Walking up King St. one day at lunch I passed the Scotiabank and was overwhelmed by the smell of marijuana. I turned my head and there on the steps - in broad daylight, in the midst of a noonday crowd - was a guy casually smoking a joint. I was surprised by his audacity, that he seemed unconcerned that a police officer might be on patrol nearby. I was also struck by how unaffected people were around him; they either didn't know what he was doing or didn't care. [continues 826 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Jamie MacLean didn't have any problem being the first person to smoke marijuana at Saint John's newly opened Cannabis Cafe. The 21-year-old happily lit up in front of reporters early yesterday afternoon at the cafe, which has an open policy on marijuana smoking. Cafe owner Lynn Wood said there had been a lot of traffic in the store, believed to be the province's first pot-smoking-optional cafe. However, before MacLean no one had taken advantage of the store's open policy on marijuana smoking. MacLean and his girlfriend shared a joint in the front room of the cafe. He said he's not too worried about the consequences of being caught by police with one joint, particularly when possession charges are being thrown out of provincial courts across the country. [end]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- New Brunswick will wait for Ottawa to deal with the decriminalization of pot before it takes any action to prevent more cannabis cafes from opening in the province. Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe opened March 30 in Saint John, providing customers with a public place to smoke marijuana. The cafe doesn't sell drugs but provides a venue for adult customers to smoke in a social setting. Justice Minister Brad Green said yesterday the province is anxious to hear the federal government state its intentions to deal with the decriminalization issue. [continues 76 words]
New Brunswick is waiting for Ottawa to act in order to stem the growth of cannabis cafes in the province, says Justice Minister Brad Green. Lynn Wood opened Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe this week in Saint John, providing customers with a public place to smoke marijuana. The cafe doesn't sell drugs. Rather it provides a venue for adult customers to smoke in a social setting. Mr. Green said Friday the province is anxious to hear the federal government state its intentions to deal with the decriminalization issue. [continues 197 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Jamie MacLean didn't have any problem being the first person to smoke marijuana at Saint John's newly opened Cannabis Cafe. The 21-year-old happily lit up in front of reporters yesterday afternoon at the cafe, which has an open policy on marijuana smoking. Cafe owner Lynn Wood said there has been a lot of traffic in the store, believed to be the province's first pot-smoking optional cafe. However, before MacLean no one had taken advantage of the store's open policy on marijuana smoking. [continues 136 words]
Saint John could soon have a cannabis cafe, one of only a handful in Canada. Jim and Lynn Wood plan to open Hemp NB's Cannabis Cafe at 86 King St., above Shorney's Optical, on April 1. They won't be selling marijuana, but they're going to let customers 19 and older smoke pot on-site. Cigarette smoking, how-ever, will be not allowed because it's "toxic" and "gross" and "should be illegal." They will also close relatively early each day, about 6 or 7 p.m., to avoid attracting drunk people, who can be "loud and violent." [continues 841 words]
MONCTON - Undercover police officers posing as high school students have broken a drug ring in the Moncton area in an investigation that will result in four students and four adults being charged with drug-related offenses. RCMP raided schools in Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe on Thursday morning, and the suspects are accused of trafficking PCP, marijuana and ecstasy. The investigation is part of a larger probe called "Operation Jingle." The students were arrested from Mathieu Martin in Dieppe, Moncton High School and Riverview High. [continues 285 words]
The response to the report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs has, in many ways, been just what we hoped for: informed discussion, debate and dialogue. Indeed, let's keep it up. However, as I participate in radio and TV shows, read letters to the editors, editorials and columnists, it has become clear that some of what the Committee said in our report either was not heard or has been misunderstood. First, we do not endorse recreational drug use of any kind. We would prefer to see a drug-free society just as we would love to see world peace, but we are realistic enough to know that we will not likely see it in our lifetime. [continues 655 words]
I feel that the DARE program is a great idea! I think that it is a good thing that they put the program in the schools because it helps people realize how bad alcohol and drugs really are for you. The DARE program is very useful, because if any kids were taking drugs and getting in trouble they will learn how to stop using them. Through DARE, the students taking the program will learn how bad drugs are for their bodies and learn to know enough not to start using them again or take them at all. They will also learn that it wastes your money, and how it affects your friendships with others, your family and you. [continues 353 words]
I think the D.A.R.E. Program is a great way to teach kids about the dangers of using drugs. D.A.R.E. is really fun but also really serious. I was surprised that only 14% of kids use drugs, and I think that more would be using drugs if D.A.R.E. didn't tech kids ways to stand up to drug dealers. The D.A.R.E. Program taught me why not to use drugs, not just don't do drugs. I learned of ways to say NO, and all about friendly teasing, indirect and heavy peer pressure. [continues 147 words]
