Discussions

Brandon is making public its first steps towards embracing the legalization of cannabis.  
 
What's your thoughts on the legalization of cannabis?  
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/brandon-pot-weed-retail-sale-1.4449727?cmp=rss

B.O.B. was the leading candidate around here.

I don't see the memo so much about embracing the legalization of cannabis as it is about wanting to be "in" on private sale(s) of same. I have to wonder if similar memos urged councilors to not raise rates at the Sportsplex for example; you know, where families pay to go! I'm not sure why City administration employees would be lobbying one way or the other on this. Wouldn't that be City Council's job? Just my take on the whole link.

MDG said "I don't see the memo so much about embracing the legalization of cannabis as it is about wanting to be "in" on private sale(s) of same. I have to wonder if similar memos urged councilors to not raise rates at the Sportsplex for example; you know, where families pay to go! I'm not sure why City administration employees would be lobbying one way or the other on this. Wouldn't that be City Council's job? Just my take on the whole link. "

the media? Utter BS that our high paid management get paid to try and influence city councillors! They can make up their own minds!  
 
In our city there are enough problems associated with alcohol abuse and other drugs! Cops are run off their feet every single day and every two weeks? Forget it!  
 
The city has held private meetings regarding other services, they just held on possible changes to transit, but with an issue that is highly divisive like this one is they go to the media?

When the City hires a consultant to select a new police chief, the argument here is that the highly-paid City employees should do it, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on an expensive consultant.  
 
When a high-level City employee prepares an opinion, most probably reflecting the view of City administration, it is viewed as the City employees attempting to influence the City council.  
 
Would it be better if an outside consultant was hired to determine if the City should allow a cannabis store, instead of exercising the right afforded by provincial legislation to not allow cannabis stores in the City? Or would that be considered a waste of taxpayer dollars?

ronfay said "When the City hires a consultant to select a new police chief, the argument here is that the highly-paid City employees should do it, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on an expensive consultant.     When a high-level City employee prepares an opinion, most probably reflecting the view of City administration, it is viewed as the City employees attempting to influence the City council.     Would it be better if an outside consultant was hired to determine if the City should allow a cannabis store, instead of exercising the right afforded by provincial legislation to not allow cannabis stores in the City? Or would that be considered a waste of taxpayer dollars? "

I don't want management to unduly influence councillors thru public media, that's how I want it.  
 
I want the councillors to vote their conscience without worrying about what management thinks.  
 
Like I said, Brandon face a myriad of problems coming from drug or alcohol abusers, it's not going to get better by having pot stores open in the city. It's going to get worse.

Actually a lot of people are using marijuana as a means to NOT use alcohol or other drugs such as opiates or meth. Some are even using marijuana to help with withdrawals of other drugs as well. With legalized marijuana the police can focus on the drugs that are causing harms in this city such as meth, cocaine, morphine, heroin and, get this, even alcohol! Some education around marijuana, and harm reduction techniques, is MUCH needed in this city. I don't see people whining about vendors being open till 2am or liquor stores being open as early as 8am in this city, yet alcohol has MUCH greater harms than marijuana.

when people use cannabis, alcohol other drugs etc what are they really using it for why must we be altered with some kinda of drug is there not just a natural high can people not deal with every day life ?

blackswan81 said "Actually a lot of people are using marijuana as a means to NOT use alcohol or other drugs such as opiates or meth. Some are even using marijuana to help with withdrawals of other drugs as well. With legalized marijuana the police can focus on the drugs that are causing harms in this city such as meth, cocaine, morphine, heroin and, get this, even alcohol! Some education around marijuana, and harm reduction techniques, is MUCH needed in this city. I don't see people whining about vendors being open till 2am or liquor stores being open as early as 8am in this city, yet alcohol has MUCH greater harms than marijuana. "

I am currently looking into a startup that is aiming to help end all the negativity surrounded by Cannabis and how people get it mixed up with Alcohol and Tobacco.  
 
If you, or anybody for that matter has any thoughts or helpful information I would love anybody to PM me. I cannot promise I will respond right away but I will!  
 
I am looking into ways to help end this negativity surrounding Cannabis.  
 
Anybody who has useful information on ending the negativity associated with Cannabis please feel free to PM me anytime!

