Needle collection, peer outreach part of initiative A new regional harm reduction strategy being developed by Fraser Health will focus on collection of used needles, provision of clean needles and smoking supplies, and outreach by recovered addicts to active drug users. The health authority has struck an agreement with RainCity Housing and Support Society to help develop the expanded services, which exist in some but not all parts of the region. Dr. Ingrid Tyler said it's hoped peer outreach led by RainCity will help educate users on safe use and discard of needles, and better persuade them to reach out for addiction treatment and other health services when they are receptive. [continues 301 words]
The lawyer who successfully overturned the former Conservative government's ban on the home growing of medical marijuana is praising a move by the federal Liberals to create a new licensing system for doctor-approved patients. Kirk Tousaw said the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, which take effect Aug. 24, appear to be much the same as the old home growing licenses that prevailed until 2014 when the Conservative government tried to outlaw them and force approved patients to buy only from licensed commercial producers. [continues 694 words]
Fraser Health will quickly identify priority sites for supervised drug consumption as part of a broader strategy to contain a surge in illicit drug overdoses. Surrey is certain to be one of the proposed locations, but health authority officials aren't yet saying if they will also propose sites in other drug-troubled downtowns such as Langley City, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford. "We're at early stages of identifying priority communities and having initial conversations, dialogue and engagement with municipalities," said Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser's chief medical health officer. [continues 742 words]
Most Overdose Fatalities Tied to Fentanyl New statistics show 308 B.C. residents died of illicit drug overdoses in the first four months of 2016, up 75 per cent from the 176 deaths in the same January to May period of 2015. And the proportion of deaths tied to the synthetic drug fentanyl has climbed further to 56 per cent of the 2016 deaths so far, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. By comparison, 31 per cent of illicit drug deaths in 2015 were linked to fentanyl, used either on its own or knowingly or unknowingly in combination with other drugs. [continues 487 words]
Illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C. jumped 27 per cent in 2015 and that grim statistic was even worse in the Fraser region, where deadly overdoses soared nearly 50 per cent. A total of 465 B.C. residents died from illicit drugs last year, almost 100 more than in 2014, according to new statistics from the B.C. Coroners Service. Fraser recorded the largest number of drug deaths of any B.C. region in 2015 - a total of 166, up from 111 in 2014. [continues 347 words]
B.C. civic leaders heard conflicting views Monday on whether Vancouver's renegade approach to regulating marijuana retail stores - in defiance of federal government opposition - is legally defensible and a viable option for other communities.. Legal experts speaking to a forum on pot regulation at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention agreed the storefront sale of marijuana is illegal in Canada. But municipal lawyer Francesca Marzari said Vancouver is within its rights to set and enforce civic standards for pot stores that aren't shut down by police, who in Vancouver don't consider them a policing priority as long as they don't sell to youth or have ties to organized crime. [continues 653 words]
B.C. has a strong appetite for marijuana reform with more than 70 per cent of respondents to a new poll urging either legalization or decriminalization. The Insights West survey found 67 per cent said they support outright legalization, 28 per cent opposed it and five per cent were undecided. Support was slightly stronger among women, the under-35 age group and Vancouver Island residents, but at least 65 per cent back legalization in every region and within each age group. [continues 419 words]
B.C. has a strong appetite for marijuana reform with more than 70 per cent of respondents to a new poll urging either legalization or decriminalization. The Insights West survey found 67 per cent said they support outright legalization, 28 per cent opposed it and five per cent were undecided. Support was slightly stronger among women, the under-35 age group and Vancouver Island residents, but at least 65 per cent back legalization in every region and within each age group. [continues 420 words]
Two-thirds of British Columbians surveyed endorse marijuana legalization B.C. has a strong appetite for marijuana reform with more than 70 per cent of respondents to a new poll urging either legalization or decriminalization. The Insights West survey found 67 per cent said they support outright legalization, 28 per cent opposed it and five per cent were undecided. Support was slightly stronger among women, the under-35 age group and Vancouver Island residents, but at least 65 per cent back legalization in every region and within each age group. [continues 419 words]