Dear Editor; I suspect the cops do not attempt to present their ineffectual, anti-drug DARE claptrap to kids older than Grade 6 or so is because older kids might ask tough questions like these: 1. Why are you presented the program and not someone who really knows about drugs, such as a user or physician? 2. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms implies that citizens have the right to pursue their own form of happiness so long as they harm no one else. Thus it seems Canadians have the right to ingest any drug, however harmful. Why do you feel the government has the right to punish individuals for what they choose to ingest into their own bodies and jail those who supply them? (By "harm", I don't mean causing anguish to friends and family, otherwise we would jail all divorcing parents along with any kid who didn't do his or her homework. I mean direct, physical harm.) [continues 252 words]
ST. STEPHEN - A group dedicated to finding solutions to Charlotte County drug problems is asking for the public's help in planning a substance abuse workshop this fall. The Charlotte County Coalition for a Drug Free Community - a group of social workers, health professionals, law enforcers, parents and others - has sent out a survey asking the public to identify the topics most important to them. Judy Nelson, an addiction counsellor working out of the Ridgewood Addiction Service's St. Stephen office and one of the organizers of the fall workshop, said the coalition is asking for help because it wants to present information people want and need. [continues 480 words]
D.A.R.E. is the acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, the single most widely-used substance abuse prevention and safety promotion curriculum in the world. First developed in 1983, D.A.R.E. has undergone multiple revisions as research findings increased knowledge of effective substance abuse prevention among school-aged youth. There are several components to the D.A.R.E. curriculum in-cluding the "core curriculum" for fifth or sixth grade; visitation for kindergarten - fourth grade; a middle school/junior high program; a senior high curriculum; and a parenting component. [continues 487 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- A New Brunswick man will be able to smoke marijuana while he serves a sentence for marijuana cultivation and trafficking. Greg Boyle of Rothesay was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months of house arrest and 12 months of probation. Since the charges were laid two years ago, Boyle won permission from Health Canada to use pot to ease the pain of a back injury. He can grow up to 25 marijuana plants in his home. The province does not have a policy to deal with convicts in jail who have permission for medicinal pot. [end]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- A New Brunswick man will be able to smoke marijuana while he serves a sentence for marijuana cultivation and trafficking. Greg Boyle of Rothesay was sentenced yesterday to 15 months of house arrest and 12 months of probation. Since the charges were laid two years ago, Boyle won permission from Health Canada to use pot to ease the pain of a back injury. He can grow up to 25 marijuana plants in his home. The province does not have a policy in place to deal with convicts in jail who have permission for medicinal marijuana. The house arrest includes numerous conditions including 100 hours of community service. Boyle must also allow police to occasionally enter his home to ensure he only has enough marijuana for personal use. [end]
Editor; For drug education to be effective it has to be credible. Learning how to say no and dealing with different pressures and stress amid contrived exercises within controlled environments is one thing; outside of that environment is another matter entirely. Drug education programs must be reality-based or they run the risk of backfiring when kids are inevitably exposed to pressures, peer or otherwise. Every independent evaluation of DARE has found the program to be either ineffective or counterproductive. The 2001 report of the US Surgeon General concluded that "[DARE's] popularity persists despite numerous well-designed evaluations and metaanalyses that consistently show little or no deterrent effect on substance use." [continues 148 words]
In his letter, "Don't open the door any wider to 'pot' use (Telegraph-Journal, June 10), Bertrand Durelle is upset with senators looking for details on the legalization of marijuana. I must say I am even more upset by his comments toward those who smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. I know someone with a terminal illness who smokes marijuana to ease their incessant pain. My dear friend in Saint John has been suffering with Multiple Sclerosis for more than 10 years. [continues 270 words]
An ongoing police investigation into substance abuse at Marshview Middle School has resulted in at least one student being charged, and has prompted school and community officials to hold meetings to discuss what can be done to lower the number of students using drugs and alcohol. Sackville town police, without giving specifics, said there has been at least one charge processed to date with others pending on approval from the crown prosecutor. Cpl. Robin MacDonald said the Sackville Police Force had been monitoring the situation for a "considerable amount of time" with concerns of alcohol and possible drug abuse at the school. [continues 492 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) - A man convicted of trafficking drugs in New Brunswick could find himself legally smoking pot behind bars. Greg Boyle of the Saint John area was convicted of trafficking Thursday. However, since Boyle has a medical exemption from Health Canada to smoke marijuana, corrections officials could have a difficult decision on their hands before he's sentenced July 17. Lawyer David Kelly, who represented another defendant in the case, was unsure whether Boyle's medical exemption would be honoured if he is sent behind bars. [continues 219 words]
SAINT JOHN, N.B. (CP) - Health Canada has given a New Brunswick man who's facing a trial for drug charges permission to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. Greg Boyle said he received approval last week to grow 25 plants at home and to carry up to 150 grams of marijuana on his person. Boyle, who ran for the Confederation of Regions Party in the 1999 provincial election, applied to the federal government in January for permission to grow marijuana to help reduce chronic back pain. [continues 188 words]
Inside New Brunswick
