The federal government is looking to eliminate licensed medical marijuana grow-ops in homes. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced Sunday a planned shift to a new system of regulated commercial producers of medical pot who will supply authorized users with a doctor's prescription. The plan could adversely affect the North Island Compassion Club, which sells medicinal marijuana and other medications such as cannabis-infused oil to help people who live with cancer and other ailments. "There's nothing in these new regulations that allow for compassion clubs," said NICC manager Ernie Yacub, noting government is considering allowing nurse practitioners to prescribe medical marijuana. "They would absolutely have to do that because doctors have been the problem. They've been the gatekeeper. They won't prescribe." [continues 269 words]
'They were poor, aboriginal, drug addicted and they were not taken seriously' Bias against the poor, drug-addicted sex workers in Vancouver's troubled Downtown Eastside led to a series of failures that allowed serial killer Robert Pickton to spend years hunting his victims unimpeded by police, a public inquiry has found. Commissioner Wally Oppal's 1,448-page final report, released Monday, chronicles years of mistakes that allowed Pickton to lure dozens of women to his farm in Port Coquitlam, with little interference from police and even less concern from the public. [continues 451 words]
Sensible Policing Act Means BC Would Stop Enforcing Federal Possession Laws If his Sensible BC campaign can secure enough signatures next year, Dana Larsen, co-founder of the BC Marijuana Party and former BC NDP leader candidate, hopes that in September 2014 there will be a referendum on decriminalizing marijuana possession in the province. "The success of the anti-HST campaign shows that it can be done," Larsen told a small group in Parksville last week. His Sensible Policing Act would effectively decriminalize marijuana possession in BC. [continues 401 words]
The recent legalization of marijuana by the states of Colorado and Washington shows that attitudes towards the drug have been changing. A Canadian poll recently cited in the Toronto Star revealed that 65 per cent of Canadians support either legalization and taxation of the drug or decriminalizing it in small amounts. These aren't just the votes belonging to your campus college liberal meme or peacenik hippie. As a whole, Canada is tuning into the economic and societal benefits of legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. [continues 440 words]
Oh Canada, are we are at odds on yet another very emotional issue? Oil . gas ... China? I want to thank Harry G. Kapeikis for sharing his perspective. I hope all levels of governments will work together to determine if oil and gas lobbyists are being honest with us. I fear they may be trying to take advantage of the 'niceness' of Canadians. I also find MP Dan Albas open to discussion. If anyone is concerned with the China-Canada Trade Deal (FIFA) or the direction the Conservatives are taking us, pick up the phone or stop in at his office. Dan could use our support, praise and advice. [continues 200 words]
As he tours Vancouver Island, Dana Larsen is promoting the Sensible Policing Act in an effort to decriminalize cannabis possession in B.C. Larsen - director of the Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary who sought the provincial NDP leadership last year - spoke to supporters Saturday at the Filberg Centre in Courtenay. He is leading a Sensible BC campaign in hopes of securing a referendum on the act. Volunteers will collect signatures next year from September to November. If 10 per cent of registered voters in every riding in B.C. sign the petition, a referendum would occur in September 2014. [continues 198 words]
The Vancouver Island Health Authority's announcement of the return of fixed-site needle-exchange services ("service hubs") to Victoria, after five years of false starts and delays, raises some important questions. Why is VIHA taking so long to reintroduce this basic harm-reduction service? Can Victoria residents be confident we won't see similar implementation failures when it comes to other components of health policy, such as supervised consumption services or drug and alcohol maintenance programs? Five years is a long time for a health authority to fail to provide services mandated by the province. [continues 558 words]
Yesterday's news is old news, I know, but something came to mind after I watched a crowd of people smoking pot while celebrating the legalization of "recreational" pot use in Washington State. What came to mind was an old skit done by Bob Newhart. For people of my age (mid-50s), you have likely heard Bob Newhart doing the vocal part of the head of the West Indies Company in England in a telephone conversation with Sir Walter Raleigh, who had called him from the colonies in North America. [continues 338 words]
Two things Premier Christy Clark really wants for Christmas: A big boost in tax revenue and an even bigger boost in the opinion polls. So why not legalize marijuana? After all, a large majority of British Columbians now support legalizing pot (75 per cent, according to pollster Angus Reid) and taxes on legal bud could generate $500 million a year, says the International Journal of Drug Policy. But Clark won't touch the issue with a 10-foot bong. "It's not even provincial jurisdiction, so I'm not spending my time prognosticating about it," Clark told me in a wide-ranging, year-end interview in her office this week. [continues 415 words]
An Abbotsford marijuana advocate charged with drug trafficking was acquitted Monday when a judge tossed out the evidence after ruling a police search violated the accused's Charter rights. Pot activist Tim Felger was charged with one count of possession and six counts of drug trafficking after Abbotsford Police raided his Da Kine shop on Essendene Avenue in Abbotsford on May 13, 2009. Chilliwack Supreme Court Justice Brian Joyce had ruled on Oct. 26 that Abbotsford Police had conducted an unlawful search at Da Kine, but reserved his decision about what evidence, if any, from the search would be allowed. [continues 457 words]