Medical marijuana patients have a right to possess and use cannabis in the form of cookies and products other than dried bud, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday. The unanimous decision is a major victory for cannabis crusaders who argued they should not be forced only to smoke or vaporize the drug when edible or topical products are safer and provide benefits such as delayed delivery. "Inhaling marihuana can present health risks and is less effective for some conditions than administration of cannabis derivatives," the country's high court ruled. [continues 447 words]
Marijuana stores have been sprouting all over Washington State since retail trade in the drug was legalized in a referendum, but the first one has now opened within walking distance of the B.C. border. Evergreen Cannabis is aimed squarely at the Canadian market and its Blaine storefront at 922 Peace Portal Drive - with a sign that reads "recreational marijuana store" - is within sight of both the Peace Arch and White Rock. "I know I am controversial because I am close to the border," owner Jake Lamont, a Birch Bay resident, told Black Press this week. [continues 440 words]
Outlet is 'under noses' of U.S. Authorities Marijuana stores have been sprouting all over Washington State since retail trade in the drug was legalized in a referendum, but the first one has now opened within walking distance of the B.C. border. Evergreen Cannabis is aimed squarely at the Canadian market and its Blaine storefront at 922 Peace Portal Drive - with a sign that reads "recreational marijuana store" - is within sight of both the Peace Arch and White Rock. "I know I am controversial because I am close to the border," owner Jake Lamont, a Birch Bay resident, told Black Press this week. [continues 354 words]
Marijuana stores have been sprouting all over Washington State since retail trade in the drug was legalized in a referendum, but the first one has now opened within walking distance of the B.C. border. Evergreen Cannabis is aimed squarely at the Canadian market and its Blaine storefront at 922 Peace Portal Drive - with a sign that reads "recreational marijuana store" - is within sight of both the Peace Arch and White Rock. "I know I am controversial because I am close to the border," owner Jake Lamont, a Birch Bay resident, told Black Press this week. [continues 441 words]
Fewer teens South of the Fraser are drinking or taking drugs than five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study that paints a generally improved portrait of adolescent health in B.C. The McCreary Centre Society surveyed 30,000 B.C. students in grades 7 to 12 in 2013 and released itsdetailed report Tuesday on the Fraser South region, which includes Delta, Surrey and Langley school districts. On substance use, the survey found fewer youth in Fraser South had ever tried alcohol (37 per cent), marijuana (21 per cent) or tobacco (16 per cent) compared to 2008, when those rates were 48 per cent, 26 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively. [continues 359 words]
Doctors To Get Guidance On Pot Prescriptions The federal government will appeal a March 21 court injunction that lets authorized patients temporarily keep growing their own medical marijuana past April 1, when the old system was to be outlawed. The move by Health Canada keeps thousands of medical marijuana users off balance as to how long they can continue home growing under personal production licences. They had been under a federal directive to stop growing, destroy any unused pot and confirm in writing by April 30 they had done so or face potential police enforcement. [continues 347 words]
Injunction Allows Authorized Users To Keep Growing The federal government will appeal a March 21 court injunction that lets authorized patients temporarily keep growing their own medical marijuana past April 1, when the old system was to be outlawed. The move by Health Canada keeps thousands of medical marijuana users off balance as to how long they can continue home growing under personal production licences. They had been under a federal directive to stop growing, destroy any unused pot and confirm in writing by April 30 they had done so or face potential police enforcement. [continues 347 words]
Hundreds face enforcement this spring as licenses expire Some B.C. cities are vowing to do what they can to uproot licensed medical marijuana grow operations in homes that will become illegal this spring as federally approved large-scale commercial growers take over. As of April 1, an estimated 11,500 B.C. medical marijuana grow operations that have been run by or on behalf of federally licensed users are supposed to shut down voluntarily but civic leaders say Health Canada is doing almost nothing to force them to comply. [continues 542 words]
Some B.C. cities are vowing to do what they can to uproot licensed medical marijuana grow operations in homes that will become illegal this spring as federally approved large-scale commercial growers take over. As of April 1, an estimated 11,500 B.C. medical marijuana grow operations that have been run by or on behalf of federally licensed users are supposed to shut down voluntarily but civic leaders say Health Canada is doing almost nothing to force them to comply. [continues 544 words]
Sensible BC Gets 210,000 Signatures, Vows to Try Again The Sensible BC campaign to spark the decriminalization of marijuana in B.C. is officially up in smoke after falling short of its goal. Pot activists got 210,000 signatures or about two-thirds of the 300,000 needed - 10 per cent of voters in all 85 B.C. ridings - for their initiative petition to potentially trigger a referendum. They had aimed for a target of 450,000 to provide a buffer against disqualified signatures. [continues 354 words]
