A B. C. marijuana activist has withdrawn his petition to decriminalize pot, saying he will spend the next 10 months gathering volunteers and support before submitting it again.

Elections BC approved a petition in September by Dana Larsen, who wants to use B. C.' s unique citizens' initiative legislation to force a debate on the issue or even a referendum.

The petition calls for changes to the Police Act to prohibit the use of provincial police resources to enforce simple possession- and-use laws for adults.

[continues 66 words]

Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem in Canada that remains dramatically under-enforced and, if enforced at all, is time-consuming, unwieldy and fails to identify the vast majority of drug-impaired drivers, according to a study released by Western Faculty of Law professors.

Studies show driving after drug use is more prevalent among some young people than driving after drinking - 39.8 per cent of 15-24 year olds reported driving within two hours of using cannabis during the last year compared to 20.9 per cent who reported driving under the influence of alcohol.

[continues 788 words]

Our panelists examine the possible choices Canada faces after Colorado and Washington states legalized recreational marijuana earlier this month

Continue Status Quo

Colton Carrick, ArtSci '16

With the recent legalization of marijuana in the US, many Canadians were left in awe at the decision made by our traditionally more conservative neighbour. For decades we Canadians have considered ourselves substantially more progressive on issues such as gay marriage, abortion, healthcare and until now - drug use. However with America's decision, we are now looking to our own drug laws and questioning their relevance and effectiveness in our modern age. Is the legalization of marijuana the right move for the Canadian government? Absolutely not.

[continues 1877 words]

Over the last year, we've had numerous leaders from our province promoting the legalization of marijuana, from former city mayors, politicians, medical people, people who are generally "in the know."

In their defence, I think there is sincerity in their motives. For some they are concerned with the potential tragedy of young people ending up in jail or having their future careers damaged by charges related to the possession of a few ounces of marijuana. And in all fairness, the war on drugs hasn't been effective. But what I'm wrestling with is, will decriminalizing marijuana solve the problem? By that logic we could empty all the prisons if we just decriminalized prostitution and thievery and murder and . . .

[continues 612 words]

Pot activist Ted Smith's attempt to nationalize the Hempology movement may be stalled when he brings his Cannabis Convention to Ottawa on Sunday.

Smith, author of Hempology 101, began his conventions in B.C., where he gives public lectures at the University of Victoria.

Smith said he wanted to hold the conference at Carleton University, but was unable to co-ordinate with the Ontario Public Research Interest Group (OPIRG) at the university.

"It was quite frustrating that none of them were willing to help us get hempology up and running," said Ted. "Unfortunately, they may have the perception that I'm out trying to sell the book and they don't want to have their club used for some kind of commercial endeavour."

[continues 268 words]

Earlier this year, John Anderson bought an exhaust fan at one of a number of hydroponics stores in Nanaimo.

He needed the device because aside from teaching at Vancouver Island University, the criminology professor runs a home business with his partner, producing dried dog treats under the brand name Kali Wags.

"I said to the fellow who ran the store, the proprietor, 'This is amazing; to whom do you sell?' " Anderson recalled for the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. "And he said, 'I would say that 85 percent of our business is to people who use cannabis for medical purposes.' "

[continues 496 words]

A study released this month has revealed the cost the failed war on drugs is having on the British Columbia economy.

A new study by a coalition of researchers from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University estimates the B.C. cannabis market could provide the government with $2.5 billion in tax and licensing revenues over the next five years.

"If you begin to stand back and calculate just how much potential tax revenue is instead going to fuel organized crime, it really highlights how we need to start questioning our current approach," said Dr. Evan Wood, senior author of the study.

[continues 222 words]

Judges to hear Suncor arguments

A three-judge Alberta Court of Appeal panel will next week hear from Suncor Energy Inc. as the oilsands giant argues against an injunction blocking its proposed random employee drug testing program.

Next month, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the case of Irving Pulp and Paper, a New Brunswick company whose plan to have its employees submit to mandatory breathalyzer tests has been fought tooth and nail by the same union that represents Suncor workers.

[continues 1228 words]

Dana Larsen's petition to de-criminalize simple marijuana possession went up in smoke on Wednesday. But the pro-marijuana advocate is on a roll as he blew through the Okanagan Valley this week.

The former leader of the Marijuana Party successfully tested the waters when his token petition to amend the Police Act was accepted by Elections B.C. on Monday. On Wednesday, however, it was withdrawn by Larsen.

"The proponent had indicated to us that he was not interested in canvassing for signatures at this time, and that his intention in applying for the petition was to test his application and draft bill," said chief electoral officer Keith Archer.

[continues 375 words]

Re: "B.C.'s poverty rate ranks 2nd worst in nation, report says," Nov. 22.

Let's kill a whole flock of birds with just one stone.

B.C.'s child-poverty problem is disgraceful. Money is urgently needed to begin remedying this unacceptable situation. Yet the government is already cash-strapped, or so we're told.

The Times Colonist recently reported that British Columbians buy an estimated half-billion dollars worth of marijuana annually. That is a half-billion dollars of untaxed economic activity. The province doesn't collect sales and excise tax on the end-user transactions. It doesn't collect business taxes nor does it receive any of the income tax that ought to be paid by producers and their employees. Instead, these tax scofflaws use those unremitted revenues to purchase other consumables brought into the province, including guns, heroin, cocaine and meth.

[continues 130 words]

Letters to the editor perform a valuable purpose in disseminating alternative ideas about subjects of interest in the news. Some are written from a sensible, reasoned stance, others contain nothing but bluster, misinformation and hyperbole.

