More than $200,000 has been collected from dispensaries since May. Langley Township has collected more than $200,000 in fines from unlicensed marijuana dispensaries since last spring, in what a former dispensary owner calls bullying. Four medical marijuana dispensaries were operating in the Township, mostly in Aldergrove, in recent months, said interim head of bylaw enforcement Bill Storie. "We've been actively, as they crop up, pursuing them," he said. The Township won't give a business licence to a dispensary. [continues 704 words]
Liberals versus Conservatives: Just like the divide that exists between these two federal political parties, so too does the crevasse between Langley MPs John Aldag and Mark Warawa, and their personal views on legalization of marijuana in Canada. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government will be introducing legislation in the next few weeks that will legalize marijuana by Canada Day 2018. And while the federal government will change this law with almost unprecedented speed, it will be left up to the provinces/territories and municipalities to work out logistics of how it will be grown and distributed. [continues 413 words]
The provincial government announced a boost in funding this week for one of the organizations trying to aid addicts. Health Minister Terry Lake announced $5 million of extra funding for the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and an additional $1.9 million for ongoing operations funding. It's that last that will be key going forward. The BCCSU has developed new clinical treatment guidelines for opioid addicts, to go into effect later this spring. The use of opioids - heroin and related prescription drugs - has been the gateway for drug dealers to mix fentanyl and carfentanil into their product. Even tiny doses of fentanyl can prove fatal, and hundreds of addicts and casual drug users have died in the last year in B.C. [continues 162 words]
Dear Editor, Mr. Claxton recently raised some arguments surrounding our country's current drug enforcement laws. As he mentioned, it is indeed this government's intention to legalize the recreational usage and regulated production of marijuana. With legislation to be tabled in the spring of next year, the question of why the Liberal government has not immediately decriminalized possession and small-scale production is fair. I would like however, to address reasons that make such an action undesirable before government and law enforcement have had time to adjust to a new regime of drug enforcement. [continues 260 words]
Sometime in the next year or two, marijuana will be legal for personal consumption in Canada. The federal government is currently working on the exact laws around this, but all indications so far point to it being produced, sold, and taxed much like alcohol, i.e. not sold to kids, sold through special outlets, taxed heavily. But the federal Liberals have, as yet, not touched the drug laws already on the books. Which is wasting the time and money of police forces and courts across the country. [continues 218 words]
Last week started in July. By Friday it had settled into June. And through the weekend, all the plants in my garden kept insisting that it's May. The world is upside down. Or at the very least, it's tilted at a pretty weird angle. If you have occasion to partake of the devil's weed for anything but the direst medical circumstances, the tilt got a lot weirder in that April week which took us through the looking glass into the heart of summer. [continues 343 words]
Dear Editor, Anyone who makes time to drink a beer or glass of wine has time for cannabis (Who has time for legal pot? March 3, 2016). Further, it's commonly understood people who use cannabis (marijuana) wake up in the morning without any of the problems associated with drinking alcohol. While many people enjoy using cannabis while cycling, hardly anyone does much cycling while drinking booze. And just like a person can enjoy a small amount of alcohol and drive safely, cannabis impairs driving even less. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
Later this year or sometime in 2017, marijuana is likely to become legal in Canada. It was one of the Liberals' promises during the election, and if they don't keep it Ottawa will no doubt find a horde of cranky stoners standing in front of Parliament, under a cloud of fury (and also a cloud of pot smoke). I've never smoked pot or munched on a pot brownie, which makes me a little unusual among people who grew up in the Lower Mainland in the last few decades. [continues 452 words]
Randy Caine Suspects It Was a Side Effect of Local Issues A Langley medicinal marijuana advocate is worried he may not be able to travel abroad safely after he was abruptly ejected from Mexico. Randy Caine worries that local controversy and opposition to his medical marijuana activism in Langley led to his being labelled a drug dealer by Mexican federal police. Caine and his wife, Maureen, were on a trip to Puerto Vallarta in March of last year. When they landed, Caine was taken aside by Mexican federal police to an interrogation room, and asked about criminal activities, and if he had ever been arrested. [continues 365 words]
