A controversial drug house bylaw has passed, with marked opposition from one city councillor. Coun. Florence Roberts voted against both the controlled substances bylaw and fee amendment bylaw as they received their third and final readings at Monday evening's city council meeting. "I am voting against this bylaw because I have misgivings about the intent and interpretation of the document," she said. Council had delayed giving these bylaws third reading for two weeks, to allow for amendments and considerations to be made to the bylaw's fees and imperative wording. [continues 508 words]
A visiting territorial court judge has sentenced a local drug courier to a 7 1/2-year penitentiary term in what's been referred to as the Yukon's largest drug bust. While the sentence would be a total of eight years, Jacob Lee, 47, was given credit for the months he has spent in custody prior to being convicted. On Wednesday afternoon, Judge Donald Luther agreed to the proposed sentence for Lee. The man had pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking marijuana and trafficking cocaine. [continues 461 words]
Whether the Canines for Safer Schools program will continue with a dog at Porter Creek Secondary School may be settled out of court later this week. In Yukon Supreme Court on Monday, both the school and the family opposing the dog's presence agreed to go through judicial mediation. The family, whose name has been prohibited from publication, is against bringing the dog into the school because their child, a student at the high school, has a serious allergy to dogs. [continues 374 words]
City council came close to voting against a bylaw last night that clamps down on landlords whose tenants run drug operations. Instead, at its weekly meeting, council deferred the final vote for two weeks until key sections are rewritten. Councillors Florence Roberts and Doug Graham both said they will vote against the bylaw before its third reading. "I think we are really overstepping our mandate here," said Roberts. "I don't think we should have a punishment program." Graham echoed these sentiments, saying the fees are "too punitive" and that the bylaw doesn't consider the circumstances of all Whitehorse landlords. [continues 507 words]
The Canines for Safer Schools program will include a canine after all. Porter Creek Secondary School principal Kerry Huff was informed earlier this week by the Yukon Human Rights Commission that the school can go ahead with including the animal in the three-year-pilot program, aimed at dealing with drug use and other issues at the school. "I'm very pleased," Huff said in an interview this morning. While the Yukon government approved funding for the program, a complaint over having a dog in the school was brought forward to the commission by the family of a student with severe allergies to dogs. [continues 425 words]
Divided city councillors expressed concern Monday night about a new bylaw that makes landlords responsible for tenants' drug operations. Councillors Jan Stick and Florence Roberts both said they had concerns with a proposed drug house bylaw that would likely take effect by mid-September. "I don't think we have any business there," said Roberts at last night's city council meeting, referring to the remediation process by which landlords would pay to repair properties damaged by drug production, such as a marijuana grow or amphetamine operations. [continues 558 words]
In the midst of a garage sale at his Edmonton home earlier this week, Doug Green said he's ready for the school year at Porter Creek Secondary School to begin. The retired Edmonton police officer who's delivered the Dogs for Drug Free School program in Alberta will be moving to Whitehorse to deliver the first such program in the territory. Under the name Canines for Safer Schools, Green will start his new job as a resource officer for Porter Creek Secondary School the same day students are back in the classroom on Sept. 4. [continues 376 words]
The Harper government's policy on combatting drug abuse in Canada needs to recognize addiction is a public health issue instead of treating those affected as criminals, an NDP critic says. Libby Davies, Vancouver East MP and federal NDP spokeswoman on drug policy, said she believes the federal Conservatives drug strategy is in danger of mirroring policies adopted by the United States, which sees those caught in the web of substance abuse end up in jail instead of treatment centres. "The four pillars of a drug strategy have been prevention, treatment, harm reduction and treatment. [continues 595 words]
The territory has a drug problem. The RCMP is cracking down. And alleged drug houses are being targeted by the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods office. But this isn't the best solution, said Vancouver East MP Libby Davies, during a harm-reduction meeting in Whitehorse on Tuesday. "Rather than responding to the problem by arresting or criminalizing people, it should be dealt with as a health issue," she said. It's easy to vilify drug users, said Davies. "It's the oldest trick in the book to say these are good citizens and those are bad citizens. [continues 991 words]
Crown lawyers will appeal a territorial court judgment that prevented some evidence collected on nine men allegedly involved in marijuana grow operations from being heard at trial. "We'd like to have the court of appeal review some of the legal conclusions that Judge Karen Ruddy arrived at," Crown lawyer Noel Sinclair said on Friday. In April, Ruddy found the RCMP violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms several times during its investigation. She excluded evidence flowing from those breaches. [continues 587 words]
