A tincture brought relief to 92-year-old Raymond Hayley, which also made things a little easier for his son and caretaker, William Before passing away suddenly in September 2016, Doreen Hayley made her son swear not to put his father, Raymond, in a care home. The "normal bachelor life" William Hayley had been living in Vancouver was about to come to a halt: with his mother gone and his 92-year-old father suffering from Parkinson's disease, he was thrown into the position of caretaker without an instruction manual. [continues 780 words]
Re: Pot isn't a gateway, Letters, Jan. 11. I survived the drug culture beginning in the '60s and '70s and count myself extremely fortunate to have escaped with most of my faculties. And, no, I'm not a recovering addict - anything but. I've also heard all the 'potaganda' puffed out by the pro-pot population for the last 30 years or so. Let's talk 'gateway' drug for a minute. During the years I indulged, almost everyone I knew who went to pot, so to speak, invariably indulged in other drugs of the day; namely mescaline, LSD, MDA and the like. It all starts with pot. The quest for an ever-better high is irresistible. [continues 197 words]
Of course growing tomatoes, cucumbers and the like is a legitimate use of agricultural land. After all, the Agricultural Land Reserve was created to do just that. Right? Hmm, well kinda. The fact is tomatoes et al tend to be grown in greenhouses and those greenhouses are built by covering acres of prime agricultural land with slabs of concrete, which are then enclosed and outfitted with elaborate lighting, heating and watering systems. In fact, they're more warehouse than they are farm. [continues 418 words]
To help the local youth identify and avoid the decisions that can lead to severe drug addiction, members of the Okanagan Correctional Centre were at Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School last week to have a frank discussion with the Grade 5, 6 and 7 students. The conversation was led by assistant deputy warden Keith Pearce and security officer Mitch Fritz, who spoke about their volunteer experiences doing outreach in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. Joining them on their missions are players from the Penticton Vees. [continues 782 words]
Police chief vows to do 'whatever it takes' to find justice for bystander More than 50 Vancouver police officers are hunting for a suspect after a teen bystander died following a gang shootout that also killed one of the shooters. VPD Chief Adam Palmer said Monday he is heartbroken that a 15-year-old Coquitlam boy was killed after being struck by a bullet while riding in his parents' car. "Every time criminals decide to exchange gunfire on our streets, they endanger the lives of everybody around them," Palmer said. "The events of Saturday night were reckless, reprehensible and there is no justification for this type of senseless violence in our city." [continues 821 words]
Vernon City Hall continues to walk a line of uncertainty over how and where marijuana might be legally purchased in the city. While Ottawa is on board with legalizing the sale of marijuana, the province is yet to work out the rules for its retail availability. As a result, all B.C. communities are left in a zoning bylaw quandary on how to proceed. In response on Monday, council gave first reading to bylaw 5000 amendments limiting the sale of cannabis in Vernon retail outlets to provide some legal clarification until the province mandates how and where marijuana is to be sold. [continues 362 words]
The ban on cannabis businesses extends to July and does not include current medical dispensaries Only two people presented their views at a public hearing held by city hall on Monday to get the public's reaction to a proposed moratorium on recreational cannabis sales. Both presentations took less than one minute. Brenton Raby said he supports the moratorium. He said he hopes the city will change its terminology by replacing the word "marijuana" with the word "cannabis." Herb Couch said he is pleased that the moratorium does not include medical cannabis. [continues 178 words]
As a longtime consumer of pot, I was highly offended by letter-writer Bozenna Siedlecka's theory that life for marijuana users is not "worth living." You're saying Beatles legend Paul McCartney's life is worthless? How about CNN founder Ted Turner's? The great actor Jack Nicholson? Former U.S. president Barack Obama? That's naming just a few public figures who have smoked marijuana. Any one of these folks has made a bigger contribution to society, I am sure, than Siedlecka. Rod Barron, Surrey [end]
Illegal booths continue to operate in downtown square despite mayor's vow to crack down After Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said to "stay tuned" to see how the city and police plan to oust illegal pot vendors from the Vancouver Art Gallery square, a handful of vendors were still operating an open drug market there. Darren Tarry, owner of DZ Buddz, is one of the unlicensed marijuana vendors regularly setting up shop on the south side of the Vancouver Art Gallery. [continues 694 words]
When it becomes legal later this year, the City of Armstrong hopes to be ready for the production and selling of marijuana within its boundaries. The city asked for, and received, direction from staff on the legalization of marijuana in Canada - which is slated to come into law July 1 - and potential municipal regulatory rules. "We have to realize that come July, there will be changes," said Mayor Chris Pieper. "We have to look forward to handling the direction of our federal government. We haven't been involved in this but it's evolving in front of us everyday. [continues 336 words]