The Sensible BC campaign to spark the decriminalization of marijuana in B.C. is officially up in smoke after falling short of its goal. Pot activists got 210,000 signatures or about two-thirds of the 300,000 needed - 10 per cent of voters in all 85 B.C. ridings - for their initiative petition to potentially trigger a referendum. They had aimed for a target of 450,000 to provide a buffer against disqualified signatures. "It's a pretty remarkable accomplishment," Sensible BC head Dana Larsen. [continues 339 words]
Short of Signatures As Deadline Looms Dana Larsen isn't conceding defeat yet, but the head of the Sensible BC campaign to reform marijuana policing is already talking about another petition drive if the one now underway fails. Canvassers have less than three weeks left before the Dec. 9 deadline to submit the petition bearing the signatures of 10 per cent of eligible voters in every B.C. riding. They have around 150,000 signatures counted as of Nov. 19, or about half the number needed and far short of their target of 450,000 to provide a buffer against disqualified signatures. [continues 373 words]
Sensible BC far short of target with less than three weeks left Dana Larsen isn't conceding defeat yet, but the head of the Sensible BC campaign to reform marijuana policing is already talking about another petition drive if the one now underway fails. Canvassers have less than three weeks left before the Dec. 9 deadline to submit the petition bearing the signatures of 10 per cent of eligible voters in every B.C. riding. They have around 150,000 signatures counted as of Nov. 19, or about half the number needed and far short of their target of 450,000 to provide a buffer against disqualified signatures. [continues 367 words]
Sensible BC Campaign Short of Sign-Up Target Pot reformers have fallen short of their sign-up target for the first third of their campaign to force a provincial referendum on marijuana enforcement. Sensible B.C. spokesman Dana Larsen said the campaign had 65,000 signatures as of Oct. 9 - 15,000 less than its aim of 80,000 by the 30-day mark of the 90-day petition drive. "We're a little bit behind the target we set," Larsen said, adding getting canvassers officially registered has proven more onerous than expected. [continues 467 words]
While pot reformers have fallen short of their sign-up target for the first third of their campaign to force a provincial referendum on marijuana enforcement, they are ahead of schedule in Nelson-Creston where over 2,200 signatures have been secured out of 2,826 needed. Sensible BC spokesman Dana Larsen said the campaign had 65,000 signatures as of Oct. 9 - 15,000 less than their aim of 80,000 by the 30-day mark of the 90-day petition drive. [continues 391 words]
But Sensible BC Predicts Slow Sign-Up Start Will Accelerate Pot reformers have fallen short of their sign-up target for the first third of their campaign to force a provincial referendum on marijuana enforcement. Sensible BC spokesman Dana Larsen said the campaign had 65,000 signatures as of Oct. 9 - 15,000 less than their aim of 80,000 by the 30-day mark of the 90-day petition drive. "We're a little bit behind the target we set," Larsen said, adding getting canvassers officially registered has proven more onerous than expected. [continues 368 words]
A recommendation to let police treat simple marijuana possession as a ticketing offence is being opposed by the head of a provincial campaign to decriminalize pot. Dana Larsen, whose group Sensible BC is set to kick off a petition campaign next month to force a referendum on marijuana policy, says the new resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is counter-productive. The chiefs' association argues the option of writing tickets to punish people caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana would be less costly and time-intensive than sending criminal charges through the courts. [continues 542 words]
Proposal from police signals shift toward cannabis reform, says SFU professor A recommendation to let police treat simple marijuana possession as a ticketing offence is being opposed by the head of a provincial campaign to decriminalize pot. Dana Larsen, whose group Sensible BC is set to kick off a petition campaign next month to force a referendum on marijuana policy, says the new resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is counter-productive. The chiefs' association argues the option of writing tickets to punish people caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana would be less costly and time-intensive than sending criminal charges through the courts. [continues 751 words]
B.C.'s Prince of Pot could be on the verge of an epic homecoming. Marc Emery has been imprisoned in a U.S. jail since 2010 for selling marijuana seeds and recently applied to return to Canada to serve the rest of his five-year sentence. His wife Jodie Emery broke the news on Twitter Wednesday that the U.S. government has now approved his transfer. "Oh my god!!! Now Canada has to make a decision!!" she tweeted. She urged Emery's supporters to write to the federal public safety minister to urge Ottawa to approve his transfer back to Canada. [continues 202 words]
