Bong Bust Landed Cheech's Old Partner In Jail TORONTO - Tommy Chong, one half of the legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong, exudes as much serenity sipping on a cup of coffee in a downtown hotel as one might expect from a lifelong pothead. But three years ago, the Canadian-born Chong had good reason to freak out - agents for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency burst into his California home and busted him for selling bongs online, the first time an obscure law dealing with such offences had ever been enforced. [continues 641 words]
Not Fair, Says Pair Kicked Out Of School Until February FALL RIVER - The two Grade 12 Lockview High students who were expelled for paddling say the punishment doesn't fit the crime. [Name redacted] , 17, was booted from school until February for paddling two students earlier this month. "It shouldn't have happened," said the Beaver Bank teen about the hazing. "But it was done to us all in past years, so we never thought anything of it. When the Grade 9s (who are about to be paddled) are sitting there telling you, 'Go ahead, whatever,' you don't really think it's that bad." [continues 466 words]
To The Editor, Regarding Gwynne Dyer's thoughtful Sept. 18th column, Afghanistan profits from the opium trade because of drug prohibition, not in spite of it. Attempts to limit supply while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. Heroin produced in Afghanistan is primarily consumed in Europe, a continent already experimenting with harm reduction alternatives to the drug war. Switzerland's heroin maintenance trials have been shown to reduce drug-related disease, death, and crime among chronic users. [continues 129 words]
To The Editor: Re: Tories Slash $1b From Programs, The Daily News, Sept. 26: I don't know about the rest of you, but to me, the federal government's annual budget report seems to be a warning of things to come. With tourism at an all-time low, is this really a good time to drop the visitors'-tax rebate? By the look of the dollar amount - $78.8 million - quite a few tourists took advantage of it. This seems very short-sighted. [continues 352 words]
Noting the remarkable staying power of the Taliban, observers have been speculating about the reason. On the face of it, the harsh rule of Afghanistan's former masters is unlikely to elicit nostalgia. Even allowing for the peculiarities of the region - backwardness, tribalism, and so on - what could these fanatic martinets of Islamist militancy offer to Afghan villagers to merit as much popular support as they seem to enjoy? How much support, exactly? Not overwhelming, but enough to keep Mullah Omar's followers in the game, and cost some Canadian lives. Support in adversity, one might add, when support is notoriously hard to come by. Being supported when flush with success is one thing, but the Taliban has been on the run for the last five years. Cruel, oppressive, unattractive, defeated - Afghans shouldn't give such sullen mullahs the time of the day. Indeed, many don't, but amazingly some do, which raises the question, why? [continues 593 words]
Most people in Afghanistan are farmers. If Hamid Karzai's Western-backed government in Kabul is to survive, it must have their support. So not destroying their main cash crop should be an obvious priority for Karzai's foreign supporters. But what the hell, let's go burn some poppies. "We need to realize that we could actually fail here," said Lieutenant General David Richards, British commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan. In south-western Afghanistan, where 7,000 British, Canadian and Dutch troops were committed during the summer to contain a resurgent Taliban, the guerillas now actually stand and fight, even against Nato's overwhelming firepower and air power and everything that moves on the roads gets ambushed. [continues 820 words]
Most people in Afghanistan are farmers. If Hamid Karzai's Western-backed government in Kabul is to survive, it must have their support. So not destroying their main cash crop should be an obvious priority for Karzai's foreign supporters. But what the hell, let's go burn some poppies. "We need to realise that we could actually fail here," said Lieutenant General David Richards, British commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, last week. In south-western Afghanistan, where 7,000 British, Canadian and Dutch troops were committed during the summer to contain a resurgent Taliban, the guerillas now actually stand and fight, even against Nato's overwhelming firepower and air power, and everything that moves on the roads gets ambushed. [continues 650 words]
Most people in Afghanistan are farmers. If Hamid Karzai's Western-backed government in Kabul is to survive, it must have their support. So not destroying their main cash crop should be an obvious priority for Karzai's foreign supporters. But what the hell, let's go burn some poppies. "We need to realize that we could actually fail here," said Lieutenant General David Richards, British commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, last week. In south-western Afghanistan, where 7,000 British, Canadian and Dutch troops were committed during the summer to contain a resurgent Taliban, the guerrillas now actually stand and fight, even against NATO's overwhelming firepower and air power, and everything that moves on the roads gets ambushed. [continues 820 words]
Stronger Sentences Needed To Deter Crime: Police Sydney - Shadows of the island's drug trade surface in many criminal charges now at historic levels in this region, say police. At first glance, drug trafficking looks like a non-violent offence, said Chief Edgar MacLeod, Cape Breton Regional Police. "But it's what the whole business of drugs leads to," he said. "People need to understand this is a concern for everyone." Serious investigations overwhelm the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's five-member street and drug unit and devour most of the team's time and resources. Since Jan. 1 2006, the unit has laid 24 charges of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking (11 for cocaine and 13 for marijuana), six drug trafficking charges and six charges of possession for drug substances like Ecstasy and OxyContin. [continues 647 words]
