Wiring, Duct Work, Mould Can Add To Cleanup Costs Owners of buildings found to house marijuana grow ops will be saddled with a bill for costs associated with dismantling the illegal operations with Orillia council's approval of a fee bylaw. The bylaw was part of a package that included two new protocol agreements surrounding dismantling residential grow-ops found in the city. The two protocol documents outline the process the OPP, Orillia Fire Department and the city's building division will follow when a marijuana grow operation is discovered. [continues 563 words]
Marijuana Dealers, Not The Drug Itself, Blamed For Crime Legalizing drugs as a way to combat the drug trade may go against traditional views, but it's an idea with its share of supporters. A Packet & Times story last week in which a member of the Huronia combined forces drug unit talked about violence in relation to drugs received many responses. One was from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization comprised of current and former police officers, attorneys, judges and corrections workers. [continues 409 words]
Narcotics Trade Often Linked To Violent Crime, Say Police While marijuana continues to be viewed by some as a relatively harmless drug, the Huronia combined forces drug unit doesn't see it that way. "I hate it when people say, 'It's just marijuana. Why don't you go after the crack?'" said Det. Const. Jay Hutton. "We've seen marijuana linked to violence." A member of the Mnjikaning Police Service, Hutton has been involved with the drug unit, which comprises officers from area police forces, for more than two years. [continues 321 words]
While marijuana continues to be viewed by some as a relatively harmless drug, the Huronia combined forces drug unit doesn't see it that way. "I hate it when people say, 'It's just marijuana. Why don't you go after the crack?'" said Det. Const. Jay Hutton. "We've seen marijuana linked to violence." A member of the Mnjikaning Police Service, Hutton has been involved with the drug unit, which comprises officers from area police forces, for more than two years. [continues 321 words]
City To Draft Bylaw To Recoup Costs The City of Orillia is tired of bearing the costs of dismantling marijuana grow houses. At its meeting Tuesday, the Orillia Police Services Board passed a unanimous motion to begin work on a draft bylaw that would set out fees to help recover those costs. "We do need something in place," said board member George Morano. After receiving the go-ahead from city council, members of the board voted to have manager of legislative services Gayle Jackson work with Orillia OPP detachment commander Insp. Terry Wright to draft the bylaw. The new bylaw would allow the city to recoup from the property owner all costs associated with dismantling grow houses or making them acceptable for resale. [end]
The Orillia Police Services Board passed a unanimous motion yesterday to begin work on a draft bylaw that would set out fees to help recover costs associated with dismantling of marijuana grow houses. After receiving the go-ahead from city council, members of the board voted to have manager of legislative services Gayle Jackson work with detachment commander Terry Wright to draft the bylaw. "I think personally that we do need something in place," said board member George Morano, during discussions about whether to go ahead with the bylaw. [continues 242 words]
Drayton Valley Western Review -- Enhanced treatment programs, extensive education and more targeted policing when it comes to methamphetamine are all identified as top priorities as the Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth prepares its final recommendations to be brought forward to the Province. Drayton Valley Mayor Diana McQueen sits on the 12-member task force headed by Colleen Klein and Dr. Bob Westbury and she expects that, after months of public consultations and discussion, the final report and recommendations will be presented to the premier next month. [continues 468 words]
With public consultation coming to a close the Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth, which includes Drayton Valley Mayor Diana McQueen, is ready to move on to the next step in bringing forward recommendations to the province. The task force, created by Premier Ralph Klein in October of 2005 and co-chaired by his wife Colleen and Dr. Bob Westbury, has spent the last few months travelling the province gathering public input before coming up with a series of recommendations to develop a province-wide strategy to combat the impacts of crystal meth. [continues 317 words]
DRAYTON VALLEY -- Crystal meth drew a crowd to the town offices last week as the community cluster group from the Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth made a stop in Drayton Valley to gather the thoughts of the community on how to tackle the issue. Around 45 community members representing sectors such as education, health, police, support services and industry gathered to hear how Drayton Valley combats its own meth problem as well as offer their own ideas and recommendations to be forwarded to the task force. [continues 480 words]
The ongoing fight against crystal meth in the province got another strong ally last week with the first meeting of the premier's task force on solutions to the crystal meth threat that features a local voice. Drayton Valley Mayor Diana McQueen said she was approached a few weeks ago and asked to be the representative for municipalities on the 12-person task force, being chaired by the premier's wife, Colleen Klein. The task force is bringing together a wide range of people with the goal of working toward addressing the problem of crystal meth in areas such as awareness, prevention, treatment and healing as well as looking at things such as legislation and enforcement. [continues 282 words]