Less that six months before the start of the legal marijuana era begins, here's what the B.C. government has decided when it comes to how to handle it: * The minimum age for consumption and possession will be 19, * Wholesales distribution will be handled by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch, * Retail sales will go through some mix of public and private stores. There's a bit more to this than just those items. B.C. and other provinces have also succeeded in budging the federal government off its original offer of a 50-50 sharing of cannabis tax revenues. It's going to be 75 per cent to the provinces, and Ottawa's share is capped at $100 million a year. That suggests that the federal government won't be making much money off this change, not that it expected much, given the new costs to be incurred. Whether the provinces can turn a buck from the new revenue stream remains to be seen, since they'll bear most of the new costs. [continues 533 words]
Terry Lake, the former B.C. health minister who oversaw the declaration of a public-health emergency amid the deadly fentanyl crisis, is urging more research on the effects of marijuana on opioid addictions. Now a vice-president at a medical cannabis company, Lake said there is preliminary evidence that shows marijuana can help people with addictions reduce their use of hard drugs and ease the painful symptoms of withdrawal. "I'm not saying it's the answer to the opioid crisis. I'm saying it's one of the options we should explore," said Lake, who chose not to run in last spring's provincial election. "It's very promising and deserving of further research and there's no better place to do that than in British Columbia." [continues 475 words]
Addiction is a serious issue, but it shouldn't be a criminal one, says Derek Chang. "I just learned that my cousin overdosed at a friend's party. His friends were afraid of calling 911 and left him alone. He was eventually brought to the hospital but remained in a coma and died the following day." Biting her lips, my patient told me this painful news in the clinic. I thought I wouldn't be hearing these kinds of tragedies again after the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act came into legislation last year. [continues 689 words]
Re: "Needle warning issued after 2 pricks in 2 days," Jan. 11. I agree that it is distressing when a child or anyone else is pricked by a foreign needle. However, the furor over this and similar incidents overshadows the real problem that we have today with drug and other substance abuse. Until we address the poverty and homelessness problem that exists today across the country, we will always have addictions. If the basic level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is not met, people suffer. That suffering hurts, and people find ways to numb the hurt. That way is through substance abuse. [continues 86 words]
People in crisis are seen quickly, while access to needed services When she was mired in a seemingly endless drug addiction, Phyliss Sauve couldn't slog her way through the health care and social services systems that were intended to help her. It was nearly impossible to make or keep appointments with doctors, drug counsellors and social workers when she had no home, no phone, no car. "You don't see any way out, and I would get frustrated, so I would just keep doing what I was doing." [continues 1752 words]
Canada will be the greatest tourist destination for drug sales and tourism Editor, There is a lot of talk about legalizing the marijuana weed and other psychedelics. Pay no attention to the narrow-minded, inconsiderate, uneducated opposition aligned with the anti-democratic, misogynist, racist, reactionary old school. One thing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows is drugs, and that's why legalizing marijuana is a high priority for our Liberal Federal Government. Considerate people like us have an obligation to command progress for social change for the working class. [continues 178 words]
The methods Penticton police used to search phones connected to a drug investigation were again called into question on Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court. Jennifer Montgomery, 31, is facing one charge of possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of simple possession of heroin and methamphetamine. Her trial began Wednesday. Montgomery's phone was seized by police after a search warrant was executed June 22, 2016, at her Penticton home, where RCMP Const. Chad Jackson testified drugs and paraphernalia associated with drug dealing were found. [continues 310 words]
Abbotsford-Mission was declared the "murder capital of Canada" for its homicide rates in 2008 and 2009 - at the height of a drug war between the Red Scorpions and UN gangs. Now a different gang conflict is putting the area back in the running for the title. The Abbotsford-Mission census metropolitan (CMA) area tallied 10 murders in 2017, one in Mission and nine in Abbotsford. The local CMA is one of 33 included in Statistics Canada homicide rates formally released every July for the previous year. [continues 739 words]
Dear editor: This is a response to Gord Marshall's wherein he states "Pot smokers will hurt the water system" (Daily Courier, Jan. 9). Mr. Marshall, your statement may or may not be true. From what I have seen, pot smokers generally keep their roaches, as they are called (not butts), because pot is expensive and the old roach material can be used later in another joint or pipe. There is very little waste. Also, people don't hang out on the corner drinking beer because there are bars to go to, where you can relax and have a drink. Very civilized. Looks like pot smokers will have no such luxury. [continues 76 words]
Marijuana, cannabis, pot, whatever you want to call it, it will become legal in Canada sometime this year following the U.S. where pot is legal in several states. I do not smoke pot or anything else. Two glasses of wine and I am asleep. I do get high though watching the Patriots and the Red Sox win. I am also asthmatic and any kind of smoke bothers me. There is a lot of kerfuffle going on and this is my take on this hot topic. [continues 554 words]