I wish you luck with helping people understand marijuana better! It is something that is needed to help take away the negative stigma that surrounds it  
 
I always laugh to myself when people are so against marijuana but yet they feel that alcohol and pres:cription meds are okay just because both are legal.

sammy said "I wish you luck with helping people understand marijuana better! It is something that is needed to help take away the negative stigma that surrounds it     I always laugh to myself when people are so against marijuana but yet they feel that alcohol and pres:cription meds are okay just because both are legal. "

It is not okay to abuse alcohol... it is not okay to be drunk and drive a vehicle...  
It is not okay to abuse pres:cription meds... there are people who need pres:cription meds to live.... it is not okay to down T3s like they are candy.  
It is not okay to take illegal drugs like meth, heroin or cocaine... it is not okay because you are making your family suffer and other people have to deal with your fallout.  
 
I will accept MJ if people that I greatly admire and respect say to my face 'I partake' .  
The only people I know who are MJ users are not the kind of people who should be a role model to me or anyone else.

I’m not even necessarily talking about abusing alcohol or pres:cription meds....Just the general negative effects they both have on people even within moderation/directions from doctors  
 
For myself, I’m now on a 3rd different type of pain killer because every handful of years I have to change because you get used to them and they no longer give relief. I have had liver damage already caused directly from one. I am young, even tho I feel 80 most days lol. But honestly, it’s scary to be on these hard drugs and to know it’s long term but not know what affects might effect you. They are addictive and play with your emotions/behaviour as well as being physically harmful. The one I’m on now is already loosing its effectiveness but my dr is hesitant to go to a stronger drug already due to my age.  
 
If someone chooses to use mj for medicinal or recreational reasons, why does that concern someone if alcohol and pres:criptions drugs don’t bother them?  
One vice is better than another? All 3 vices affect people differently. Who’s to say which one they can use and which ones they can’t?  
 
As for not knowing anyone respectful who uses mj....I’d be willing to bet that you actually do know upstanding people who use and just don’t tell you. I remember when I worked in healthcare, I had a coworker that I admired. He was always so good at his job. Caring, compassionate, empathetic, easy going, didn’t let the clients negative attitudes and behaviour get to him (we worked in a rehabilitation ward with people who had special needs and were court ordered to be there. Some scary people!) But our clients respected him. I always told another coworker how I wished I could be more like coworker #1. His wife was the boss of our area and was also good at her job. They were admired by many and got recognition for their work. A long time later, I found out they both smoked mj regularly for recreational use. Didn’t change my view on them. They were good people regardless of what they did in their spare time. I know a few people like this actually but won’t bore you with their stories. Maybe your experiences just haven’t been good ones but that’s not to say that everyone who smokes mj, is a lesser person.  
 
There are of course ones I know too that aren’t the best people they could be....but their issues usually go much deeper than just pot. There is often much harder street drugs involved and often some alcoholism as well.  
 
Anyone that I know that does mj only, has no issues functioning as a valuable person to society. But everyone’s experiences will be differently depending on who they hang around with Guaranteed many of these friends I’m thinking of, no one even knows they do mj unless they tell them. It doesn’t affect them negatively, it doesn’t interfere with their ability to do their job. People would never know who smokes mj unless they are open about it.  
 
But anyways...I think this got longer than I intended! That’s a side effect of my sleeping pills....I get “high” and loopy off of them hahaha. But it’s okay, they’re pres:cription hehe

So why aren't you using MM for your pain then? Did you get liver damage because you used too much of the pain meds. As far as I know the acceptable limits do not cause liver damage.  
 
As doe these 'good people' that you worked with, you said that they smoked recreationally and I don't have issues with that, it's when people have to be constantly stoned or drunk daily.  
 
FYI, I don't 'hang' around these people who I am referring to. I find it sad when talking to some one that's stoned (and we all can tell) and I feel like waving my hand in front of their face and asking 'anybody home'?  
 
As for you 'getting high and loopy' from your sleeping pill, again, why not MJ to help you sleep? Heck the guy in the Brandon Sun article never had such a good pee in his life when he smoked MJ so it should help you have a good dodo!  
 
Nothing sadder to me to see a person my age feeling the need to get drunk or get high

The liver damage was caused by being on the med for too long. I didn’t use it more than I was prescribed. Just a bad side effect of it I was told.  
 