If the voters of British Columbia had their way, marijuana would already be legal or decriminalized. At least, that's the results of a new Insights West poll. It showed that 67 per cent of British Columbians support ending the criminalization of cannabis. A full 38 per cent want legalization, 24 per cent want decriminalization, and 27 per cent favour only medical use. Just seven per cent want the use of pot banned completely. The laws on pot have been out of date more or less since it was criminalized early in the 20th century. [continues 259 words]
Dear Editor, Where are the facts? In a democratic society, our government leaders follow statistics and, hopefully, scientific evidence, and then they implement laws to reduce a problem or increase the level of safety. An example would be an increase in accidents due to excessive speed resulting in lower speed limit laws, or a number of our laws associated around the use of alcohol or tobacco. Recently, we've heard a lot of discussion and opinions with regards to the use of marijuana and the establishment of dispensaries in our communities. Nowhere do I hear mention of an increase of any problems arising from the presence of marijuana dispensaries. [continues 69 words]
Langley Township can't ban medical pot growing, but it will regulate excessive odour. A bylaw that will penalize medical pot growers for foul odours was given preliminary approval by Langley Township council. The new rules were put forward by Bill Storie, the Township's head of bylaw enforcement. "We have a number of complaints," Storie said of pot-smell issues. "That's what we hear about, over and over again." For the past several years, thousands of small marijuana farms and grow operations have been established across Canada under federal rules for medical marijuana production. [continues 259 words]
The Langley pot bylaw will now be considered by the provincial Minister of Agriculture. There was a lot of smoke but no fire as Langley Township council debated a bylaw to control medical marijuana farming Monday night. The council would ultimately vote unanimously in favour of a bylaw that would restrict growing medical pot to industrial areas only. To get to that unanimous vote, they embarked on a wide-ranging discussion about industrial versus agricultural growing, and about the tight timelines for any new rules. [continues 395 words]
Local pot advocate Randy Caine is helping promote a Sensible BC petition that would put in motion a vote for the decriminalization of marijuana in 2014. William Austin wore a penguin suit Saturday while standing on the sidewalk along Willowbrook Drive. The New Westminster resident made the short sojourn east to Langley to volunteer for Sensible BC, a group with the goal of decriminalizing marijuana possession in 2014. Through collecting signatures on a petition, volunteers are attempting to garner 10 per cent support in all 85 provincial ridings, which Sensible BC hopes will result in a provincial initiative vote. [continues 696 words]
A Langley Business Owner Says He Wants to Clear His Name in Court Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary founder Randy Caine feels vindicated with the Crown recommending an absolute discharge of trafficking charges against him. In 2008, Caine created the dispensary to provide medical marijuana to registered clients. In July 2011, the RCMP raided the dispensary and seized about $17,000 worth of various strains of marijuana and products containing marijuana, such as baked goods. Caine kept the dispensary open to provide consultations and other Lower Mainland compassion clubs and dispensaries offered to help local clients. [continues 543 words]
Dear Editor, While the grow-op discovered in Langley [Pot bunker uncovered, June 6, Langley Advance] gained news coverage for its size and sophistication, it is the least of people's concerns in Langley. Right now there are many "legal" grow-ops in Langley in residential neighbourhoods. Legal grow-ops operate in the same clandestine manner as illegal grow-ops, where growers exhaust the capacity of the electric supply in the neighbourhood, create a fire hazard, and aren't susceptible to any building codes. They are susceptible to grow-rips, in which organized crime breaks into the residence and takes the plants by force. [continues 81 words]
Fort Langley-Aldergrove's candidates vied for support in front of prospective voters. At several points on Wednesday night, candidates for Fort Langley-Aldergrove's provincial seat reflected that it was difficult to answer tough policy questions in 60 seconds. Yet the four candidates gave it their best shot as they fielded numerous questions in front of an audience of about 90 people at the Langley Events Centre. Incumbent Liberal Rich Coleman, NDP candidate Shane Dyson, Rick Manuel of the BC Conservatives and independent Kevin Mitchell were asked a series of policy questions that covered health care, agriculture, taxes and tolls, debt and deficits, seniors, and marijuana. [continues 708 words]
