AMHERST - Rickey Simpson asked the jury of his Supreme Court trial to put themselves in his shoes. "If you were to discover a cure for cancer, could you, in good conscience, keep the information from others? Would you not have tried to help people?" he asked during his closing argument. Simpson, who has a strong belief he found a cure for cancer in marijuana oil, is facing one count each of possession of marijuana, possession of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the purpose of trafficking, and producing cannabis marijuana. The second count was amended from cannabis resin to THC after an analysis performed on oil found during an RCMP raid at Simpson's home in Aug. 2005 proved to be THC. [continues 226 words]
Maccan-Area Man Asks Court Not To Find Him Guilty AMHERST - A Maccan-area man urged a Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury Monday to find him not guilty of three drug charges because the marijuana he possessed and produced was a cure for cancer. "If you were to discover the cure for cancer, could you in good conscience keep the information from others?" Richard Logan Simpson asked in his summation. "If . . . you contacted every person or agency who you thought might be able to help make the cure available and they did nothing, would you still not feel compelled to continue to grow, process and provide the cure? All you have to do is put yourselves in my shoes. Would you not have tried to help people? [continues 435 words]
AMHERST - During his six years on the job, RCMP Const. David Baldwin has never known a hemp grower to tell police where he or she intended to grow their crop. That's what the jury heard during day two of the Supreme Court trial versus Rickey Simpson, a man who believes he has the cure for cancer and is charged with one count each of possession of marijuana, possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking and unlawful production of marijuana. [continues 262 words]
SYDNEY -- Addicts looking to score some easy cash are the main cause behind the increasing number of armed robberies in the Sydney area, the associate chief of police said Friday. Nearly 30 armed robberies have taken place in Sydney in 2007 -- a spike of more than 30 per cent compared to last year's figures. "There's a rise in the robberies and most of the (suspects) say the only reason they're doing it is because they have drug problems," Associate Chief Dave Wilson said. "It's a quick cash grab so they can go get a quick fix." [continues 340 words]
STELLARTON - A half-tonne of marijuana looks like this: a chest-high pile of woody-stemmed, aromatic green stuff spread on the cement floor of a garage at the Pictou County RCMP office in Stellarton. Investigators seized more than 750 plants, some up to two metres tall and most of them bushy, during a series of raids in Pictou County on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The plants were full of buds and appeared ready to harvest, noted RCMP Const. Bill Rudolph, lead investigator in the case. [continues 155 words]
Maccan-Area Man Tells Court Law Does Not Exist AMHERST - A Maccan-area man who says marijuana cures cancer admitted Thursday he grew marijuana on his property, turned it into an oil and distributed the oil free of charge to people fighting a variety of diseases. However, Ricky Logan Simpson, 57, told the jury hearing his Nova Scotia Supreme Court trial on three drug charges that he should not be considered a criminal because the laws forbidding the possession, growing and distribution of marijuana are unconstitutional. [continues 369 words]
The head of the RCMP drug squad in Sydney offered a revealingly muted defence of the use of expensive helicopter time in the recent marijuana grow-op sweep that netted 1,122 plants at 25 sites. Cape Bretoners pay federal taxes that go to pay for the helicopter so it makes sense to put it to some use here, suggested Sgt. Loran Gavel. Const. D.W. Reginato of the regional police force, which found more than 50 plants at a Millville residence the same day in the co-ordinated operation, related the bust to crimes committed for drug money. Though marijuana traffic is often linked to other drugs and other crimes, it's doubtful that much secondary crime can be attributed to cannabis itself. [continues 438 words]
AMHERST - It would take 76 years for one person to smoke all the marijuana that was found growing on the property of a Maccan-area man who claims the drug cures cancer, an RCMP drug expert said Wednesday. "And that person would have to be a heavy user," Cpl. James Duggan testified on the third day of Ricky Logan Simpson's jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Mr. Simpson, 57, faces charges of possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana, possessing less than three kilograms of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking and unlawfully producing marijuana. [continues 519 words]
AMHERST - If a heavy cannabis user were to grow 1,190 plants for personal use, it would take approximately 76 years to use the supply of bud produced in its entirety, according to Cpl. James Duggan, the expert witness for the Crown during Rick Simpson's Supreme Court trial. "A very heavy user that I've spoken to has said he smokes 10 (marijuana) joints per day. At between one-third to one-half gram per joint, that relates to approximately three grams per day," said Duggan, who has been dedicated to the Northeast Nova Drug Section since 2001. [continues 280 words]
Cumberland County Man Can't Convince Court That Drug Can Cure Cancer AMHERST - A Cumberland County man who claims marijuana cures cancer appeared frustrated when some questions he asked witnesses during his trial on drug charges were ruled out of order. Ricky Logan Simpson, who is defending himself, sighed and shook his head when Justice Felix Cacchione intervened for about the 12th time Tuesday to prevent him from questioning one of four RCMP officers during the second day of his trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. [continues 447 words]
