Today’s comments were selected from Ian Brown’s weekend read Can marijuana save this Ontario town? about Smiths Falls, a once sleepy town, now home to Canopy Growth Corp. On Wednesday, cannabis will be officially legal across Canada.
Sign on Hwy 15, for the town of Smiths Falls, Ont. is photographed on Sept 20 2018.Fred Lum
Enjoyable article; thanks! I left Smiths Falls after high school 40 years go. At that time all of the industries mentioned in the article were still operating. I have visited regularly since as my family is still there. I watched it turn into a sleepy, down-at-the-heels place over the years. I’ve been back three times in the past year and it is getting busier, livelier and happier; it’s buzzing! Go Canopy! - Allan McElroy
Has anyone stopped to consider the utter lunacy of all this? Collectively we have tens of billions of dollars invested in the belief that a reality altering weed is going to be the panacea for all the medical, psychological and economic woes that afflict us. It simply isn’t real folks, notwithstanding that this newspaper is awash in cannabis related articles everyday, particularly with respect to the casino, er, I mean stock market play. Can you say .dot .com? - Drew BC
This is going to be the Dutch Black Tulip fiasco in the end. Anyone can grow 4 plants, and the hydroponic stores are going to make a bundle. - Beans Maroc
In response to Beans Maroc:
Maybe. Anyone can make wine or beer, too, and in far greater quantities than the law allows for pot. But vineyards and breweries are still doing booming business. And having grown the stuff several times in my younger days, I know firsthand that producing your own quality bud is harder than it sounds.
I think the hardcore stoners who have already invested in grow lights and learned how to do it well will keep right on doing it. But the casual users and the curiosity seekers will be lining up to pay the going price for legal weed that has predictable effects. I think also that entrepreneurs in border towns will be setting up stoner tours for our friends down south, and drug tourism will be a good source of income. No northern states have legal weed yet, and it looks like the loonie will be in the toilet for a while. Even non-druggies will come out of curiosity. - WhistlingInTheDark
The $8,000,000,000 a year indoor-grown pot industry that the Trudeau government is supporting will leave a huge carbon footprint. In British Columbia, where B.C. bud is grown outside, as all cannabis should be, and has world wide recognition as the very best bud around, consumers will still flock to the B.C. black market to buy their B.C. bud as there is no legal place to buy it under the new law. The Trudeau law should have stated that all Cannabis must be grown outside in order to champion real reductions in greenhouse gasses. This show a big, big weakness in Trudeau’s carbon plan. Trudeau would rather tax carbon instead of using sensible alternatives. - Jack Reacher
What else readers are talking about today:
From Ottawa holds consultations on racism behind closed doors by Daniel LeBlanc
Racism is a huge problem in our Canadian lives. Discussing it openly will allow us to reflect on the hurt we do to others. Having closed door discussions just lets us avert our eyes or make up stories that are not true. We really need to talk now. - Bishenden
"...hoping to avoid heated public debates." Yes, we wouldn't want the great unwashed public being part of the discussion about the future of this country - how ridiculous would that be!? - JC12345
I do not feel comfortable with the government rendering judgement on Canadian society behind closed doors. This is a largely political issue and should be debated openly. This Star Chamber approach will only encourage further skepticism regarding the promotion of diversity as a value in this country. - sanctimonious
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