Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The sale of marijuana in storefront shops such as have cropped up on Toronto streets remains illegal and will be prosecuted until new legislation decriminalizing the substance is in place, possibly in 2017.
That was the word from federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on June 30 at the announcement of a nine-member task force, headed by deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, advising the government on how to legalize marijuana.
The statement from Wilson-Raybould made it clear that marijuana sale, distribution and possession remains illegal unless it is "authorized for medical purposes."
Mayor John Tory welcomed the statement. He and the city have been grappling with how to deal with the emergence of more than 100 marijuana dispensaries in neighbourhoods across Toronto.
"I welcome the clarity that came from Ottawa although it was clarity with respecting to something I always understood to be common sense," said Tory.
"I always felt the law was fairly clear... So to me they've made it very clear today - clear to municipalities, to people who want to open dispensaries, that the law is the law and the law should continue to be enforced."
The city and police have been doing that, in several raids of dispensaries, while operators have demanded a licensing system and argued that with the pending change in the law, it makes no sense to arrest and charge people under the current law.
Tory dismissed that argument Thursday.
"We've never operated on a system whereby when the law's a certain way and it changes, we just forget about everybody who broke the law before," Tory said, and added that the real message from Ottawa was not directed to law enforcement or city hall - but operators of dispensaries.
"I would say to those that are very anxious to throw the doors open: the law is going to change. Not many are standing in the way of it. But it has to be done carefully, and thoughtfully, and bottom line is it has to be done."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Toronto Mayor Welcomes Clarity From Federal Government On Marijuana Dispensaries
Author: David Nickle
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Minor
Website: Inside Toronto
That was the word from federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on June 30 at the announcement of a nine-member task force, headed by deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, advising the government on how to legalize marijuana.
The statement from Wilson-Raybould made it clear that marijuana sale, distribution and possession remains illegal unless it is "authorized for medical purposes."
Mayor John Tory welcomed the statement. He and the city have been grappling with how to deal with the emergence of more than 100 marijuana dispensaries in neighbourhoods across Toronto.
"I welcome the clarity that came from Ottawa although it was clarity with respecting to something I always understood to be common sense," said Tory.
"I always felt the law was fairly clear... So to me they've made it very clear today - clear to municipalities, to people who want to open dispensaries, that the law is the law and the law should continue to be enforced."
The city and police have been doing that, in several raids of dispensaries, while operators have demanded a licensing system and argued that with the pending change in the law, it makes no sense to arrest and charge people under the current law.
Tory dismissed that argument Thursday.
"We've never operated on a system whereby when the law's a certain way and it changes, we just forget about everybody who broke the law before," Tory said, and added that the real message from Ottawa was not directed to law enforcement or city hall - but operators of dispensaries.
"I would say to those that are very anxious to throw the doors open: the law is going to change. Not many are standing in the way of it. But it has to be done carefully, and thoughtfully, and bottom line is it has to be done."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Toronto Mayor Welcomes Clarity From Federal Government On Marijuana Dispensaries
Author: David Nickle
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Minor
Website: Inside Toronto
