Health Canada unveils cannabis tracking system to monitor pot market
To keep legal cannabis from getting into the black market, Health Canada has unveiled a new cannabis tracking system. This new measure will also prevent illegal marijuana from being sold through licensed distributors.
In a news release, Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair said that they have been clear about their main goal of keeping revenues out of the hands of organized crime.
Blair also said that they will be conducting routine and unannounced inspections, as well as exhaustive personnel and physical security requirements.
He assured, however, that the new system will not collect personal information about individual customers. Rather, it will only gather data necessary to enable Health Canada to track the cannabis market at a national level.
The tracking system will be used by businesses and organizations that hold a federal license to grow and process cannabis, as well as by provinces and territories that will oversee cannabis sale.
What’s more, the system builds on an existing approach used to track medical cannabis distribution.
Justice Minister OKs roadside saliva test for cannabis
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould has approved a roadside cannabis test that does not measure weed impairment, but will still help law enforcers apprehend and pursue criminal charges against non-abiding motorists.
The Dräger DrugTest 5000 reader and the Dräger DrugTest 5000 STK-CA are part of a kit that detects the presence of cocaine, methamphetamine, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in an individual’s saliva.
This move coincides with the federal government’s statement that combatting impaired driving is one of their top priorities as they implement the Cannabis Act.
Wilson-Raybould noted that impaired driving is the number one criminal cause of injury and death in the country. She said that keeping the roads safe means ensuring that law enforcement is equipped to deter and detect drug-impaired driving.
Weed amnesty campaign receives $50,000 funding from Aurora Cannabis
Non-profit group Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty was launched in May to push the federal government to grant “blanket pardons” for those people who were previously convicted of personal weed possession.
And the great news is that Aurora Cannabis Inc. has just contributed $50,000 to the cause.
According to Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty’s campaign director, Annamaria Enajor, granting pardons for marijuana possession will directly help more than half a million Canadians with criminal records. It will also be good for the nation’s economy.
Enajor said in a news release that Aurora Cannabis’ contribution will allow the organization to “shine a brighter light” on the immediate need for amnesty.
She said that the group will use the money they got from the medical cannabis company to campaign for the expungement of criminal records for personal marijuana-related offenses.
Marijuana will no longer be an illegal and prohibited drug after October 17, 2018.