My ex-wife recently passed away from liver cancer, and the pain of her final weeks was eased with medical marijuana. Thus I was pleased to read of Justin Trudeau's plan to legalize marijuana use. With the recent police raid on Saskatoon's only medical marijuana store, not so much. The officer whom I saw interviewed on TV with his straight-faced, "They were selling drugs," rationale made me wonder at the police's motivation. Certainly, busting a retail store and arresting the sales staff is far safer than the fictional drug raids we see on TV shows, but is there no real crime in Saskatoon anymore? Are all their speed traps broken? Fred Hill Saskatoon [end]
REGINA - Side-effects from Saskatoon's Compassion Club drug bust and arrests may include paranoia for Regina medical marijuana users. The non-profit Saskatoon-based dispensary was not licensed by Health Canada, which led to the arrest of its owner, seizure of the stock, and charges of possession and trafficking for the owner and staff. "Face it, you're putting people's health at risk here (who) really depend on this cannabis as a medicine. This whole thing's gone way beyond just smoking weed," said Darin Wheatley. [continues 404 words]
Chief Clive Weighill's argument that his police service had no option but to crack down on a storefront medical marijuana dispensary has found a ready audience among Saskatoon's law-and-order advocates, while store owner Mark Hauk's supporters argue that he was filling a huge void left by Canada's inadequate pot law. While both sides in the debate that has divided Saskatoon over last week's police raid on the dispensary after a month-long investigation provide some justifiable arguments, it's difficult not to wish a pox on both houses in the context of pending legislative changes that could render the entire issue irrelevant. [continues 410 words]
The recent police raid on the Saskatchewan Compassion Club set off a war of words between the club's operator and police. The case against the dispensary's owner and the club's employees is still before the courts, but on Tuesday Saskatoon police issued a news release in "an attempt to clarify public statements" made by the medical marijuana dispensary owner. The police maintain that Mark Hauk and three others were dealing drugs when they sold marijuana to patients at the unregulated storefront dispensary. [continues 445 words]
Rob Williams was devastated when he learned Saskatoon police raided the Saskatchewan Compassion Club. Williams suffers constant pain from Crohn's Disease and nerve damage stemming from a broken back. After negative experiences with prescription narcotics, he turned to edible marijuana, which he said is remarkably effective. Now, with the city's lone medical marijuana dispensary having been shut down, Williams faces a difficult decision. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I need to make another doctor's appointment, get my hydromorphone back up and start scratching again," he said. [continues 418 words]
SASKATOON - Police say the people operating Saskatoon's only medical pot dispensary are criminals. "They are drug traffickers," said Saskatoon police Insp. Dave Haye. Police shut down the Saskatoon Compassion Club on Thursday, arresting four people associated with the club. The dispensary had been providing marijuana to people with medical licences since August. Although police maintain the club was acting illegally and selling the drug outside of Health Canada's regulations on medical marijuana, clients who frequented to storefront dispensary were devastated by the news. [continues 606 words]
Four charged with trafficking at store Police say the people operating Saskatoon's only medical pot dispensary are criminals. "They are drug traffickers," said Saskatoon Police Insp. Dave Haye. Police shut down the Saskatoon Compassion Club on Thursday, arresting four people associated with the club. The dispensary had been providing marijuana to people with medical licenses since August. While police maintain the club was acting illegally and selling the drug outside of Health Canada's regulations on medical marijuana, clients who frequented the storefront dispensary were devastated by the news. [continues 599 words]
SASKATOON - With a Liberal government headed to Ottawa, advocates of legalizing marijuana are optimistic it will soon be legal for anyone to fire up a joint in Canada. "I think it really signals a change across Canada," said Ken Sailor, a longtime marijuana advocate in Saskatoon. Justin Trudeau, the country's new Prime Minister-designate, has not yet outlined a specific plan for the legalization of the popular recreational drug, but he ran on a campaign promising to legalize it. The fact that a pledge to legalize weed didn't sink Trudeau's campaign means Canadians are ready for more fair drug laws, Sailor said. [continues 516 words]
With a Liberal government headed to Ottawa, advocates of legalizing marijuana are optimistic it will soon be legal for anyone to fire up a joint in Canada. "I think it really signals a change across Canada," said Ken Sailor, a longtime marijuana advocate in Saskatoon. Justin Trudeau, the country's new Prime Minister-designate, has not yet outlined a specific plan for the legalization of the popular recreational drug, but he ran on a campaign promising to legalize it. The fact that a pledge to legalize weed didn't sink Trudeau's campaign means Canadians are ready for more fair drug laws, Sailor said. "The idea that we are protecting anybody by making drugs illegal is just crazy. There is no evidence to support that." [continues 497 words]
Stephen Harper claims to be tough on crime and is attacking other parties for their relaxed views about marijuana. Yet, illegal pot dispensaries have been flourishing in Canada for a couple of years now, with no move by Health Canada to shut them down. These dispensaries are supposed to be selling medical marijuana to people with a prescription. However, if you go into one with no prescription, you can talk to an out-of-province doctor (name and number supplied by the dispensary) on the phone with your made-up medical complaint and he will fax you a prescription then and there. [continues 67 words]