The Township Wants Rules For Growing Medical Marijuana A week after Langley City council voted to ban medical marijuana within its boundaries, Township council began looking at the issue. Councillor Charlie Fox's motion calling for staff to look at a new bylaw around medical pot passed unanimously Monday. "I think we need to be proactive," said Mayor Jack Froese. Staff will listen to Health Canada in advance of the new guidelines, expected to ban residential growing of medical marijuana, and which are to be in place by spring of 2014. [end]
Fort Langley-Aldergrove's candidates vied for support in front of prospective voters. At several points on Wednesday night, candidates for Fort Langley-Aldergrove's provincial seat reflected that it was difficult to answer tough policy questions in 60 seconds. Yet the four candidates gave it their best shot as they fielded numerous questions in front of an audience of about 90 people at the Langley Events Centre. Incumbent Liberal Rich Coleman, NDP candidate Shane Dyson, Rick Manuel of the BC Conservatives and independent Kevin Mitchell were asked a series of policy questions that covered health care, agriculture, taxes and tolls, debt and deficits, seniors, and marijuana. [continues 709 words]
Langley Township had to change course after denying permission for a pro-pot group to meet A forum on marijuana legalization is back on at Langley Township's civic facility, after initially being blocked for being "illegal." Sensible BC is a campaign to decriminalize marijuana, similar to movements that have recently seen recreational use legalized in Washington State and Colorado. The group is setting up public forums around the Lower Mainland, and planned to schedule one in Langley for around March 20. [continues 204 words]
An Unidentified Man Was Found Dead Inside a South Langley Marijuana Grow Op A Tuesday night murder in Fernridge brought the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) out to Langley. Langley RCMP were called out "to check on the well-being of a male" in a residence in the 2000 block of 200th Street on Tuesday, shortly after 10 p.m., said IHIT's Cpl. Adam MacIntosh. Inside the split-level home on the east side of 200th Street, just north of 20th Avenue, police found a body and a marijuana grow operation. [continues 367 words]
Langley's MP reported back from Ottawa to the chamber Langley's Member of Parliament spoke about changing riding boundaries, medical marijuana, and cross-border trade before local business people Tuesday. At the monthly meeting of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, MP Mark Warawa gave an update on what he's been doing in Ottawa. The Conservative MP talked about the reigning party's jobs plans, work on ending skills shortages, and drive to encourage businesses to hire Canadian Forces veterans. [continues 354 words]
Dear Editor, Press reports from Washington State and from Colorado clearly indicate that the recent votes on legalization of marijuana are having a dramatic effect. Prosecutions of pot users have virtually ended, allowing states to redirect policing resources to more important issues. We are already seeing a dramatic effect on tourism, as more Canadians head south to take advantage of a weekend outing and a legal puff: a whole new meaning to cross-border shopping. Washington State is becoming a tourist destination for cannabis connoisseurs. Border communities like Langley can only watch as tourists (and dollars) head south. Wally Martin, Langley [end]
Dear Editor, I am astounded by your misinterpretation of the facts about the decision by the Conservatives to take the production of medical marijuana out of the hands of local growers and giving it over to big business. Your comment, "Nobody wants illegal grow ops in their neighbourhoods or communities. We all pay for the electricity they steal. We all pay for the service costs they dodge by not paying taxes on their enterprising activities [Eager to fight grow ops now, Dec. 18 Opinion, Langley Advance]" is so far off the mark that it rises to the level of irresponsible trash reporting. [continues 178 words]
There will be a lot of smiling and nodding and happy faces at the news that federal health minister Leona Aglukkaq is taking aim at marijuana growers who are hiding behind current laws to operate illegal drug businesses. Nobody wants illegal grow ops in their neighbourhoods or in their communities. We all pay for the electricity they steal. We all pay for the service costs they dodge by not paying taxes on their enterprising activities. Nobody wants the dangers associated with living next door to such operations. There is always the very real risk that their colleagues in crime will bring violence to their "place of business" - which can easily spill onto the streets as they "protect their interests" or into nearby homes through "mistaken identity" or even into local shopping malls as they engage in open battle with one another. [continues 173 words]
