SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) - A marijuana advocate in New Brunswick said Tuesday he has started selling the drug for medicinal purposes in his Cannabis Cafe. Jim Wood, owner of the cafe in downtown Saint John, said he's fulfilling a community need by selling high-quality pot to people who need the marijuana to ease their pain and suffering. "Everybody is excited about it," Wood said in an interview. "The patients are some glad they don't have to go to crack shacks and buy pot anymore." [continues 273 words]
A local AIDS patient is looking forward to his day in court, four months after being charged with possessing marijuana. Allen Merritt will appear in court Oct. 16. He was one of two men charged after police raided the Cannabis Cafe May 9. "This is ridiculous and it doesn't make any sense at all," Merrit said. "I need marijuana to get through the day." For the past three years, Merritt has been on a strict regimen of pharmaceutical drugs. Pot helps him deal with their side effects, including headaches, nausea and constipation. [continues 171 words]
Frontline Workers Say Prescription Drug Abuse Just Beginning Our Painkiller Plague -- Special Report Opiate Drug Abuse OxyContin, Dilaudid and Percocet are known to more New Brunswickers than the painkillers' medical use suggests should be the case. Used legitimately, the drugs help sick people, often the terminally ill, live and frequently die more comfortably. But stories of abuse, when these drugs are used as an escape from life, have become common in the province. And, the tales are usually stomach-churning. Many of those stories were reflected during one coroner's inquest in Saint John last year, as a jury heard details surrounding the death of Rothesay resident Stephen Beshara, 20, who died in his sleep on Dec. 19, 2000, with several prescription drugs in his system. [continues 2074 words]
Earlier this week, members of the Mount Allison Canadian Alliance Campus Club began handing out pamphlets and organizing petitions to raise awareness of the dangers of date-rape drugs on university campuses throughout Canada. The efforts are part of a Canada-wide effort by CA MP James Moore, working with students in Canadian Alliance clubs across the country, to organize support for a Private Members' Motion (M-458) directed towards creating: " . . . A comprehensive plan of action to address the issue of drug facilitated sexual assault, which should undertake to (a) to recommend to cabinet that the substances GHB and Rohypnol be identified in the Criminal Code as date-rape-drugs; (b) introduce amendments to the Criminal Code creating a separate Schedule recognizing "date rape drugs" as a weapon; (c) establish, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, a national initiative to educate women on the dangers of date-rape-drugs and related substances; (d) establish, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, a national task force to establish new guidelines in the collection and documentation of evidence in RCMP sexual assault investigations." [continues 193 words]
Opiate Drug Abuse OxyContin, Dilaudid and Percocet are known to more New Brunswickers than the painkillers' medical use suggests should be the case. Used legitimately, the drugs help sick people, often the terminally ill, live and frequently die more comfortably. But stories of abuse, when these drugs are used as an escape from life, have become common in the province. And, the tales are usually stomach-churning. Many of those stories were reflected during one coroner's inquest in Saint John last year, as a jury heard details surrounding the death of Rothesay resident Stephen Beshara, 20, who died in his sleep on Dec. 19, 2000, with several prescription drugs in his system. [continues 2128 words]
An Overview Of Some Recent Studies The fourth week of classes are upon us and many first year students, having already attended ample parties, are beginning to come to terms with their new geographical position: a safe distance from the watchful eye of the parental unit. This may account for the popular perception of a "frosh" as a half crazed, over-sexed young person that tends to make too much noise and consume exorbitant amounts of alcohol and marijuana. So, in the service of these freedom-drunk Mount Allison students, who should be a little bit curious as to what's going on inside their body every weekend, and in the wake of Canada's decriminalization debate, here is a brief overview of some recent studies concerning alcohol and (ever more controversial) marijuana. [continues 902 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The owners of a Saint John cafe where patrons are encouraged to smoke pot and sip coffee are now offering over-the-counter sales of medicinal marijuana. Jim and Lynn Wood, founders of the Cannabis Cafe, announced Tuesday they have decided to sell high-grade marijuana from their store to people who need pot to ease their pain. "This will be Canada's first over-the-counter cannabis cafe," said Jim Wood. "Basically, we're just trying to help people." [end]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) - The owners of a Saint John cafe where patrons are encouraged to smoke pot and sip coffee are now offering over-the-counter sales of medicinal marijuana. Jim and Lynn Wood, founders of the Cannabis Cafe, announced Tuesday they have decided to sell high-grade marijuana from their store to people who need pot to ease their pain. "This will be Canada's first over-the-counter cannabis cafe," said Jim Wood. "Bascially, we're just trying to help people." [continues 503 words]
SAINT JOHN -- The Cannabis Cafe in Saint John may be the first outlet in Canada to sell pot over the counter. According to an article in the September issue of Rolling Stone magazine, cafe owner Jim Wood says he plans on selling marijuana to anyone with a doctor's note. Police say that's just a pipe dream. The article asks the question: "Will Canada become the most stoned country on Earth?" and looks to Saint John for answers. Jim Wood tells the magazine he plans to take the final, most controversial step for Canada's marijuana movement - selling pot over the counter. [continues 208 words]