First Witness Walks Through Search Warrant Execution AMHERST - An anonymous tip about Rickey Simpson's marijuana grow operations lead to the confiscation of just under 1,200 plants in various stages, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday afternoon. The jury, compiled of three women and nine men, heard from the first Crown witness, Const. Dave Baldwin of the RCMP Cumberland Detachment's Amherst office, during day one of Simpson's trial. Simpson, who is representing himself, is charged with one count each of possession of marijuana, possession of cannabis resin for the purpose of trafficking and unlawfully producing marijuana. [continues 297 words]
Police Seize, Destroy 600 Mariajuana Plants Following Discovery Of Grow-Op WYVERN - It's harvesting time in Nova Scotia, but not for some local pot growers. Police were out in full force in Wyvern, Cumberland County, Friday after discovering a marijuana crop in the area. Aided by a helicopter, the RCMP found, cut and confiscated about 600 plants from a wooded area near the Cumberland Snowmobile Club's clubhouse. Sgt. Gord Stewart said the seizure is part of a joint operation of the Cumberland RCMP, Amherst and Springhill police departments, and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia. [continues 316 words]
Last week a Sea King helicopter scoured the ground in an attempt to locate marijuana plants growing in Shelburne County. 500 marijuana plants were discovered growing outdoors in the small village of Sable River Wednesday. "Operation Sabot" is a national, yearly marijuana eradication program run by the South West Nova Drug Section in cooperation with the local police force. "This time of the year," explains Sgt. Barry MacLellan of the Shelburne RCMP, "if anyone is growing plants outside; now is the time when they are ripe." [continues 230 words]
Outdoor Marijuana Crops To Be Destroyed WYVERN - It's harvesting time in Cumberland County, but not for some local pot growers. Police were out in full force in Wyvern Friday after discovering a marijuana crop in the area. Aided by a helicopter, the RCMP found, cut, and confiscated about 600 plants from a wooded area near the Cumberland Snowmobile Club's clubhouse. Sgt. Gord Stewart said the seizure is part of a joint operation of the Cumberland RCMP, Amherst and Springhill police departments, and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia. [continues 317 words]
Total Of 1,122 Plants Seized SYDNEY - Drug squad officers in an RCMP helicopter were flying over Cape Breton this week in an operation aimed at nipping marijuana grow-ops in the bud. The RCMP officers found several grow-ops where 1,122 plants were seized. Const. Kal George said the aim of the marijuana eradication program is to get rid of the illegal drug at source before it hits the street. There are probably many other grow-ops in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, he said. [continues 164 words]
Chummy Anthony became an activist for the Marijuana Party of Canada in 2003 and spoke with conviction as he recalled the personal journey that led to his advocacy against the injustice of marijuana laws. Anthony says public pressures; police monitoring; family feuds; and severe arthritis pain were overwhelming when he decided, against all personal beliefs of marijuana being a healthy substance and a constitutional right, to research the proper way of obtaining a permit for medical marijuana in 2002. A doctor uncomfortable with prescribing medical marijuana suggested a computer access site would be beneficial to procure a permit, Anthony said. "I went into a public computer access site with my 10-year-old son and started punching up information about medical marijuana. [continues 688 words]
To the editor: It is with great concern that I read the police will treat marijuana the same as they treat crack cocaine and other harmful drugs. Most people knew the federal Regressive Conservatives would start the crackdown soon enough. The first thing they did was cancel medical research into marijuana, then tell doctors to reduce its potency. Now, they're going to start putting pot users in jail again, whether it's for medical or recreational use. Multiple sclerosis sufferers stop shaking after one toke. The drugs prescribed by doctors destroy the liver, kidneys and lungs. [continues 148 words]
A local pot grower thinks the RCMP was high as a kite in assessing the value of some weed they seized in a recent drug bust in Stewiacke. Comments made by police in a recent newspaper article indicating that 170 plants taken in a late-July operation had a value of $200,000 are "craziness," according to the grower, who contacted The Chronicle Herald to say there isn't that much money in marijuana. "That's leading people off into the wrong direction that there's a lot of money in this business," said the man, who refused to give his name and will be referred to by the pseudonym Mr. Green. [continues 1062 words]
Dan Leger (July 30 column) is right: marijuana prohibition doesn't work. It reduces our faith in the justice system. It forces cops and users to fight an ugly war that nobody wins. It also provides an endless source of funding for criminal organizations. Furthermore, cannabis is a safe and effective medicine for many ailments, and it is currently unavailable to all but a few Canadians. Many cultures and many Canadians have seen a lot of benefit from the occasional controlled use of psychedelics; but we're not allowed to go there either. Prohibition is a patronizingly superior notion; it assumes that individuals can't control what they do with their bodies. Drug abuse - as opposed to drug use - is a problem we need to address with every medical and social tool we can get our hands on. This is not a problem that will be solved by the criminal justice system. Our children would all be much safer if every psychoactive substance that is currently available only on the black market could be researched, regulated, and distributed by the government, just like other drugs. Connie Littlefield Halifax [end]
Nearly one-third of federal prison inmates in Atlantic Canada have hepatitis C, prompting officials to hire a hepatologist to manage their care. Documents from Correctional Service Canada say about 29 per cent of inmates in this region are known to be infected with the hepatitis C virus, which can lead to chronic liver infection, cirrhosis and even liver failure. That rate compares to 0.31 per cent of the Nova Scotia population who were infected with hepatitis C between 1997 and 2006, according to the provincial Health Promotion and Protection Department. [continues 599 words]
Inside Nova Scotia