I actually would like to use mm, but due to my job, I feel I’d be judged negatively. I could likely go off my pain meds and my sleeping meds (the sleeping meds are because Im a horrible sleeper to begin with but then because of my pain, I don’t sleep for more than 2 hours at a time without help.) once you start using meds, it seems like there’s always more that you have to take to help with the side effects of the others It’s never ending it seems!  
 
That’s good you don’t hang around with those types. I can honestly say that any person that I know that does ONLY mj, I’ve never seen been that strung out. The ones I know are more casual I guess. Like how some us might enjoy a drink after work, they enjoy a small amount of mj in the evening.

I don’t feel the NEED to get high....it’s just an unfortunate side effect I get. I call it high but it’s just my pills kicking in, making me sleepy and loopy

I think the negative view some people have of marijuana also comes from the movies and media. You see scenes of people taking one hit off of a MASSIVE joint and all of a sudden turning into Cheech and Chong, lol. 90% of people who smoke it do NOT smoke a bale of it at a time like that, and a moderate amount will NOT turn you into a drooling, unresponsive zombie. A lot of younger people or people who are just starting out tend to smoke way too much. I did it too 20 years ago. It's a phase you go through that's related to age or inexperience. Like playing those stupid drinking games to ensure you get as much alcohol down your throat as fast as possible. Pointless.  
I don't smoke it to remove myself from the world. I don't become a zombie. When I smoke I keep it to a level where I have a better frame of mind, but I am still completely "here" and functional. If you saw me on the street , talked to me, and I was stoned, you wouldn't know it unless I told you. You can't "always tell." I have horrible anxiety and PTSD that makes me not even want to leave my apartment or interact with family or friends at times. When I have a small amount of MJ it greatly reduces my anxiety and I actually feel good and like I canleave the house and do something constructive.  
I am not addicted, or have formed an unhealthy habit of using it to escape reality. I use it occasionally to reduce stress and anxiety. I have many other methods of reducing stress that I regularly use like exercise or meditation. I can and have gone weeks or months without it without thinking about it. It's a nice treat once in a while. Nothing else.

Cannabis on city council agenda  
 
Brandon City Council's last meeting of the year will address cannabis legalization and regulation.  
 
Councillors will consider a recommendation from city administration to approve the sale of cannabis in a retail store within the community.  
 
"It is believed that Brandon will have greater control in zoning and situating cannabis retailers by being involved at the front end of the regulatory considerations," states a report submitted by city clerk Heather Ewasiuk. "While the federal legalization of cannabis itself may be controversial to many Brandon residents, declining to participate with the province will leave the City of Brandon completely out of the legislative process and Brandon will be left subject to the black market unregulated product and online sales only." Cannabis is slated to become legal in Canada by July 2018. Municipalities were recently tasked with providing a response to the province by Dec. 22 on how they intend to work with the province  
 
on establishing the zoning, locations and other issues related to cannabis distribution.

I think it was in the MMA? meetings, this decision could go to a referendum? Why not? It is a very divisive issue much like the casino one.

i get mine from herbaldispatch.com

Johnbisonbear said "I think it was in the MMA? meetings, this decision could go to a referendum? Why not? It is a very divisive issue much like the casino one. "

a referendum is an excellent idea. After all, citizens should be able to make "recommendations" to Council just as much as City administrators: maybe more so since we pay their salaries.

Except that we elect our city councilors to make decisions. Look how screwed up the Casino thing ended up and how many tens of thousands of dollars we lost in tax revenue that could have saved us having the massive tax increases every single year. This is happening with or without Brandon, we need to be involved and get some of the benefit of the tax dollars or sit back in the 50's and watch the world pass us by yet again

I was glad to see the memo! People really need to open their mind! I was a very BIG anti-mj person until recently. I have 2 family members who have struggled with pain for years and have been on some serious pain meds. One got his medical card thanks to Rick at Smokers and Growers and the other family member quickly followed suit. I was extremely skeptical. Once the withdrawal off the pills was over I noticed the change in both people within days. Oxy was a very mood altering drug and should be the illegal substance here! I have seriously changed my mind and would recommend it to anyone now. I went to see Rick at Growers myself and got educated because I clearly was not. I myself am looking forward to it becoming legal as I want to see how it can help me with my sleeping problems and minor pain issues.  
 
