Michael J Armstrong
@profmjarmstrong.bsky.social
Associate professor of operations research at Brock University. I teach quality improvement & game theory. I research the economic aspects of cannabis legalization.
https://brocku.ca/goodman/faculty-research/faculty-directory/michael-armstrong/ ..
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Associate professor of operations research at Brock University. I teach quality improvement & game theory. I research the economic aspects of cannabis legalization.
https://brocku.ca/goodman/faculty-research/faculty-directory/michael-armstrong/
Biology
22%
Environmental science
21%
Pinned
After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers
Police reported more drug and alcohol impairment after 2018. The growth seemed more due to enforcement changes and pandemic restrictions than to legalized cannabis.
theconversation.com
This @ca.theconversation.com article summarizes my study of how impaired driving rates changed after Canada legalized recreational cannabis & enhanced enforcement in 2018.
In short: rates grew but mostly unrelated to legalization.
1/7
#EpiSky 🧪
theconversation.com/after-canada...
In short: rates grew but mostly unrelated to legalization.
1/7
#EpiSky 🧪
theconversation.com/after-canada...
MSCI Indexes
Bringing clarity to global markets
www.msci.com
Stock market gains for USA & major trade partners during 2025, measured in $US terms:
💵💰
+56% Mexico
+44% Taiwan
+38% China
+38% Canada
+37% EU
+25% Japan
+18% USA
#EconSky
www.msci.com/indexes
💵💰
+56% Mexico
+44% Taiwan
+38% China
+38% Canada
+37% EU
+25% Japan
+18% USA
#EconSky
www.msci.com/indexes
Impaired driving charges surge over holidays despite tipoff from Ottawa police | CBC News
Ottawa police charged more drivers during their 2025 holiday campaign against impaired driving compared to 2024, even though they warned drivers about where they would be positioned before the 2025 in...
www.cbc.ca
'Ottawa Police Service (OPS) charged 27 drivers with "impaired-related offences" during their Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) program from Nov. 27 to Dec. 31.
That's compared to only four drivers during the 2023 holiday RIDE campaign, and seven in 2024'
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
That's compared to only four drivers during the 2023 holiday RIDE campaign, and seven in 2024'
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Michael J. Armstrong
Overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites in Toronto are not associated with long-term increases in local crime, McGill University researchers have found.
🔗 https://mcgill.ca/x/5ob | @mcgillumedia.bsky.social
🔗 https://mcgill.ca/x/5ob | @mcgillumedia.bsky.social
Federal Reserve Board - Foreign Exchange Rates - H.10 - Country Data
The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC.
www.federalreserve.gov
The falling US Dollar: Change in exchange rates for currencies of major trade partners, 2 Jan 2025 to 2 Jan 2026.
-13.3% Mexico
-12.6% EU
-4.7% Canada
-4.5% Taiwan
-4.3% China
-1.9% South Korea
-0.6% Japan
#EconSky
www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10...
-13.3% Mexico
-12.6% EU
-4.7% Canada
-4.5% Taiwan
-4.3% China
-1.9% South Korea
-0.6% Japan
#EconSky
www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10...
At 7:20 on Wed morning I'll chat with Steph Vivier on CKTB St Catharines about Canada's alcohol & drug impaired driving rates.
🚔🍺💊
🚔🍺💊
'It's like on Amazon': Illegal drugs advertised online, delivered by Canada Post | CBC News
Cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, paid for with credit cards and e-transfers, delivered by Canada Post: For weeks, CBC Ottawa and Radio-Canada exchanged messages with people who have been buying these ille...
www.cbc.ca
'He clicked on an ad and ordered a few grams of cocaine. Pretty soon he had a Canada Post tracking number. Days later he received a message that his package had arrived. "I go to the mailbox. I opened the package and I was like, OK, it's real"'
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Ford vows to ban Crown Royal from LCBO over plant shutdown
Ontario Premier dismisses company claims that rye whisky will still be Canadian-made
www.theglobeandmail.com
Currently, the whiskey sold here is a "Product Of Canada: distilled in Manitoba & bottled in Ontario.
After the change, the whiskey sold here will still be a "Product of Canada": distilled in Manitoba & bottled in Quebec.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
After the change, the whiskey sold here will still be a "Product of Canada": distilled in Manitoba & bottled in Quebec.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Automatic and harsher penalties for impaired Ontario drivers now in effect | CBC News
New rules and increased penalties for impaired driving took effect this month across Ontario, after the province made amendments to the Highway Traffic Act. Advocacy groups say more can be done to cur...
www.cbc.ca
"Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released data from the holiday RIDE Program that showed 1,268 people had been charged with impaired driving in December."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers
Police reported more drug and alcohol impairment after 2018. The growth seemed more due to enforcement changes and pandemic restrictions than to legalized cannabis.
theconversation.com
On Tue I'll join CBC Radio Ontario morning shows to discuss how impaired driving rates changed after Canada legalized cannabis. 🚓🍺🥬
Times:
6:10 Toronto
6:20 Ottawa
6:40 Windsor
7:10 London
7:20 Thunder Bay
7:50 Kitchener
Preview:
theconversation.com/after-canada...
Times:
6:10 Toronto
6:20 Ottawa
6:40 Windsor
7:10 London
7:20 Thunder Bay
7:50 Kitchener
Preview:
theconversation.com/after-canada...
Reposted by Michael J. Armstrong
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk
Please do this 5-minute survey which asks how you feel about people who use cannabis: qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_...
One of my excellent undergraduate research project students has designed the study, and needs more participants. Thanks!!
