New Federal Legislation In Effect On April 1 When the federal government rolls out new legislation that will end mom-and-pop pot farms and grow the medical marijuana industry into a commercially licensed business, local jurisdictions won't have much say in the matter if the plants are rooted in B.C.'s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). The current system of personal use licences and designated licences will be phased out in a few months, and new federal licences geared to large scale production and distribution facilities will be established under Health Canada's Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulation. [continues 512 words]
As it appears Sensible B.C. didn't get enough signatures to get on the next ballot, I'm writing to encourage citizens in British Columbia and all Canadians to continue hope and the good fight (Sensible B.C. hits target in West Kootenay, Trail Times Dec. 6, 2013) to end discrimination towards humans who use the God-given plant cannabis (marijuana). The majority of North American's support ending this government subsidized discrimination and the day will come when the injustice is over and people look back and ask how on earth cannabis prohibition ever started to begin with? As a Colorado citizen who helped re-legalize cannabis for sick citizens over a decade ago and completely re-legalize the plant a year ago, I can assure Canadians, the vile ignorance will end. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Canvassers fall short in other parts of province as deadline nears The petitions are in, the canvassers exhausted, but it looks like there will be enough signatures to make up the 10 per cent of residents required for the Sensible B.C. campaign to call for a provincial referendum for the decriminalization of marijuana ... at least in the Kootenay West riding. A collective sigh of relief can be heard coming from the petition organizers in the region with only days left before the petitions need to be delivered to the Elections B.C. office in Victoria Monday. [continues 610 words]
Please don't accuse Sensible BC canvassers of starting this disturbing, unfortunate "at odds" incident. The statement that canvassers were on the Ferraro Foods property is absolutely false. No canvasser was ever collecting signatures in front of the opening to the store. Sensible BC canvassers all know that to set up on private property requires permission. What really happened that day? We were on the public sidewalk canvassing for the initiative petition under Election BC guidelines and rules. We were always polite and conducted ourselves in an appropriate manner. [continues 373 words]
Ferraro Foods is offering an apology to customers and canvassers who may have felt uncomfortable following an incident in front of its store on Saturday. Petitioners for the Sensible BC campaign were near the store collecting signatures for its petition for the Sensible Policing Act to decriminalize marijuana possession. Ferraro Foods asked the canvassers to move off of its property when customers made complaints about the canvassing. A video on Sensible BC's Facebook page and YouTube captures storeowner Danny Ferraro saying "we're asking everybody to ignore them" while he greets customers, in some instances standing between the customers and a canvasser. [continues 553 words]
The smoke is beginning to clear on cannabis prohibition and it's obvious the government's war on drugs is failing, says the Interior Health Authority's medical health officer. Dr. Andrew Larder and other members of the Health Officers' Council of BC lent their support to the most recent Stop the Violence report - - released Dec. 22 - which provided evidence that, despite big increases in the money spent on drug law enforcement, the prevalence of cannabis use in particular has increased. [continues 481 words]
While local police shed little light on a long crime bill being rolled out by the Conservative government, MP Alex Atamanenko has a number of reasons why the "tough-on-crime agenda" doesn't work. New criminal justice changes included in a 110-page omnibus bill tabled in the Commons affects nine pieces of existing legislation including drug laws, youth sentencing, anti-terrorism measures, the pardons system, detention of refugees, parole and house arrest. "What they've done is put all these bills together, rather than going at them one by one so basically we have a choice here to vote for all or nothing and that's wrong," said Atamanenko. [continues 399 words]
Regional RCMP officers were kept busy over the weekend, as the Shambhala music festival wrapped up in the early hours Monday morning. Traffic enforcement was the main focus, with police all over roads in the area. "You name it, from unsafe vehicles and bald tires, no insurance, no seatbelts as well as 96 marijuana seizures -- that's a lot," said Operations NCO Staff Sergeant Dan Seibel, who has policed the festival for two years. "They checked a lot of vehicles." Despite being busier than last year, Seibel said that from a policing perspective things went relatively well. [continues 478 words]
Summer-Long Investigation Into Area Grow-Ops More than 20,000 marijuana plants were seized in the region this summer during an annual investigation into illegal production, according to the region's top cop. Though most of the 96 sites were found on Crown land and were unattended when discovered, search warrants on private property were executed in three instances and five individuals are facing charges as a result. "The amount of marijuana seized during this investigation clearly speaks to the extreme quantities of marijuana produced in the West Kootenay-Boundary and throughout British Columbia," said RCMP Insp. Nick Romanchuk in a news release. [continues 168 words]