There's no doubting Stephen Harper's intelligence. The man is wise as he is cunning, and his knowledge of a variety of worldly topics is impressive, hence one of the reasons why he has served as prime minister for the past nine years. But when asked for his two cents on the legalization of marijuana in Canada, Mr. Harper's personal opinion got in the way of the straight facts. The Conservative leader told an audience that 'Marijuana is infinitely worse' than tobacco in his effort to discourage Canadians from wanting to legalize the drug. [continues 438 words]
Those attending a Saskatoon marijuana conference favoured a relaxation of laws against pot possession, but their views on complete legalization were mixed. A wide range of opinions also emerged about whether pot is a major issue for them in this month's federal election. Some will cast their ballot on that issue, while others believe it's insignificant compared with health care, the environment or the economy. "This needs to be looked at, but it's a side issue," said Colton Buhr, one of an estimated 3,000 people who came through the doors of O'Brians Events Centre over the weekend for the Prairie Harvest Medicinal Cup. [continues 405 words]
Crime and security issues are proving to be some of the most divisive in this election. Should police be granted expanded powers to stop terrorists, or should privacy be paramount? Should we legalize pot? What about Canada's record on missing and murdered aboriginal women? Here are four things you should know about crime and security to help you decide how to cast your ballot. Bill C-51 The Conservatives' controversial bill has become a lightning rod, dividing the Canadian public. It proposes to expand police and spy powers in an effort to protect Canada from potential terrorist threats. Critics like Tom Mulcair's NDP say the bill tramples on Charter protections, gives spies and police too much power, and constitutes an invasion of privacy. [continues 427 words]
In the award-winning 2013 movie, Dallas Buyers Club, we are exposed to heroic patient activism during the AIDS crisis in the United States. Based on the true story of AIDS-stricken Ron Woodroof, a hard-partying Texas tradesman, the film shows a strikingly thin Matthew McConaughey battle his sickness and the legal authorities in Texas. Woodroof, who's unhappy with his illegally purchased AIDS medicine, and on the edge of death, seeks out alternative and experimental drugs from a doctor in Mexico. Then Ron, being the savvy entrepreneur that he is, quickly establishes a club (a dispensary) to sell his unregulated, sometimes dangerous, imported medicines. [continues 588 words]
Despite threats of jail and huge fines, the head of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club won't shut his doors. Mark Hauk of Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary is one of 13 pot club owners across Canada who has received an emailed notice from Health Canada warning of possible RCMP raids. The letters state that the owners may face legal action if they don't stop selling or advertising marijuana. The letter Hauk received threatened two years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. [continues 392 words]
SASKATOON - Despite threats of jail and huge fines, the head of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club won't shut his doors. Mark Hauk of Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary is one of 13 pot club owners across Canada who have received an emailed notice from Health Canada warning of possible RCMP raids. The letters state that the owners may face legal action if they don't stop selling or advertising marijuana. The letter Hauk received threatened two years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. [continues 392 words]
Over the next six weeks, federal leaders will be rolling out campaign promises on a wide array of issues. The Leader-Post and StarPhoenix will take an in-depth look at some of these every week until you head to the polls on Oct. 19 In Saskatchewan, green may be the colour but the future of marijuana - for medical and recreational use - is cloudy. The outcome of next month's federal election (which features some parties musing about decriminalization and legalization) and the decision of a Federal Court judge on how medical marijuana can be grown and distributed in the country will have a direct impact on the province. [continues 954 words]
Coun. Darren Hill says he has learned more than he ever knew existed about Canada's medical marijuana laws. "Not only the dispensary component, but what it does for particular heath issues and its implications within the community, it's quite an eye-opener, actually," he said on Tuesday. Hill is the chair of the planning and development committee, which heard from CanniMed president Brent Zettl. CanniMed is the province's only licensed medical cannabis producer. Zettl took issue with what he said were inaccuracies in an earlier presentation to council from Mark Hauk, founder of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club. [continues 303 words]
Despite questions about quality and credibility from a proponent of Canada's medicinal marijuana system, the source of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club's marijuana remains a mystery to the public. In a recent letter to Saskatoon's city council, Fred Glawischnig, former head of the now-defunct Canadian Cannabis Solutions Inc., claimed the unregulated cannabis sold by the dispensary could be harmful to the people who use it. "What is sold in a dispensary - even though it says 'medical marijuana dispensary' - is not in the same category as medical marijuana under the licensed producer program," Glawischnig said. [continues 678 words]
Inside Saskatchewan