More than 30 years ago, John Edzerza hit rock bottom. The New Democrat MLA was an alcoholic. "It felt like I was ready to die," he said Monday, sitting in his office. "You're still alive, but every emotion, everything in you has no life in it." As a last resort, Edzerza went to the territory's only treatment centre, then called Crossroads. He was turned away. "They said there might be an opening in 30 days," he said. "I just walked away and never did go back." [continues 1285 words]
Re: Markup in government dope is 1,500 per cent Marijuana has many beneficial medicinal uses. Medical marijuana patients rely on their medicine to live and have better lives. It is unfortunate that Health Canada feels the need to rip off sick people by charging exorbitant prices for a poor-quality product. That is not the Canadian way of helping others. Instead, our federal government should legalize and regulate marijuana and support local compassion clubs which are able to deliver safe, organic, medicinal marijuana to patients. Someone needs to tell Health Canada that bullying sick people is the wrong message to send to our young people. Herb Couch Western Canada Director, Educators For Sensible Drug Policy Nelson, B.C. [end]
It was a strange sort of pub-crawl. A dozen counsellors and volunteers gathered at the victim's services building in downtown Whitehorse on a Friday evening in April for briefing. Their mission: to spread the word. The Yukon has been "inundated" by the date-rape drug, Sandra Bryce told the crew. And victims are finding themselves "raped, robbed, rolled and beaten." Then, like a SWAT team, the group fanned out through each bar in Whitehorse, armed with information and stacks of colourful coasters. [continues 1039 words]
Getting a deal on a property once used to cultivate marijuana in the basement isn't a problem as long as you know the house is safe, say purchasers of former Whitehorse grow ops. In a series of interviews Tuesday with the Star, purchasers of homes that contained marijuana grow operations shut down by the RCMP in the fall of 2005 said they had their houses inspected before they bought, and are confident the properties are safe. Lindsay Schneider, who lives at 208 Falcon Dr., said she and her husband were told by the real estate agent that the house had been used as a grow op and didn't have a problem with it. [continues 1718 words]
John has spent more than $20,000 on alcohol and cocaine in the past year. He's on social assistance and spends his days hanging out with buddies in downtown Whitehorse. John, (not his real name), eats once a day if he makes it to the Salvation Army on time. He feels like he has no place to go for help. John is one of the addicts Collin Moonen met while canvassing Second Avenue. And Moonen, a former addict and alcoholic who spent 15 years on Vancouver's East Side, knows what it's like to be in John's shoes. [continues 684 words]
WHITEHORSE - Getting a deal on a property once used to cultivate marijuana in the basement isn't a problem as long as you know the house is safe, say purchasers of former Whitehorse grow-ops. Purchasers of homes that contained marijuana grow operations shut down by the RCMP in the fall of 2005 said they had their houses inspected before they bought and are confident the properties are safe. Lindsay Schneider said she and her husband were told by the real estate agent that the house had been used as a grow-op and didn't have a problem with it. [continues 597 words]
A draft bylaw to protect tenants from unsafe living conditions is an example of municipal authorities stepping in where the territorial government has failed to act, say members of city council -- with one strong exception. Meeting at noon Tuesday, council and senior managers discussed a proposed controlled substances/properties bylaw. The draft bylaw gives the city authority to ensure former drug houses, such as marijuana grow operations or illegal chemical labs, meet health and safety standards before they're rented out to new tenants. [continues 942 words]
City council is set to discuss a bylaw which takes aim at the pocketbooks of landlords of drug houses in Whitehorse. In an interview Thursday, city manager Dennis Shewfelt said members of his administration have been working on a property bylaw to support the Yukon government's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act (SCAN). "We've been working on a controlled substance properties bylaw," he told the Star. "It really is a bylaw brought in to support legislation brought in by the territorial government for properties used for drug purposes, things such as grow operations. [continues 800 words]
Justice Minister Marian Horne "compromised" the independence of the courts when she publicly praised the RCMP on a case that is still before the courts, says New Democrat Steve Cardiff. "It's really uncommon for a minister of Justice to comment publicly on something that's a matter of criminal proceedings," said Cardiff. "There's supposed to be a separation between the judiciary, the judges and the legislative assembly." Cardiff pointed to Horne's unexpected press release, in which she publicly praised the RCMP in the aftermath of the biggest cocaine bust in Yukon history, as the basis for his charges. [continues 342 words]
Inside Yukon Territory