I say good for you City if Brandon! I welcome a dispensary here and hope that Rick at Growers and Smokers is successful in his application to be a dispensary.

RC123 said "I was glad to see the memo! People really need to open their mind! I was a very BIG anti-mj person until recently. I have 2 family members who have struggled with pain for years and have been on some serious pain meds. One got his medical card thanks to Rick at Smokers and Growers and the other family member quickly followed suit. I was extremely skeptical. Once the withdrawal off the pills was over I noticed the change in both people within days. Oxy was a very mood altering drug and should be the illegal substance here! I have seriously changed my mind and would recommend it to anyone now. I went to see Rick at Growers myself and got educated because I clearly was not. I myself am looking forward to it becoming legal as I want to see how it can help me with my sleeping problems and minor pain issues.     I say good for you City if Brandon! I welcome a dispensary here and hope that Rick at Growers and Smokers is successful in his application to be a dispensary. "

Isn't marijuana a mood altering drug too? Isn't that how it works? The 'magic' of it all?  
 
I see some FN are getting into the weed biz, they seem to think it will be a cash cow for them. I hope it works better than the casino did.

Mood altering in a good way. Oxy was mood altering in a negative way, to the point where it was affecting this family members relationships at home and at work

RC123 said "Mood altering in a good way. Oxy was mood altering in a negative way, to the point where it was affecting this family members relationships at home and at work "

is a horrible drug. I googled it and it is derived from opium poppies. Should this drug even be used? Maybe in the hospital for severe pain if you are dying otherwise no doctor should write an out patient pres:cription.  
 
I have tried pot when I was a teenager,(who hasn't) I giggled for about ten minutes and the thrill was gone. Beer on the other hand, one made me feel good, two or more made me feel better

I agree that people should educate themselves on marihuana, and when you are educating yourself don't limit your education your education based on your pesonal biases.  
As with any chemical that we put in our body, there can be positive and negative effects, and since we are not all the same with how we handle these chemicals the outcomes will vary.  
We are still early in research on marihuana, and there are suggestions that there could be over 100 different cannabinoides in the plant, and although much research is being done on the two that are most prominent, there are many unanswed questions on those two.  
So when you are educating yourself be sure to look at both medical research, and claims from those sites which only promote the benefits of the drugs. Medical research has validated some of the claims regaurding pain control as well as control of seizures in certain medical conditions, but like any drug side effects vary by the user.  
As for recreational use, I guess it comes back to pick your own poison.

I use it for medicinal purposes, and have for quite some time. I used to be on alot of harmful prescribed medications with horrid side effects, when I made the switch, pain control was much better, and with therapeutic side effects. I'm a fantastic, active parent, a contributing member of society, and the drug has changed my life drastically for the better. Let the shops come@!

Rue said "when people use cannabis, alcohol other drugs etc what are they really using it for why must we be altered with some kinda of drug is there not just a natural high can people not deal with every day life ? "

I hate the smell of cigarettes .  
 
it's it just as smelly & lingers on your clothes , house if someone makes food you could taste in your food not in a good way I know if someone smokes cigs & bakes or cooks food you can taste the cig smoke is it not the same for weed ?

There are many ways to ingest weed. My family members both use the oil daily as well as vaping. Vaping smells but the oil does not. It does not linger on their clothes when vaping.

Rue said "    Rue said "when people use cannabis, alcohol other drugs etc what are they really using it for why must we be altered with some kinda of drug is there not just a natural high can people not deal with every day life ? " I hate the smell of cigarettes .     it's it just as smelly & lingers on your clothes , house if someone makes food you could taste in your food not in a good way I know if someone smokes cigs & bakes or cooks food you can taste the cig smoke is it not the same for weed ? "

You can't be serious right now? You can taste the cigarette smell in peoples baking, hahahah now your just reaching.  
 
No pot is not the same at all not even in the slightest. Obviously you have no idea.  
 
Sounds like you like a good reason to complain. If the cig smoke bothers you that much to the point you can taste it in food someone graciously made for you then do you complain about the exhaust from car in the city, Koch fertilizer etc? Your also likely someone who bathes in perfume before you go out too right? I don't know why some people even leave the house.