NANAIMO -- Pam Edgar has won her fight to have the provincial government pay for a device she says is needed for her to use marijuana to ease symptoms of multiple sclerosis. The government, which earlier refused to pay for a $200 marijuana vapourizer, has been forced to reverse its decision following the unanimous decision of an appeal tribunal. Pam Edgar has been legally using marijuana for two years to help reduce the pain of her multiple sclerosis, but as an asthmatic, the smoke causes other health problems. Vapourized pot allows her to inhale cannabinoids from marijuana without any of the carcinogens that tighten and block the airways to her lungs. [continues 292 words]
An alleged international drug trafficker who has been fighting extradition to the U.S. for nearly 10 years has been released on $4-million bail while he seeks leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Ranjit Singh Cheema, who put up the bail through 19 sureties from relatives and friends, is wanted in the U.S. on charges, filed in February 1998, that he conspired to import and traffic in heroin and hashish. American authorities say Cheema intended to trade with California-based Colombian drug-traffickers 200 kilograms of heroin from Pakistan for 800 kilograms of cocaine. [continues 179 words]
Pot Economy Has Grown To Include Other Drugs, New Markets The world has a drug problem -- it's called British Columbia. Asian, Indo-Canadian and outlaw motorcycle gangs are not only putting pot, cocaine, heroin, ecstacy and crystal meth into the hands of B.C. citizens, but they're also using globalization to reap profits planetwide, an RCMP intelligence report reveals. "The involvement of organized crime has significantly expanded the Canadian illicit drug trade, posing a major threat both domestically and internationally," said the just-released Drug Situation Report 2006. [continues 603 words]
Online debates over parenting skills and marijuana legalization have been sparked by a Waterloo man who put his son's Christmas gift for sale on e-Bay after he caught the 15-year-old smoking marijuana. The man, who goes by the e-Bay user name "k_lid" claimed on the auction site that he spent weeks scouring stores in order to buy Guitar Hero III for his son, Isaac, to play on his Nintendo Wii. After finally scoring a copy of the game, the elementary school teacher came home one day to find his son smoking marijuana in his backyard with two friends. [continues 243 words]
Three evenings of public consultation are scheduled across P.E.I. this week to discuss the draft P.E.I. Youth Substance Use and Addictions Strategy. The P.E.I. Department of Health has been working closely with a number of government agencies and the public over the past year to research and prepare the report. The draft strategy is now available online for Islanders to review. This week's meetings begin tonight and continue Tuesday and Wednesday. Health Minister Doug Currie says finding a long-term solution for Island youth struggling with addictions is a top priority for government. [continues 117 words]
Mounties Have Seized 50 Kilos This Year At Pearson Airport The RCMP say they've seized a record 50 kilos of heroin so far this year being smuggled through Pearson airport and destined for GTA streets. The Mounties are concerned about a rise in heroin use and are cracking down on smugglers who try to bring the drugs into the country. "We have stopped a significant amount of heroin from hitting the streets," said Sgt. Frank Gougeon of the force's airport drug squad. "There seems to be a big demand for the drug." [continues 190 words]
Raids Here and Abroad Net $168 Million in Drugs, 100 Arrests. 5.5 Tonnes of Drugs. $6 Million in Real Estate. $2.1 Million in Cash. $300,000 Worth of Vehicles. 17 Prohibited Weapons Yong Long Ye was the mastermind of a drug syndicate that was as complex as it was astonishingly profitable, according to police. Ye, who lived on Vancouver's Deering Island, just a stone's throw from the sprawling homes and riding stables in the tony Southlands area, received courier packages containing up to $250,000 two to three times a week, police said. [continues 871 words]
I'm sure RCMP Const. Dave Higgs means well (Students Learn Drug Lesson, Dec. 11, 2007). However one substance on the list he talked extensively about was out of place, if truth be told. Cannabis (marijuana) is a plant, not a drug, and it is safer than alcohol especially compared to whiskey, less addictive than coffee and hasn't killed one person in over 5,000 years of documented use while cigarettes kill over 1,000 North Americans daily. In fact, the most dangerous side effect of cannabis is being caged for using it by RCMP Const. Dave Higgs. [continues 53 words]
We're not legally permitted to ask members of the jury how they arrived at the conclusion that Robert Pickton's savage killing spree was impromptu and unplanned. Clearly, they figured he executed all the women, or at the very least helped, but the verdict indicates they also believed each killing was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. And that doesn't make any sense. It doesn't take a forensic expert to tell us it's unheard of for a person to kill spontaneously, or in a blind frenzy, on so many separate occasions, unless it's of the mass-murder variety when a killer opens fire on a group. [continues 442 words]
B.C. Man Accused of Heading Biggest Criminal Conspiracy in Province's History Fifteen years ago, Yong Long "Sam" Ye was a small-time thug operating on the fringes of Vancouver's criminal underworld. Today he stands accused of heading the biggest criminal conspiracy in B.C. history -- a $168-million enterprise with tentacles reaching into eight countries on three continents involving tonnes of drugs. "He was a bit player who rose through the ranks," a confidential RCMP source told The Province. [continues 550 words]
