Until the federal government passes a law that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, widely expected to happen sometime this summer, selling cannabis is illegal. Not only was the Robson Street open-air pot market dealing in an illegal product, it was operating in a public space without permission. If that wasn't enough, the vendors were conducting business without licences, paid no business taxes, and failed to collect GST or provincial sales tax, as every business selling a product or service is required to do. [continues 90 words]
Researchers gear up for last stage of testing before legalization Ed Thompson remembers the helplessness he felt each of the thousands of times his twin daughters would turn blue and go lifeless in his arms. The young girls suffered from acute breath-holding spells, an involuntary condition that causes children to pass out, in their case up to 40 times a day. "Having your kids die in your arms 7,500 times kind of sucks," he said. The girls' conditions eventually improved, but the experience compounded earlier trauma Thompson had witnessed as a firefighter in South Carolina, sending him into a spiral of post traumatic stress, substance abuse and thoughts of suicide. [continues 785 words]
Editor: Re: Greed turns governments into bookie, bootlegger and dealer, Community Comment, Jan. 19 Just a small clarification on Greg Hoover's column. He stated, "The entire reason for this (marijuana) legalization is money and nothing else." That's a very non-researched and inaccurate assumption. There are many good reasons to take this useful and comparatively harmless herb out of courts, off the streets, out of the hands of organized crime and, hopefully, away from children. Of course, teens will still manage to access it just as they're able to get alcohol and cigarettes, but it won't be quite as easy with proper laws in place. If we follow Amsterdam's lead, which seems to help society there, prostitution may be another "vice" worth looking at controlling. Gary Gibbons [end]
A recent illegal cannabis grow operation in North Delta, busted by Delta police, is highlighting the challenges law enforcement will soon face when new marijuana legislation comes into effect later this year. Chief Neil Dubord updated Delta police board members last week on the illegal operation police raided in late November. Dubord said a complaint was received by the mayor's office on Oct. 17 regarding concerns over a potential cannabis grow operation in a home. "Upon investigation, it was learned that Health Canada issued a licence dated Nov. 28 allowing 93 plants to be grown at that location," Dubord said. "Although licensed, drug investigators continued with the investigation due to evidence that suggested the operation was not consistent with 93 plants." [continues 339 words]
Nelson's top cop is preparing for the legalization of recreational marijuana The woman waiting in the reception area of the Nelson Police Department spots Chief Constable Paul Burkart and calls his name. "Hi Paul," she says. The chief smiles and leans out through the open door, asking, "What can I get for you?" The woman tells him she needs some volunteer security clearance forms. Burkart speaks to an officer in the front dispatch area and asks him to assist the visitor. [continues 657 words]
Langara journalism students attended the Jan. 18 Vancouver Police Board meeting When I'm not searching for the truth, or driving my sports-crazy kids around the Lower Mainland -- or deciding whether my tea of the day should be "super green matcha" or turmeric and ginger - I sometimes impart my semi-mad journalism skills on Langara College students. And sometimes, like last Thursday, those students join me on the job. We attended a Vancouver Police Board meeting, where we heard Insp. Bill Spearn of the VPD's major crime section tell us that overdose deaths in the city are still at a crisis level - at least 335 people are suspected of dying in 2017, with more than 80 per cent of the deaths connected to fentanyl. [continues 598 words]
Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall will call it a career next week, confident that the tools are finally in place to tackle the opioid overdose crisis that has ravaged this province for more than three years. Kendall has been among the chief architects of B.C.'s response to the deadly wave of powerful synthetic opioids that have largely replaced heroin in the illicit drug supply. Deputy provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry will replace Kendall when he officially retires on Jan. 31. Henry will become the first woman to serve as B.C.'s provincial health officer. [continues 801 words]
British Columbia's first provincial health officer is resigning after nearly 20 years on a job he calls "incredibly rewarding." Perry Kendall, who declared a public health emergency in 2016 over the province's overdose crisis, will be leaving his post at the end of the month, when the deputy health officer will fill the position. Dr. Kendall has described the opioid epidemic as B.C.'s most devastating health issue because of the high number of deaths from fentanyl, which is cut into street drugs. [continues 337 words]
The City of Vernon, said Coun. Dalvir Nahal to the overflow crowd of more than 70 people who crammed into Vernon council chambers Monday, has a responsibility to taxpayers, business owners and children to make sure what the city is doing in regards to marijuana dispensaries is being done. The city held a public hearing Monday on a zoning text amendment bylaw that is not intended to close down dispensaries that were in operation before Nov. 14, 2017. The bylaw is to bridge the process that will allow dispensaries to continue to operate provided certain conditions are met. [continues 718 words]
Police say booths have been selling weed to kids Despite a recent police crackdown, marijuana vendors who have been selling pot out of booths set up at Robson Square near the Vancouver Art Gallery say they have no intention of stopping. Police arrested four people on Jan. 22 and have charged a fifth person, Vancouver resident David Hill, with drug trafficking. At a press conference Tuesday morning, police said they have recommended 11 charges in total and more charges will be coming. [continues 269 words]