Medical marijuana may be an effective substitute for prescription drugs or alcohol, just as methadone is used to treat heroin addicts, says addiction researcher and former Victoria city councillor Philippe Lucas. "The fastest rate of addiction right now is to pharmaceutical opiates, and it's also the fastest rising rate of morbidity and mortality. In other words, people are [overdosing] on pharmaceutical opiates," said Lucas, who recently published a research paper online in the Journal of Addiction Research and Theory. "This is the second paper I've published this year that suggests cannabis can significantly potentially reduce the amount of pharmaceutical opiates that particularly those who suffer from chronic pain need." [continues 323 words]
Re: Doctors hesitant to be pot 'gatekeeper,' Opinion, Dec. 5 I appreciated Sharon Kirkey's wide-ranging coverage of a difficult topic. From the perspective of a doctor who supports patients who use medicinal marijuana, I was disappointed that there was not clearer acknowledgment of two details that I consider important. The first is that there is a significant difference between the use of cannabis for recreation, and its use for medicine. The difference is not well understood, but they are clearly not the same thing. [continues 128 words]
British Columbia currently has a debt of about $1.5 billion. On Nov. 30, Global reported that if B.C. were to build all the hospitals it currently needs by 2020, that is, in the next seven years, the cost would be about $80 billion. The news reporter questioned how anyone could imagine the B.C. government acquiring enough money to pay for it all. I think I can answer the question. The government needs to cultivate, sell and tax marijuana. [continues 102 words]
Re: Salomon Rayek's column "Pot legalization a bad message to send to kids." Salomon, your arguments are absurd. An authentic harm-reduction program that allows marijuana only for necessary prescription alternatives has had support among physicians. Back in the 1980s, there was a list of 17 doctors in Edmonton who would prefer to prescribe pot than synthetic drugs for pain management. The work of Dr. Mate has overwhelmed objections to providing access to substances in a controlled rehab program that gets at the addictive motivations. [continues 85 words]
Experts: good message but questionable execution An Abbotsford Police initiative that involves sending Christmas cards featuring the chief in a Santa suit with a bullet-proof vest and assault rifle to prolific offenders is getting mixed reviews from experts. The APD Christmas card shows Chief Bob Rich in the traditional red suit and white beard as well as body armour and a rifle with the question: "Which list will you be on . . . naughty or nice?" The card then suggests that the recipient is "one choice away from changing your life," and encourages them to make a New Year's resolution to leave crime behind and provides an APD helpline number people can call. [continues 528 words]
Giving physicians control over who can get medical marijuana would be welcomed by operators of Nanaimo's newest compassion club, but some doctors worry about the move. Health Canada recently consulted doctors on giving them sole authority to issue medical marijuana licences to patients. Proponents say cannabis is useful to treat pain, nausea and as an appetite stimulant for such conditions as cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Users must have a licence from Health Canada to legally own or grow small quantities of the drug. [continues 323 words]
Pot Advocate Ted Smith Has High Hopes For The Future Shortly after his 16th birthday, Leon (Ted) Smith smoked his first joint. He was on a family vacation in Ontario and joined his cousin and some of his cousin's friends at a rented fishing cabin. "I remember feeling quite intoxicated and being intimidated that I had to go back to supper with my parents completely out of sorts," recalls Smith in a telephone interview. Smith was born in the farming community of Monkton, Ont. - population approximately 540. It was 1985 when Smith smoked his first joint. His parents didn't approve or partake themselves, although they had close friends who did. [continues 441 words]
Imagine you have cancer. Your doctor prescribes marijuana to relieve your pain. For those who don't want to smoke the dried government bud or grow the plant, medical cannabis dispensaries make marijuana accessible in other forms such as baked goods, said Rielle Capler, a co-ordinator of a UBC Peter Wall Solutions Initiative project to certify dispensaries. But dispensaries aren't exactly legal or well understood. In an effort to legitimize what they do in the eyes of patients, physicians, lawmakers and the public, the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries teamed up with the UBC researchers to create a certification program. [continues 682 words]
Former NDP leadership candidate Dana Larsen appears to have a thoughtful, well-considered plan to force the powers-that-be to reconsider their stance on marijuana. It is matched by his rationale as to why this potential policy shift is a good idea. Let's hope these two simple facts can coincide in such a way that we can finally get one of our country's more ridiculous laws off the books. Legal marijuana is not a panacea for all that ails our society. It is not going to cure cancer, halt global warming or make us all just get along. [continues 235 words]
Expanded harm-reduction services helpful, but more medical care also needed, Victoria councillors say Victoria councillors are lauding an initiative to help those with addiction and mental-health problems, but some are urging the Vancouver Island Health Authority to invest in treatment as well as harm reduction. In an effort to reach the most vulnerable people, the Access Health Centre on Johnson Street and the Withdrawal Management complex (the Sobering Centre) at Cook and Pembroke streets will expand their services. The two hubs will offer a needle exchange and activities ranging from addictions counselling and methadone maintenance at the Access Centre to art therapy and peer-support groups at the Cook/Pembroke site. [continues 277 words]
Inside British Columbia