Bible Hill - A fly-by by Colchester County Mounties has netted a few small marijuana grow-ops. The RCMP, with assistance from the Northeast Nova Drug Section, harvested the mature plants yesterday in the Stewiacke River Valley and Denmark. "We located four sites of illegal grow operations," said Sgt. Dave Darrah. He said there were several hundred plants seized from Upper Stewiacke to Stewiacke and about 50 from Denmark. The value of the plants was not known yesterday. Darrah said it does regular aerial surveillance at this time of the year and in some cases plants are grown on Crown land while other times it is on private property without the land owner's knowledge. Darrah said police are continuing to investigate these grow operations but suspect they were either for personal use or small commercial operation. He said people who see anything unusual should contact police or Crime Stoppers. [end]
A former Saint Mary's University basketball star who ran a marijuana-growing operation out of his house received a nine-month conditional sentence to be served in the community when he appeared in Halifax provincial court Wednesday. Cory Jefferson Janes had earlier pleaded guilty to a single count of producing cannabis (marijuana) in what was described as a "modest" grow op at his Terence Bay Road residence on Feb. 23, 2005. Federal Crown attorney Shaun O'Leary said the hydroponic operation in the basement of Mr. Janes' home generated a crop about once a week. [continues 213 words]
Tuna Venture Has Very Nasty Taint Robert Forsey and three other Halifax-area men thought they'd landed dream tuna fishing jobs last fall. But within weeks of setting sail, they fled the ship's heavily armed, drug-running bosses in Trinidad, fearing for their lives after enduring death threats. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Mr. Forsey later learned the federal government sent those same smugglers his new address, phone number and other private information three weeks ago. Now, he's planning to move with his wife and preschool son for the second time in eight months to keep his family safe. [continues 1327 words]
Open A Halifax Needle Exchange, Says Lezlie Lowe. The International AIDS Conference is done. Now the majority of the world can feel OK about ignoring an epidemic for another two years. Sounds pessimistic, I know. But I feel pessimistic. And not only because prime minister Stephen Harper didn't bother to show up at the conference, held this year in Toronto, but because it seems like among all AIDS 2006's good work and good news, there are still great forces out there who believe HIV is first a moral issue and second a virus. [continues 539 words]
SYDNEY -- Officials behind the region's methadone maintenance program are trying to bring the service closer to those who need it to battle their drug addictions. A central office will remain at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, but Addictions Services is in the process of establishing satellite offices in New Waterford and Glace Bay. Negotiations are also underway in an effort to open an office in North Sydney. "What we're hoping is that we will have a methadone office located in each of these three communities to serve in the clients in their communities so that they don't have to travel and it would be a much more user-friendly service," said Barry MacNeil, a manager with Addictions Services. [continues 409 words]
Police Uncover Grow-Op In George's River GEORGE'S RIVER -- Police can thank the public for helping to bust a major grow operation on Scotchlake Road in George's River. A couple in their 40's were taken into custody. The female was arrested at the home Thursday evening. The male was arrested when he showed up at his house at about 2 a.m. on Friday. The two spent the night in jail and were released Friday on strict conditions. They have been ordered to appear in Provincial Court in October on charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. [continues 399 words]
Anecdotal Evidence From Drug Users ADDICTION -- Signs of crystal meth are showing up on the streets of Halifax. A nurse who works at a youth shelter and a clinic for drug users says she has heard anecdotal evidence, mainly from drug users who said they took it unknowingly. Patti Melanson, a nurse at Phoenix Youth Shelter and Direction 180, said people who are accustomed to using crack and ecstasy are reporting longer and different highs than usual. Crystal meth can cause a high that lasts 10 to 12 hours. [continues 399 words]
Tom McMullen ran out of the medication that gave him his life back about two weeks ago, and he can't get more. The Prospect Bay man is an authorized medical marijuana user and buys his drugs directly from Health Canada. But the bill for the 90 grams he's allowed each month is 80 per cent of his monthly Canada Pension, his only source of income. Mr. McMullen, 42, owes the agency more than $1,000 and has been told he won't be sent more marijuana until he clears the debt. [continues 693 words]
A new national report on organized crime has identified 10 street gangs in Nova Scotia, although police in Halifax say groups here aren't as organized as their counterparts elsewhere. The annual report by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada highlighted street gangs and said in the Atlantic region, gangs are involved in street-level drug trafficking and prostitution, with rare use of guns and knives in crime. In other urban centres, such as Toronto and Montreal, violent clashes are more frequent and involve guns, the report said. [continues 348 words]
Even though it might not be in Halifax yet, crystal meth has a presence that looms from the street to the legislature. But curbing the drug's spread will take more than laws that make it harder to buy Sudafed. Let's begin with the simplest fact there is about crystal methamphetamine in Halifax: it's not here. The Halifax Regional Police Service has never arrested anybody for possession of the drug, a powerful stimulant that's sold in rock form like crack and can be smoked in a pipe or, when it's in powder form, eaten, snorted or dissolved in water and injected. "You want to talk about meth?" detective Ken Burton of the drug section says. "It's going to be a short conversation." [continues 6145 words]
What I wouldn't give for a row of grow lights and a handful of seeds. Add a token amount of knowledge and the right words on my application and I could well be the next national supplier of marijuana for the federal government's medicinal herb program. For the past five years or so Prairie Plant Systems has been under contract to grow reefer for approximately 300 patients approved under the program's stringent guidelines. The work was worth more than $5 million to the company which did its horticulturing underground in Flin Flon, Man. [continues 822 words]
Inside Nova Scotia