Fully anonymous. No payment.
One of my excellent undergraduate research project students has designed the study, and needs more participants. Thanks!!
Fully anonymous. No payment.
Very prescient for you to post a story last night about a larger military power attempting a pre-dawn military op to capture the leaders of a smaller country just across the sea from it.
🔮
🔮
Reposted by Michael J. Armstrong
Three alcohol-free drinks for Dry January
Monthlong abstinence campaign is most popular with younger drinkers, but interest is stalling across all age groups
www.theglobeandmail.com
If you plan to avoid or reduce consumption of alcohol in the new year, there’s an ever-expanding universe of non-alcoholic beer, wines and spirits to consider. Here are three recommendations to buy now
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/260a807...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/260a807...
Opinion: U.S. trade war highlights absurdity of interprovincial barriers for alcohol
Paternalism over alcohol sales ought to be a relic of the past
www.theglobeandmail.com
“Canada’s alcohol trade landscape is highly fragmented. Each province and territory maintains its own regulatory frameworks, licensing requirements, markup structures, and distribution systems,”
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
How Canada developed a taste for U.S. bourbon, dumped it over Trump and got a buzz for Canadian whiskies | CBC News
The aromatic, spicy and sometimes smoky flavour of a smooth, Kentucky bourbon has been but a memory for consumers in this country ever since the spirit was caught in the crossfire of U.S. President Do...
www.cbc.ca
"I think that people have been trying to find bourbon and trying to find Canadian whisky that tastes like bourbon," he said, "and in the process, they have been tasting a lot of Canadian whiskies and wishing they had given them a chance sooner."
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Study explores wellbeing impact of board games
Researchers find games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Dixit can lead to a boost in confidence.
www.bbc.com
Meanwhile in the UK:
"researchers found games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Dixit could lead to improvements in confidence, assertiveness, and real-life social engagement" 🎲
www.bbc.com/news/article...
"researchers found games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Dixit could lead to improvements in confidence, assertiveness, and real-life social engagement" 🎲
www.bbc.com/news/article...
The new science of alcohol: why recent guidance says more than 2 drinks per week is risky | CBC The Nature of Things
Follow Anthony Morgan’s journey as he sets out to learn more about the risks of moderate alcohol use
www.cbc.ca
Here in Canada:
"If researchers can understand the social effects of alcohol, it’s possible that we could find other ways to encourage the social lubricant effect" 🍸🍺
www.cbc.ca/documentarie...
"If researchers can understand the social effects of alcohol, it’s possible that we could find other ways to encourage the social lubricant effect" 🍸🍺
www.cbc.ca/documentarie...
Elbows up in 2025: How a year of Canadian boycotts on U.S. products played out | CBC News
Here are a few of the ways Canadians tried to put more power behind their purchase and travel choices in 2025 — and how those decisions may have impacted the U.S. economy.
www.cbc.ca
Canadians spent less on US products in 2025, including alcohol, orange juice, & travel.
🍸 🍊 ✈️
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
🍸 🍊 ✈️
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Michael J. Armstrong
After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers
Canada’s decision to legalise cannabis in 2018 prompted concerns that the move would lead to more stoned drivers on the roads; but research by Brock University Associate Professor Michael Armstrong…
policinginsight.com
After Canada legalized cannabis, police caught more drunk drivers
policinginsight.com/feature/opin...
policinginsight.com/feature/opin...
That's sadly true even in business schools. We likely reach out more on average than other academic fields do. But that's a low bar, & only a minority of us actively do so. The rest view public relations as a job for staff to do on their behalf.
I got one research paper review request on the 24th & another on the 25th. 🎁🎁
Maybe it's the start of a "12 days of Christmas" sequence? 🎄
Maybe it's the start of a "12 days of Christmas" sequence? 🎄
U.S. alcohol group takes aim at NSLC's markup on local spirits | CBC News
The organization that represents some of America's largest spirits producers is calling for the NSLC to remove a policy that gives preferential markup to Nova Scotian spirit products.
www.cbc.ca
"In Nova Scotia, spirits distilled in the province or blended and bottled in the province have markup percentages that range from 50 to 80 per cent, while all imported and non-Nova Scotia spirits have a markup rate of 160 per cent."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Prices for some alcohol in Ontario could rise in 2026 | CBC News
Some alcohol prices in Ontario could rise in the new year, with several changes to the alcohol marketplace set to take effect.
www.cbc.ca
In Ontario a temporary 15% discount on LCBO wholesales to bars, restaurants and convenience stores will end on 31 Dec.
🍸
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
🍸
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.realcleardefense.com
They say that generals always prepare to fight the last war.
FYI @davidpugliese.bsky.social
"Canada is building the wrong army for the war that is coming"
www.realcleardefense.com/articles/202...
FYI @davidpugliese.bsky.social
"Canada is building the wrong army for the war that is coming"
www.realcleardefense.com/articles/202...
Combne the Trump battleships with the Zumwalt destroyers & the Littoral Combat Ships all together in a Great Wasted Fleet.
About 2 missiles for each Burke and 5 for the Trump. But same idea.
Bourbon maker Jim Beam halts Kentucky production amid ongoing trade tensions | CBC News
The maker of one of the U.S.'s most iconic bourbon whiskies is halting production at its main distillery in Kentucky for all of 2026 amid the ongoing challenges and strain faced by the U.S. liquor ind...
www.cbc.ca
Jim Bean's main Kentucky facility will halt production for all of 2026 as the firm faces surplus inventory & fallen exports.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...