Dear Editor, Now that Washington State and Colorado have legalized marijuana [Pot laws not about all or nothing, Nov. 15 Painful Truth, Langley Advance], Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must uphold marijuana prohibition to maintain good U.S. relations. In 2002, the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. Consider the experience of the former "land of the free" and current world leader in per capita incarceration. The U.S. has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The only winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who deliberately confuse the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy, U.S.A. [end]
What is really at stake if B.C. follows Washington State and Colorado and successfully legalizes marijuana? Money, of course, that other green substance. Let's start with the estimated value of the illicit pot growing industry here in B.C. It's often claimed to be between $6-$8 billion, a fairly rough estimate given that none of the principals are filling out any corporate tax forms or quarterly earning reports. Even if it's lower than the estimates, it's a huge industry. By contrast, in 2011 the entire forest industry had a value of just under $10 billion. [continues 534 words]
What's that smell? That acrid, smoky smell? Almost like skunk, but not quite. A bit sweeter. Sort of like the neighbour is burning his grass clippings. Aha! That's it! Burning grass! I smell burning grass. It's wafting up into B.C. from across the border in Washington State, I think. But it's not grass "clippings." It's "grass." It's dried green bits of vegetative matter rolled up in little bits of paper and bringing an air of lassitude-along with adding that distinct odour to the air-to our neighbours to the south. [continues 496 words]
Dear Editor, The abrupt manner in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper dismisses recommendations of learned experts regarding the drug trade is total arrogance. Experts and former politicians of all stripes suggest correctly that the war on drugs and particularly marijuana is a failure, and is responsible for promoting the growth of the criminal element that flourishes through providing drugs to those who use them. It is a replay of Al Capone and the criminal element that became wealthy in the days of alcohol prohibition. It is suggested that the status quo is maintained by those who grow rich on the illegal trade of drugs. As so many experts suggest, Canada should dispense drugs legally, generating taxes and diminishing the illegal promotion of these products. Mike Harvey, Langley [end]
A man shot while attempting to rob a grow op had a history of similar home invasions A man shot to death in South Aldergrove on Friday night was apparently part of a group trying to break into and rob a marijuana grow operation. Korey Tyler Kelly, 25, was shot and killed near 16th Avenue and 272nd Street, said Sgt. Jennifer Pound, the spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, or IHIT. The RCMP were called at about 9: 30 p.m., and were flagged down near 24th Avenue by two men. They had the badly injured Kelly with them. [continues 326 words]
For a generation, "Just Say No" was the slogan hammered into our heads when it came to drugs. It didn't work then, and apparently, it's not working now. The recent string of deaths related to ecstasy, much of which apparently has been tainted with a toxic chemical, show that some people either ignore warnings, or simply aren't aware of them. After hearing "People have died taking ecstasy" and "We don't know which pills are contaminated" you would think that people would stop. [continues 216 words]
Dear Editor, My thanks are extended to Bob Rae and the new federal Liberal Party. My husband has been fighting Alzheimers for 14 years. It makes him easily confused and frustrated. He is taking Aricept and calming prescriptions, but the only thing that calms his anxiety is marijuana. It is not perfect, but it is the only thing that lets me keep him out of a home. His particular Alzheimers is an exceedingly slow progression. It is an insidious disease that has robbed him of so many joys of life. [continues 162 words]
Dear Editor, Two recent events highlight the morally bankrupt character of Stephen Harper and his Conservative government. On Monday, Dec. 5, Bill C-10, which brings in mandatory minimum sentences for small-scale drug crimes, including for as little as a few pot plants, passed the house and was sent to the Senate. The second event was the Graham James molestation case. Once the omnibus crime bill passes the senate, the penalty for growing six marijuana plants will be longer than the penalty for molesting a child. [continues 178 words]
About 125 people turned out Nov. 2 to hear the views of the people running for Langley City council. The forum was hosted by the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In a new form, the organizers structured the forum like a council meeting, calling on candidates to vote yes, no or abstain on various issues put forward by the organizers or the audience. With each vote, the names of four candidates were drawn and they could provide explanations of their position on that issue. [continues 467 words]