A legal drug that has been raising some concerns is no longer available at a Trail pawnshop since the city has stepped in. "I don't want a bad reputation," said Casey LeMoel, the owner of Bargain Pawn Shop in the Gulch. "I'm running a decent business here, it's not shady." Since Monday, LeMoel is no longer selling salvia divinorum - a hallucinogenic drug that comes in the form of dried leaves or a form of extract - at his hemp and new and used store that opened about four months ago. [continues 549 words]
Terry Bazzani could star in an ad campaign about the foolishness of mandatory minimum sentences. Bazzani has no hands and short arms. He has only half of his left foot. He's had a series of surgeries on his face. He has no criminal record. And he has pleaded guilty to importing heroin. He was a drug mule; he swallowed heroin capsules in Colombia and flew to Toronto. Police had been tipped off and arrested him. It's a serious crime. It's also the kind of offence that some politicians would like to see linked to a mandatory minimum sentence. Judges would have no discretion. Anyone guilty would receive a guaranteed term in a penitentiary. [continues 638 words]
Re: the Oct. 9 story, Cops Seize 14,000 Pot Plants So what if "the Kootenay Boundary Regional detachment's investigation into the outdoor marijuana grow industry in the region resulted in 14,130 plants seized from 88 sites this summer." What difference will it make? Last year's RCMP harvest didn't stop this year's crop and this year's RCMP harvest won't stop next year's crop. The recent outdoor marijuana "plant seizure" efforts by the police are glaring examples of the futility of prohibition. [continues 236 words]
Summer Busts Take Down 11,500 Pounds of Marijuana Looking at organized crime from a regional perspective has resulted in thousands of marijuana plants seized this year, greatly minimizing negative impacts on the community, according to RCMP. The Kootenay Boundary Regional detachment's investigation into the outdoor marijuana grow industry in the region resulted in 14,130 plants seized from 88 sites this summer. "Based on a conservative estimate, it is believed that these seizures prevented approximately 11,500 pounds of marijuana bud from entering the illegal market," said RCMP Insp. Nick Romanchuk in a press release. [continues 266 words]
Regarding Gwynne Dyer's Sept. 10 column, Nixon Started 'War on Drugs There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with illicit heroin use. ' The success of the Swiss program has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. [continues 166 words]
It's too early to say that there is a general revolt against the "war on drugs" that the United States has been waging for the past 39 years, but something significant is happening. European countries have been quietly defecting from the war for years, decriminalizing personal consumption of some or all of the banned drugs in order to minimize harm to their own people, but it's different when countries like Argentina and Mexico do it. Latin American countries are much more in the firing line. The United States can hurt them a lot if it is angered by their actions, and it has a long history of doing just that.But from Argentina to Mexico, they are fed up to the back teeth with the violent and dogmatic U.S. policy on drugs, and they are starting to do something about it. [continues 777 words]
GRAND FORKS - A city councillor has decided to take a lead role in municipal advocacy for the legalization of medical cannabis in the province. In order to see the change in federal and provincial laws, Grand Forks councillor Joy Davies is trying to get cities in B.C. to support a motion for systemic change. To help educate the community about the use of marijuana as medicine, she is organizing an education forum of experts in the field for June 18 in Grand Forks. [continues 429 words]
A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, Leonie M. Brinkema, recently sentenced four young people to terms in the penitentiary ranging from 46 months to 20 years. The four, whose ages ranged from 19 to 21, were convicted of drug-war crimes relating to the possession and distribution of heroin. Faced with what the Washington Post described as "grim-faced" prosecutors and "bewildered" defendants, Brinkema imposed the harsh sentences because four other young people had died from "overdoses" of the heroin. What idiocy. All that Brinkema has accomplished is compounding the tragic deaths of four young people by destroying the lives of four other young people. Will those harsh jail sentences reduce the supply of drugs? No. [continues 529 words]
The ruling on the future of Vancouver's safe injection site should change the way we talk about drugs and addiction. It will certainly reveal that those who cling to the status quo - like federal Health Minister Tony Clement - place prejudice ahead of evidence and the law. Justice Ian Pitfield was ruling on an injunction application aimed at preventing the federal government from closing Insite. The injection site needs an exemption from drug possession laws to operate, so people can bring their drugs to the centre. Vancouver Coastal Health Authority would likely not continue funding if the site was operated illegally. [continues 614 words]
Finally, a court ruling that puts in perspective the five to 10 years' imprisonment that B.C. cannabis crusader Marc Emery faces in U.S. prison for selling pot seeds. In a judgment released Friday, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Richard Low ( backed by Justices Mary Newbury and Anne Rowles ) said a one-month jail sentence plus probation was appropriate punishment for such an offence. If anyone needed evidence, this decision exposes the fundamental unfairness of what is happening to Emery. [continues 717 words]
Gwynne Dyer's Jan. 9 column ( The struggle against the 'War on Drugs') was right on target. There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with heroin use. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Canada, England, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 121 words]
