretary has three months to release a report on how the executive order will be implemented in the island and what its impact will be, according to the Associated Press.
Five
Earlier this month, the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved legislation that would make it legal to buy and sell cannabis in that state. This would make Texas the fifth state in the United States to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes.
Although the proposal has very little chance of clearing any other hurdles on the path to becoming law in Texas, this approval should be considered a historic victory and a big step toward future success in the generally conservative state.