Chasing too much revenue may keep black market alive Taxing B.C. bud could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in provincial government revenue each year, but likely not billions, a new study suggests. The study, prepared by UBC and SFU researchers and published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, estimates B.C. marijuana users spend roughly $500 million a year on pot. The Stop The Violence BC campaign to legalize marijuana has used that figure to infer B.C. could reap $2.5 billion in revenue over five years by heavily taxing the drug. [continues 451 words]
Abbotsford's Banman not among them Eight B.C. mayors have joined a coordinated campaign to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana to combat gang violence and other drug-related crime. However, Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman is not among them. "I was not invited. I don't recall that memo going across my desk," said Banman with a laugh. None of the mayors involved is from the Fraser Valley. Three are from the Lower Mainland - Vancouver's Gregor Robertson, Burnaby's Derek Corrigan and North Vancouver City's Darrell Mussatto - while the other cities represented are Vernon, Armstrong, Enderby, Lake Country and the District of Metchosin. [continues 316 words]
A coordinated push to legalize marijuana has gained the backing of four former B.C. attorneys-general, including B.C. Liberal Geoff Plant. The four - who include former NDP A-Gs Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh and Graeme Bowbrick - signed a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Opposition leader Adrian Dix calling for the regulation and taxation of cannabis to combat organized crime. They're the latest high-profile additions to the Stop the Violence B.C. coalition campaign for pot decriminalization. [continues 504 words]
A group of B.C. public health officers has joined a growing coalition of policy leaders urging the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The Health Officers Council of B.C. voted to endorse Stop the Violence B.C. and called for regulation of illegal substances like marijuana to reduce the harm from substance use and the unintended consequences of government policies. "The Health Officer's Council and other experts are not saying that marijuana should be legalized and taxed because it is safe," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Vancouver Island medical health officer who chairs the council. [continues 226 words]
A group of B.C. public health officers has joined a growing coalition of policy leaders urging the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The Health Officers Council of B.C. voted to endorse Stop the Violence B.C. and called for regulation of illegal substances like marijuana to reduce the harm from substance use and the unintended consequences of government policies. "The Health Officer's Council and other experts are not saying that marijuana should be legalized and taxed because it is safe," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Vancouver Island medical health officer who chairs the council. "We are saying that proven public health approaches should be used to constrain its use. There is now more danger to the public's health in perpetuating a market driven by criminal activity." [continues 145 words]
Marijuana Is Not Safe, But Violence 'Poses More Danger,' Group Says A group of B.C. public health officers has joined a growing coalition of policy leaders urging the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The Health Officers Council of B.C. voted to endorse Stop the Violence B.C. and called for regulation of illegal substances like marijuana to reduce the harm from substance use and the unintended consequences of government policies. "The Health Officer's Council and other experts are not saying that marijuana should be legalized and taxed because it is safe," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Vancouver Island medical health officer who chairs the council. [continues 281 words]
A group of B.C. public health officers has joined a growing coalition of policy leaders urging the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The Health Officers Council of B.C. voted to endorse Stop the Violence B.C. and called for regulation of illegal substances like marijuana to reduce the harm from substance use and the unintended consequences of government policies. "The Health Officer's Council and other experts are not saying that marijuana should be legalized and taxed because it is safe," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Vancouver Island medical health officer who chairs the council. [continues 282 words]
Police say they're trying to put a lid on a new round of violence that has threatened to erupt between Metro Vancouver gangs. Tensions have risen in recent weeks in the wake of the high-profile targeted murder of a suspected gangster in October at a Burnaby mall. Several men in their late 20s have been arrested since then and multiple guns seized in connection with four recent incidents, according to Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. [continues 239 words]
Addictions research centre advises B.C. to raise booze prices B.C. residents are boozing more and toking up less, according to new research. The average resident drank almost 9.2 litres of pure alcohol last year, up more than 10 per cent from 8.26 litres in 2002. That's among the findings of multiple B.C. academics compiled and released by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research. The province's per capita liquor intake has risen almost twice as fast as the rest of Canada. [continues 279 words]