Witness the letter published in the Nov. 14 PNR by Eileen Nattrass. She summoned up all the lies, half-truths and hyperbole that she could find or dream up. If one examines her assertions, they look ridiculous.

Marijuana causes deafness? That's a new one.

I must thank the editors for publishing this nonsense because when the public sees how flimsy the prohibitionist arguments are, when the refutations are overwhelming as I am sure they are, the public is educated. Not in the way intended by Ms. Nattrass, because the public will see that they have been deceived by false arguments and question the more reasonable-appearing arguments of the professional prohibitionists. She is actually sowing the seeds of the end of prohibition with her illogical arguments.

Thank you, Ms. Nattrass for being such an obvious tool of the prohibitionists.

Bruce Symington

Medicine Hat, Alberta

[end]

Carl Anderson Already Eyeing Potential Properties

Kamloops medical marijuana advocate Carl Anderson is shopping for industrial property after he learned City council is looking at a bylaw change that would create zoning for pot plant production.

"I am searching for industrial property. I've already got the calls out. I want to be the first," he said Friday.

"I've never grown in my home; always in outbuildings. But I've always been in fear for my family. And I have had instances of people trying to break in."

[continues 347 words]

We used to fear Mary Jane, then we laughed about her, and now many of us think she's downright wholesome. Marijuana's public image has undergone a stunning transformation since the scare-mongering of Reefer Madness and the dope comedies of Cheech and Chong, but many doctors believe that weed's rehabilitation as a virtual wonder drug may be distracting us from its real health dangers.

It seems that plenty of people have bought the idea that marijuana is a harmless herb, or better. Stories proclaiming the benefits of "medical marijuana" - for ailments as varied as arthritis, MS, glaucoma and Alzheimer' - abound in mainstream media like International Business Times, and at patient support sites such as www.Livestrong.org . Voters in Washington and Colorado recently approved measures to begin legalizing pot, and a reinvigorated movement in B.C. is pushing for similar changes. A poll in the summer showed that two-thirds of Canadians are okay with decriminalizing weed for personal use.

[continues 991 words]

In the late 1990s I was doing open-line radio and Bill "I-never-inhaled" Clinton was president of the United States. One morning I got a call and was asked if I'd ever smoked dope. In a fit of bravado and unbridled candour I said, "My dear for many years I was a musician, I've smoked everything I could light and inhaled all the way down to my toenails."

The newsroom archived that comment and years later played the clip for my on-air retirement party. For the record - not that I'm counting - I had my last smoke of anything at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 23, 1988.

[continues 682 words]

Hope Signs Send Positive Message to Fellow Band Members on Reserve

Once again, the message is loud and clear: drugs and alcohol are unwelcome on the Skwah First Nation.

Following on the heels of last year's successful Walk For Peace, dozens of Skwah members gathered last Friday for dinner and to craft two dozen signs touting a healthy lifestyle.

The colourful signs, with slogans like "Give Hugs, Not Drugs" and "Evict Drugs," now decorate power poles around the reserve.

It's the latest in ongoing attempts by Skwah leaders and community members to up the pressure on their fellow residents.

[continues 425 words]

Halloween is far behind us and Remembrance Day is just a memory, so I guess now it's time for the next big thing.

No, not Christmas. That's not until what, the end of December? I'm talking about the next big thing - Drug Awareness Week.

Now just chill before you haul out that spliff or start honking a gagger in celebration. That's not what this is about and besides, the herb is not yet legal in British Columbia and the federal Tories are - - as usual - moving in the exact opposite direction from common sense and decency on the issue.

[continues 511 words]

Paula has quit. At 68, the manager of a health-food store has put away the rolling paper, stopped buying her beloved hashish and is going straight. "I'm trying to find more peace," she says. Her adult children, now with children of their own, used to smoke pot but have stopped, as has her husband, also a former hard-core indulger.

But Barry, a 65-year-old Ottawa radiologist, has no intention of giving up his one-or two-or maybe three-joints-a-day habit. Semiretired, five minutes after looking at the last X-ray, Barry is in his car and firing up the marijuana joint he keeps in the ashtray for the ride home.

[continues 1086 words]

Legality of Business Questioned

Windsor's new downtown business sports marijuana leaves on its sign, an oversized poster of a marijuana plant inside and a mural-sized price list for its only product - marijuana seeds.

On Thursday, customers walked in, inquired about various strains and were invited to peruse a catalogue. If the store doesn't have something a customer is looking for, Danielle Capin, a 25-year-old Hamilton, Ont., woman who's running the store with her brother Joel, said she can get it within a week.

[continues 375 words]

OTTAWA - National Defence quietly examined the idea of designating more positions within the military as "safety sensitive" in order to catch and punish soldiers for illegal drug use.

Internal documents show over a four-year period, commanders in charge of troops in Canada's central and western regions lobbied separately to draw up expanded lists of jobs that would be subject to the enhanced screening.

A spokeswoman for National Defence says the director of military career administration has not made any changes, and the drug-screening program has not been expanded but is subject to continuing review.

[continues 303 words]

VICTORIA - Federal Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau made a swing through B.C. Wednesday, weighing in on debates about oil pipelines, marijuana and other hot political topics.

Trudeau shook up the national energy debate this week by coming out in favour of oil exports to Asia, and the proposed takeover of Alberta oilsands producer Nexen by a Chinese state corporation.

At a radio town hall meeting, Trudeau said he supports oil exports and Chinese investment because the investment and trade will create more middle-class employment in Canada. But he hastened to add he opposes the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposed to run from Alberta to Kitimat. He accused Enbridge of failing to consult with aboriginal people along the route and said he is opposed to a crude oil pipeline to B.C.'s North Coast.

[continues 251 words]