Dear Editor, Why is the current Langley City council so opposed to the medical marijuana dispensary (MMD)? Is it they can't face people who are ill? Or they don't want to? It seems that, the more the community requests help, the more opposition it meets from city councillors. And as a result, the more venom and lies are aimed at Randy Caine. This man is the most compassionate, caring, honest person I have ever met in my lifetime. It was never his goal in life to open a dispensary. But his character is such that he could not turn his back on a person of need. [continues 206 words]
Dear Editor, Langley RCMP Superintendent Derek Cooke seems unaware of how long and arduous it is to obtain a license for medical marijuana. It does not happen overnight. Some doctors are still reluctant to approve the application. If the doctor does approve the application, the person then must be seen by a specialist in the patient's field. That can take many months for an appointment. If you are lucky enough to get the specialist to approve the application, you have to send it off to Health Canada. It takes six to eight weeks for them to approve and send you a card. [continues 228 words]
Dear Editor, What exactly do the mayor and council have against doctor-approved safe access to medical marijuana in Langley City? We had an excellent facility in Langley City, up to July 19, 2011. It could not have been handled any better. It was safe, efficiently run, reasonably priced, good quality, helpful, and had a knowledgeable staff. It served the sick and injured people in the district exceedingly well. A lot of people needlessly suffered because of the rash actions of the authorities. Keep it open as a pilot project and give the sick and injured a chance. Watch it, keep an eye on it, and make sure it goes by Health Canada guidelines. Lorraine Hubbs Aldergrove [end]
Two Months After It Was Raided, the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Has Resumed Providing to Clients The Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary is back, providing pot for people with Health Canada permission to use it. The doors opened Sept. 19, with dispensing resuming today (Tuesday). The dispensary in the 20200 block of Fraser Highway was raided July 19, about 11 months after it opened. Various strains of marijuana and baked goods containing marijuana were seized by the RCMP. "Still to this day there haven't been any charges," noted Randy Caine, the Langley man who owns the dispensary. [continues 413 words]
Dear Editor, My husband is dealing with dementia, and has been for the last 12 years. He is quite aware of where dementia takes a person. I have his general practitioner's and specialists' approval to allow him to use medical marijuana. I would not want to be facing what he faces every day. Would you? I applied on his behalf through the federal government for a license to have a supply. I told them that B.C. Compassionate Club in Vancouver would be his supplier - but that is not a satisfactory source with the federal government. I must buy through them, grow my own or find someone with a license to grow for me. [continues 252 words]
Dear Editor, I can't be the only non-user who is fed up with the persecution of medical marijuana outlets by police [Clients fume over marijuana loss, Aug. 30, Langley Advance]. The clients of these medical distribution centres come with a prescription referred by a doctor. Therefore, the police are subordinating a legal medical health concern to an arcane statute that continues to rob the B.C. coffers of literally billions of dollars in untaxed revenue. The ridiculous, outmoded fear behind it all was recently underscored in an advertisement titled: "Get Paid to Grow Marijuana" about a UBC seminar, with topics such as complying with laws and regulations for medical use. [continues 118 words]
An ex-Mountie on trial for misusing a police database to get information about the Bacon brothers has now been charged in the U.S. with conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into Canada through Aldergrove, and recruiting a border guard to help him do it. Abbotsford resident Rapinder (Rob) Sidhu, and co-accused Anthony Jurcev, were indicted by a grand jury in Seattle this week, according to court documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun. Sidhu is in the middle of a trial in Surrey Provincial Court for allegedly impersonating a police officer on July 31, 2007 to get the address of the Bacons from the RCMP's Operational Communications Centre. [continues 456 words]
Proponents of Medical Marijuana Are Organizing After a Langley Dispensary Was Shut Down. The former clients of a Langley medical marijuana dispensary raided by RCMP last month are organizing a petition and campaign to have it re-opened. "People should be able to access medicine that has been prescribed by their doctor," said Dan Mackle, who was the first client of the dispensary, which ran for about 11 months in Langley City on Fraser Highway. Randy Caine, the local business owner who opened and operated the dispensary, was licensed by Health Canada to supply marijuana to three clients, but had about 150 active members when it was raided in July. [continues 332 words]
