Since doper Marc Emery has claimed title of the Prince of Pot, perhaps it is time to crown Justin Trudeau the King of Weed.
Thus far, it seems reefer royalty is our prime minister’s primary quest, as he is obsessed with pot’s legalization — by Canada Day 2018, come hell or high times — while spending little time on substantive issues other than taxing small business out of business.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau claims he will now tweak his tax reforms somewhat so that the family farm, for example, can be passed on to the next generation without painful penalties, but time will tell.
The overall economy?
Not a problem. The marijuana file will rake in untold millions for the national coffers with Trudeau’s surprise announcement of a $1-a-gram federal excise tax on legal weed, plus 13% HST of course and, before anyone knows it, the debt and deficit will be up in smoke. So goes the pipe dream.
Last week, when the premiers met in Ottawa with the PM, talks originally planned to discuss indigenous issues and climate change quickly got down and dirty on the sharing of the pot on pot.
It was reminiscent of street-corner drug dealers arguing over turf and take, with the premiers bemoaning that their jurisdictions will be doing most of the slog — setting up retail, dealing with law enforcement, et cetera — for relative chump change in return.
The best line came from Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister.
“I think it reminds me a little bit of the two salesmen who are having a vicious argument about the commission split on a deal they haven’t done yet,” he said. “We really don’t know what the ramifications of this are.
“This is an historic change, and we don’t know the real cost.”
Yet, for the King of Weed, it is rush, rush, rush.
There is also an increasing clampdown on those pesky illegal pot dispensaries that are popping up everywhere across the country, and are particularly irksome to the ruling Liberals of Ontario who want their monopoly protected, and run by unionized and templated off-shoots of the Liquor Control Board.
In a rather profound example of law enforcement overkill, an Ottawa pot dispensary was raided last week for the second time this year by drug cops disguised by balaclavas, and accompanied by fully geared-up members of the SWAT team.
Five clerks were hauled away in handcuffs, and later charged with drug trafficking, as police involved in the raid were heckled by a small group of demonstrators, some of them dispensary co-workers.
“How much taxpayers’ money did you waste?” one reportedly yelled. “Are you f—ing kidding me?”
“They should be investigating cocaine dealers.”
Yes, peace and love is in the air.
What also troubles the feds, and the provinces, is that these pot dispensaries are also selling edibles, which will be a no-no when marijuana is legalized in order to prevent toddlers for mistaking their parents’ THC-laced gummies for Halloween treats.
And there is some interesting stuff being sold.
When Postmedia reporter Jacquie Miller visited an illegal Ottawa outlet named Dr. Greenthumb, priding itself for selling the cheapest pot in town — $8.50 a gram, cash only — she found a “fully-loaded 375 mg gummy” selling for $30.
It was in a Ziploc bag, and shaped like a revolver.
And, “fully loaded” is not far off.
As Miller noted a “single serving” edible in Colorado has only 10 mg of THC, the chemical in marijuana that delivers the buzz.
Imagine if someone’s toddler mistakenly swallowed that revolver-shaped gummy at Dr. Greenthumb laced with 375 mg of THC?
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Justin Trudeau’s quest to be crowned King of Weed | BONOKOSKI | Canada | News |
Author: Mark Bonokoski
Contact: Contact us | Toronto Sun
Photo Credit: Darryl Dyck
Website: Toronto Sun