Vancouver police are recommending 11 criminal charges be laid against five people in connection with Sunday's bust of an open-air marijuana market in Vancouver's Robson Square. VPD Deputy Chief Howard Chow says four people were arrested - and another is pending - after police descended on Robson in the block between Hornby and Howe late Sunday evening. But just hours after the police released details of the bust Tuesday, pot was once again being sold on the block. Robert Moore, president of World Cannabis, an anti-prohibition advocacy group, was at the "cannabis farmer's market" Tuesday afternoon but not selling cannabis. [continues 688 words]
Two vices are poised to potentially descend on Delta in the coming months, but it's curious that the reception they're getting from city leaders is markedly different. The federal government is expected to legalize marijuana sometime later this year, which has prompted those over at city hall to compile a laundry list of concerns. Delta doesn't want to see pot grown on local farmland due to its impact on food security and public safety, worried that large-scale pot farms could be a draw for organized crime. The city is also raising questions over public consumption, where marijuana will be sold, how tax revenues will be split and more. [continues 285 words]
Punitive approach behind OD crisis, Susan Boyd says. Canada has been inching toward legal regulation of cannabis for many years. But the fears that paralyzed our country for more than a century are still very much in evidence, despite decades of proof that none of the punitive policies we cling to help reduce drug-related harm. Increasingly, drug prohibition is understood as an issue of social justice and human rights by those who have fought for a better way. The history of Canadian drug prohibition is marked by many pivotal moments and challenges to the status quo, brought forward with passion and insight by community activists, people who use drugs, organizations, constitutional lawyers, researchers, and health and service providers. [continues 633 words]
Vancouver VCH will offer many services in one location Tuesday, January 23, 2018 Vancouver Coastal Health has built a new supervised injection site. But until Health Canada approves the health authority's application, it will sit empty. The new room, built especially to offer injection-drug users a supervised place to shoot up, is part of the new Heatley Community Health Centre. It's designed to offer what its creators call "wrap-around" health care to patients from the Downtown Eastside. And its completion comes in the middle of the worst overdose crisis in B.C.'s history that saw over 1,200 British Columbians die from illicit drug overdoses in 2017. [continues 166 words]
Food cart vendors raised concerns about site An open-air weed market operating in downtown Vancouver's Robson Square has been shut down by police. Complaints were filed in recent weeks with the Vancouver police over vendors who had set up tents and carts in the pedestrian-only area, selling cannabis and related products. Nearby food cart vendors voiced concerns about marijuana booths selling to minors, and there were questions about whether they had business licences such as what is required of the food cart vendors. [continues 262 words]
Dear editor: When is enough enough? Twelve years ago my wife and I decided that we wanted to move to the Okanagan. After a lot of thought and visits, we chose Penticton. What an absolutely wonderful place: sunshine, beaches, festivals, sports and if you stayed all winter very bearable But what has been happening is more break-ins, both on the personal level as well as businesses, thefts are a regular occurrence (the police know who most of these criminals are, it's mostly drug related) resulting in more and more fear amongst good honest citizens. [continues 340 words]
Food vendors had filed complaints about cannabis sales near art gallery An open-air weed market operating in downtown Vancouver's Robson Square has been shut down by police. Complaints were filed in recent weeks with the Vancouver police over vendors who had set up tents and carts in the pedestrian-only area, selling cannabis and related products. Nearby food cart vendors voiced concerns about marijuana booths selling to minors, and there were questions about whether they had business licences, such as what is required of the food cart vendors. [continues 262 words]
Vancouver is one of 16 locations where clinicians hope to use the drug to transform trauma treatment Ed Thompson remembers the helplessness he felt each of the thousands of times his twin daughters would turn blue and go lifeless in his arms. The young girls suffered from acute breath-holding spells, an involuntary condition that causes children to pass out, in their case up to 40 times a day. "Having your kids die in your arms 7,500 times kind of sucks," he said. [continues 833 words]
LSD, MARIJUANA HITS CITY IN 1966 City, police freak out over 'berserk' man On Jan. 17, 1966, The Vancouver Sun published a small story with an alarming headline, Man Goes Berserk While Using Drug. LSD had hit the city. "Police said they found the man, clad only in his pants, running around the 1600-block Yew shortly after 3 a.m., screaming that he was God," said the story. "The man, aged 36, was frothing at the mouth, had a wild-eyed appearance and was completely devoid of reason, police said. [continues 644 words]
A few days before Christmas my son and I were in the site office with a friend of ours solving the problems of the world as we sometimes do. The topic of government taxation came up and how every aspect of life is taxed. As the conversation continued, our friend Mike expressed a point of view we had never considered so I asked and received his permission to use it here, with some background and explanation. When I was a teenager I worked part-time at my dad's General Motors dealership and every now and then this old fellow walked through the shop saying hello to all the mechanics and would wind up going out the back door where he would just stand around. Over the next few minutes the mechanics would lay down their tools one at a time and go out to talk to him, as well as the car salesmen and fellows from the parts department. After a few minutes of this, the old fellow left just the same way he came in, which was all a mystery to a teenager in the early 1960s. [continues 402 words]
Inside British Columbia