B.C. residents are boozing more and toking up less, according to new research. The average resident drank almost 9.2 litres of pure alcohol last year, up more than 10 per cent from 8.26 litres in 2002. That's among the findings of multiple B.C. academics compiled and released by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research. The province's per capita liquor intake has been almost twice as fast as the rest of Canada. B.C. has also seen a 17 per cent jump in the number of people hospitalized because of their drinking over the past 10 years. [continues 259 words]
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is getting too weighted in favour of B.C.'s hinterland, according to Delta Mayor and Metro Vancouver board chair Lois Jackson. She said rural towns that come to the convention with lots of delegates this year voted down some key issues advanced by urban centres. Jackson said there appeared to be a lack of understanding of urban challenges, leading to the defeat of resolutions such as one advocating Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods legislation to clean up drug-riddled, unruly areas. [continues 123 words]
Arrests in the Surrey Six slayings are a high-profile coup for police but may do little to slow ongoing Lower Mainland gang violence or the underlying drug trade. That's the forecast from SFU gangs expert Rob Gordon. "If people think that this is in some way going to affect organized crime operations in this province then they're sadly mistaken," he said. "It is by no means over." Gordon, director of the university's school of criminology, said there's still "colossal demand" for illicit drugs that fuel gangs. [continues 307 words]
A new poll shows B.C. residents strongly support a series of proposed justice reforms to curb gang activity and nearly two-thirds also back the legalization of marijuana. Angus Reid Strategies surveyed Canadians across the country and found at least 95 per cent of the B.C. respondents back mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug crime like drive-by shootings and designating gang-related homicide first-degree murder. Those proposed changes are being spearheaded by the federal Conservative government. The B.C. government's call to loosen evidence disclosure laws to allow speedier prosecution of gangsters also got 86 per cent support in the province. [continues 178 words]
High-profile arrests early last week of a UN gang leader and two associates were billed by police as a major blow to the crime group that would help make the region's streets safer. But instead of quelling the gangland violence, the Monday busts were followed with a flurry of fresh shootings across Metro Vancouver, killing three people and wounding six more within a 48-hour period. Asked whether the arrests have created a leadership vacuum that's destabilized the gang and spurred more violence, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Peter Thiessen said it's difficult to speculate. [continues 671 words]
A new poll shows B.C. residents strongly support a series of proposed justice reforms to curb gang activity and nearly two-thirds also back the legalization of marijuana. Angus Reid Strategies surveyed Canadians across the country and found at least 95 per cent of the B.C. respondents back mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug crime like drive-by shootings and designating gang-related homicide first-degree murder. The proposed changes are being spearheaded by the federal Conservative government. The B.C. government's call to loosen evidence disclosure laws to allow speedier prosecution of gangsters also got 86 per cent support in the province. Another 80 per cent here support eliminating the "dead time" credit that gives criminals two-for-one credit for time they spend in jail awaiting trial. [continues 84 words]
The gangster gun battles and targeted hits rocking Metro Vancouver's streets stem from instability in the balance of power of the gangs controlling the lucrative drug trade, according to one gang expert. Mayhem of the type that's broken out over the past month is normally bad business for gangs that are firmly ensconced and want stable, consistent profits, says SFU director of criminology Rob Gordon. He says the Hells Angels were dominant in B.C. and preferred to keep "disciplinary actions" quiet to avoid the police and political attention that come when the public is terrorized by broad daylight shootings in mall parking lots and local streets. [continues 794 words]
New research has shed light on how to prevent crime from taking root in an area before SkyTrain arrives. A Transit Police study looked at a month of incidents within 250 metres of sites of the future Canada Line stations in Richmond. It found six per cent of crime incidents in Richmond happened in that zone-even though rapid transit has not yet arrived -while four per cent of crime in Surrey happens within 250 metres of that city's existing four SkyTrain stations. [continues 299 words]
The SkyTrain stations where passengers feel most anxious and insecure will get full-time uniformed patrols as TransLink unleashes a barrage of new measures to convince people it's safe to ride. The changes - which include plans to use police dogs and new ways to alert security to trouble - follow extensive consultations and the completion of two detailed studies on crime along SkyTrain. Rapid transit officials say the work has led them to conclude Transit Police must attack stations perceived as most dangerous even if actual crime stats don't bear that out. [continues 1251 words]