After a violent 2009, the level of violence in Langley has receded, but not ended The furious gang violence of 2009 claimed five lives in or directly linked to Langley. Sunday afternoon's daylight shooting in Kelowna threatened to bring the gang wars back to the Lower Mainland. A member of the Langley-based Hells Angels chapter was wounded, and Abbotsford's Jonathan Bacon, a leader of the Red Scorpions gang, was killed. The 2009 murders were all linked to gangs, gang members, or the drug trade. Police have made progress on all of them, including a conviction and several charges. [continues 379 words]
Canada's Attorney General Met With Anti-Crime Advocates in Langley Last Week Tougher sentencing rules for drug traffickers are coming from the Canadian government soon, Canada's justice minister said during a visit to Langley Rob Nicholson, justice minister and attorney general, met with Community Leaders for Justice Reform in Murrayville on Wednesday. He said mandatory jail time for drug traffickers, importers and exporters, and marijuana growers will come soon. "They're not going to like it," Nicholson said. Nicholson also talked about recent changes to laws designed to protect children from sex predators, a recent megatrials bill designed to make longer jury trials easier to deal with, and removing the "faint hope clause" for lifetime sentences. [continues 119 words]
"It's good to have a poop now," said Craig Pirart when asked what medical marijuana has done to help him. He's on about $900 per month of presciption drugs, including heavy duty pain meds to deal with a broken hip eight years ago that led to 10 surgeries and finally amputation of his right leg. Without the $90-100 of medical marijuana he was able to obtain each month through the Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary, the 52-year-old former heavy equipment operator will be faced with having to double his prescription drug use. [continues 638 words]
Dear Editor, The Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary was served a search warrant on July 19 and all of the marijuana was seized. The director Randy Caine has been dispensing marijuana to seriously ill people in Langley for some time now. He was sure to make the City and local police very aware of his actions at the outset, going so far as to apply for a business licence to supply marijuana to people who are authorized by their physician and permitted legally by the government to receive it. [continues 53 words]
Dear Editor, I like to think that people want to do what's best and are merely ignorant about marijuana. But I'm beginning to think some people are either so brainwashed by decades of propaganda, are willfully ignorant for political convenience, or are morally irregular people. There is something sadistic and borderline psychopathic about stealing medicine from sick people. Randy Caine has done everything right. He has worked as closely with the RCMP and local authorities as he possibly can, and is doing it for ill people. [continues 210 words]
The owner of the Langley Medical Marijuana Dispensary which was raided by the RCMP July 19 wants to meet with the community. Randy Caine has organized a townhall meeting for 7 p.m. on Aug. 2 at the Douglas Recreation Centre to hear from residents about their views on having a medical pot dispensary in their community. "This has always been community driven," he said. His downtown Langley dispensary on Fraser Highway, which has been open about 11 months, was the subject of an RCMP raid. Caine estimated they seized about $15,000 in pot and some baked goods with pot as well as some cash. [continues 572 words]
Dear Editor, So apparently "legal grow ops" are a bother to the police [Legal grow ops a headache for Mounties, March 11, Langley Advance]. And the people who are being blamed are the sick. I suppose next we will hear is that the blame for sexual assault lies with women who wear short skirts. The comparison is appropriate, considering what is proposed is a registry of medical marijuana patients much like that used for sex offenders, all for using medicine prescribed to them legitimately -- medicine, it is important to add, that is safer than every single medication in your local drug store, without exception. [continues 213 words]
BC Hydro is pursuing 19 civil claims through the courts to recover about $2.1 million in diverted power, electricity the utility says was stolen in large part by illegal marijuana-growing operations, including a major one in Langley. In the past three years, Hydro has launched 24 such civil suits, said Hydro official Simi Heer, recovering about $5 million from persons who have stolen electricity. Heer said the money has been recovered through either litigation or from out-of-court settlements. [continues 493 words]
