Ex-colleague will lobby MP Bill Blair to restrict field of pot growers

Vancouver lawyer Kirk Tousaw said it is also important to liberalize the production of cannabis
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Sunday, January 10, 2016

A former high-ranking colleague and friend of MP Bill Blair, the Liberal government's point man on marijuana legalization, will lobby the ex-Toronto police chief in hopes of ensuring a tightly controlled system in which only licensed firms are allowed to grow the lucrative drug. Kim Derry, a deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service under Mr. Blair, is a promoter of marijuana facility THC Meds Ontario Inc. While some growers want loosely regulated production across the country, the operators of companies such as THC Meds say production licences should be limited to professional operations. In an interview, Mr. Derry said the government should aim to "get rid of the goons" who are currently in the marijuana business, calling for tight regulations on who can grow and sell the product.