Federal Court Ruling: Inmate Wanted N.B. Prison To Supply Pot-Laced Baking For Medical Purposes Canada is just not ready to let prison inmates indulge their marijuana habits behind bars, a Federal Court judge has concluded in quashing a convict's demand for regular supplies of pot-laced baked goods. Michael Patriquen, a marijuana-rights activist who ran in the recent Nova Scotia election, wants the drug to treat chronic pain. He won a federal government medical marijuana exemption before being sentenced. [continues 483 words]
Re: "Prostitution is a drug problem," here, July 17-24. I very much doubt prostitution as the oldest profession would fade away if illicit drug use were to magically disappear. I do not doubt addicts needing to pay inflated prices exacerbate the problem, but I do not believe the proper way to address the prostitution issue is to institute various expensive unproven policies. Just as with the drug issue, once again the tolerant Dutch provide a light of reason in the cave of darkness. They have licit regulated prostitution in their infamous red light districts and through effective regulations the prostitutes are not forced to the street and receive the best health care which minimizes disease transference. [continues 62 words]
Vancouver Man Lights Up Outside Police Building During Cross-Country Tour A self-proclaimed crusader for legalizing marijuana had to cut short his summer tour plans yesterday after he was arrested for smoking pot on the Main Street steps of the Codiac Regional RCMP Moncton detachment. A second individual believed to be from the Moncton region was arrested when he also proceeded to "toke up" in front of police. Marc Emery and his girlfriend, Cheryl Redick, both of Vancouver, held a protest in front of the police station yesterday afternoon, drawing media attention and interested spectators to the cause he has been promoting in his Summer of Legalization Tour. [continues 330 words]
Moncton, N.B. -- An activist campaigning for the legalization of marijuana was arrested Monday after lighting up in front of an RCMP detachment in Moncton. After spending about 20 minutes preaching to the mainly converted, Marc Emery of Vancouver fired up a large bong and within seconds was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. CP [end]
MONCTON, N.B -- An activist campaigning for the legalization of marijuana was arrested yesterday after lighting up in front of an RCMP detachment in Moncton. After spending about 20 minutes preaching to the mainly converted, former Londoner Marc Emery, now of Vancouver, fired up a large bong and within seconds, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. "Marijuana is a wonderful substitute for all things," Emery told about 30 onlookers shortly before the arrest. "I've been smoking for 23 years. People should be growing it in their backyards." [continues 165 words]
MONCTON -- Pro-marijuana activist Marc Emery could face drug charges in New Brunswick after being arrested at a rally to promote legalization of pot. RCMP led him away within minutes of lighting up outside their headquarters on Monday. Emery is a well-known figure in the national fight to legalize marijuana. He is the publisher of a magazine, director of a TV channel devoted to pot and owns a business that sells marijuana seeds. Moncton was his second Maritime stop on the national tour. [continues 161 words]
I'm responding "Sex in the City" (here, June 19-26). I have lived on Coburg Street for almost eight years. I have owned a business uptown and have sat on the Board of Directors of Uptown Saint John. I love uptown Saint John. I would be the last to speak ill of this city and defend and praise it every chance I get. I must say the article brings to light a problem that has been ongoing since I have lived on this street. I know this, as I would wait for friends to pick me up and would have many cars pulling over in front of my apartment, to pick me up (no thanks). The cars I see are 4Runners, Mercedes, Pathfinders, expensive .........vehicles. Unbelievable how desperate people must be, both the johns and the girls selling themselves. [continues 345 words]
Two men arrested Friday at Saint John's Cannabis Cafe and charged with simple possession of marijuana were released to appear in court on June 25 to enter pleas. A proposed change to Canada's drug laws, expected to be introduced in Parliament later this week, may stop similar charges in the future but it is not a step in the right direction, said Lynn Wood, who owns the cafe with her husband Jim. "It will give the police more power to go after growers and dealers," she said Monday. [continues 424 words]
B.C. Lawyer Takes Up Convict's Case To Force Ottawa To Provide Some Pain Relief Michael Patriquen may be in a jail cell, but he believes he still has the right to eat marijuana cookies there to ease the pain of injuries he suffered in a car accident four years ago. While Patriquen is in jail in New Brunswick, his case has been taken up by B.C. lawyer John Conroy, who specializes in marijuana law and prison reform. Conroy filed an application in federal court in Vancouver last week seeking to compel federal Health Minister Anne McLellan to provide prison officials with an adequate supply of marijuana to provide Patriquen with pain relief. [continues 564 words]
The Lord government found millions of dollars for the Canada Winter Games, but had no money for a hospital in Woodstock. Now, it's spending almost one million on separate buses for French and English students. Wouldn't bilingual bus drivers be more affordable? If a large city like New York can ban smoking in public places, why can't a small city like Saint John do the same? And while you're at it, make sure the new bylaw includes marijuana - that would solve this Cannabis Cafe problem as well. [continues 91 words]
Inside New Brunswick