More than two years after it was approved by Health Canada, a little orange pill that helps heroin junkies kick the habit has finally hit the market. Buprenorphine, or "bupe," has an advantage over methadone because the risk of overdosing is dramatically reduced and addicts can't get high on it. It has a so-called "ceiling effect" - larger doses don't mean a bigger hit. The hexagonal pill is being marketed by Schering-Plough Canada Inc. under the brand name Suboxone. It helps manage the cravings of withdrawal from heroin and opioid-based prescription pain medications. [continues 498 words]
Free crack pipes? One gets the strong impression that perhaps people at the Ministry of Health are smoking something that impedes lucid thought. Our tax dollars would be better spent helping these people realize positive goals and in investing their lives with meaning rather than reinforcing self-destructive lifestyles and unwise decisions. That would be real harm-reduction that we all could benefit from. Jacob Derksen, Victoria. [end]
Re: "Island users to get free crack pipes," Dec. 13. How dare the government of B.C. allow this. I thought using crack was illegal. Apparently it is not if people can use the pipes wherever they feel like it. My 10-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes Oct. 4, 2006. She had to have three needles a day. Our daughter tried to buy her an insulin pump to improve her lifestyle. B.C. Medical would not cover any costs. The pump is very costly. [continues 51 words]
VANCOUVER -- Marijuana advocates are hoping to get protesters out at noon today at each constituency office of every member of Parliament. The potheads will be protesting what they see as draconian new minimum sentences proposed in Bill C-26, unveiled as part of the federal government's get-tough-on-crime platform. [end]
Local police are preparing themselves to better deal with drugs in Morden. Two officers recently completed a three week drug investigative techniques course at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa. Cst. Sean Aune and Cst. Sean O'Brien received training in various aspects of drug investigations from recognizing various drugs to search warrants and developing information sources. The course involved both classroom instruction as well as practical experience where they took to the streets to put some of their new knowledge to use, noted police chief Brad Neduzak. [continues 143 words]
To the editor: I'm writing about Doris Macdonald's not-so-thoughtful letter, support the law, in the dec. 6 Daily News. It looks like Macdonald wants Canada to adopt American drug policies. If Canada adopts failed U. S. drug policies, Canadians should expect a dramatic increase in taxes. Or else be prepared to sacrifice some of your existing government services, such as your health-care program. It seems to me the key to success is to do what successful people do, and avoid doing what unsuccessful people do. So why does Canada want to adopt failed U. S. drug policies. Would you seek financial advice from a homeless person. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
BC Hydro and the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General announced todayBC Hydro is partnering with the British Columbia Crime Stoppers Association to encourage people to report suspected marijuana grow operations. BC Hydro's energy diversion investigators will now be able to receive addresses of suspected grow-ops reported to the Crime Stoppers' Tip Line. This new information will assist the investigators in confirming energy thefts and recovering funds. Where evidence of thefts is found, BC Hydro lays complaints with law enforcement agencies, which in turn obtain search warrants and recommend charging suspects. [continues 276 words]
Protesters are set to gather Monday, December 17, at MP offices in Victoria and across Canada to speak out against proposed drug laws they say are draconian and ineffective. The Conservatives' Bill C-26 would entrench the criminalization of cannabis and require minimum mandatory prison terms for people caught with pot. Protest organizer Ted Smith of Victoria's Cannabis Buyer's Club says the laws would needlessly clog up already over-burdened courts and jails, and that organized crime would only profit from prohibition. The Conservatives are driven by an ideological agenda that is disconnected from most Canadians, he says. [continues 1230 words]
"The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein The recent introduction of Bill C-26 by the Harper Conservative government, which provides mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana cultivation and trafficking, is a classic illustration of Einstein's "Definition of Stupidity". Despite the ongoing "War on Drugs", mandatory sentencing, and millions of dollars spent trying to eliminate the drug trade; we continue to have the same results. Bad guys get rich and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill. [continues 159 words]
Dear Editor, Thanks for publishing retired police officer Howard J. Wooldridge's outstanding letter: "Legalize drugs to combat gang violence" (11-30-2007). Of course, many drug war cheerleaders will proclaim that re-legalizing all self-medicating and recreational drugs would be giving in to the drug dealers and drug cartels. When we in the U.S. re-legalized alcohol in 1933, did we give in to the alcohol cartels? No. We put them out of business. KIRK MUSE [end]
Inside Canada
