Vancouver pot activist Marc Emery will drop his fight against extradition and plead guilty in the U.S. to a single charge of distributing drugs, the so-called 'Prince of Pot' says. "I'm going to be making a guilty plea in Seattle in six to eight weeks," Emery told 24 hours. "Then I will be sentenced on that guilty plea sometime in August or September." Emery said he decided not to fight against his extradition, in a hearing that was supposed to happen this month, because he would have likely lost. [continues 104 words]
Kash Heed pulled back the curtains on the worst kept secret in provincial politics yesterday, officially confirming he would run as a B.C. Liberal in Vancouver-Fraserview. But the 30-year police veteran, tabbed as a natural pick for Solicitor General should he and his party get elected May 12, also comes with strong opinions on drug laws and policing that would put him on the hot seat as B.C.'s top cop. Heed is on record criticizing marijuana prohibition and supporting the removal of criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of pot. [continues 173 words]
A legal battle with city hall could see B.C.'s 'Prince of Pot' getting smoked out of his Downtown Vancouver headquarters. Marc Emery faces drug charges in the U.S. that could land him behind bars. But it's a simple dispute over a city business licence that threatens to hit the outspoken marijuana advocate where it hurts - in his pocketbook. Emery says the city has refused to issue him a licence for the businesses he runs on the 300-block of West Hastings Street. Emery claims the city won't issue him a business licence because of his 2004 arrest and conviction in Saskatchewan for trafficking - he says a witness saw him passing a joint at a rally. [continues 123 words]
But Critics Say the Efforts Amount to a Dangerous Step Toward Legalizing Drugs. Vancouver, British Columbia - Every morning for a year, Rob Vincent walked into a clinic on the edge of Vancouver's roughest neighborhood, rolled up his sleeves and injected pharmaceutical heroin. Each time, Mr. Vincent played the role of guinea pig in a controversial, three-year, government-funded experiment that supporters hope will change the face of addiction treatment in this picturesque but drug-riddled western port city. The findings of the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, or NAOMI, were released here on Oct. 17 and the results, researchers say, are "remarkable." [continues 729 words]
"America's mayor" isn't a fan of Canada's first and only supervised injection site. In town to speak at a conference in Surrey yesterday, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani told reporters he would oppose a facility like Vancouver's Insite from ever opening in the United States. "I think heroin is a very deadly drug and I don't think anyone should be encouraged to use it or be assisted in using it," Giuliani said. "I think that's a terrible mistake." [continues 182 words]
Local proponents of harm reduction will have a chance to advise the United Nations on international drug policy at a UN-endorsed conference next week. Vancouver is playing host to some 70 to 80 drug experts next Monday and Tuesday as part of an international conference on drug use. For UVic researcher and conference organizer Dan Reist, the UN dialogue has been focused on enforcement issues, leaving out matters of human rights and harm reduction. "We'd like to see these things more front and centre in the discussion," Reist said yesterday. [continues 120 words]
Legalizing marijuana is the first step in addressing the Lower Mainland's recent spate of public shootings and gang violence, says a former mayor of Vancouver. Larry Campbell, now a Liberal senator in Ottawa, says gang violence is directly linked to the drug trade. "It's all about money and it's all about power and it's all about territory," Campbell, a former drug squad cop, told 24 hours in an interview. "So until we do something about the issue of drugs and drug addiction, we can expect to see this happen with certainty." [continues 179 words]
A Vancouver firefighter has been arrested after police took down a suspected grow-op in his suburban home. Delta police say they were acting on a tip Thursday afternoon when they seized 380 plants with a street value of $140,000. The news came as a shock to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Capt. Rob Jones-Cook, who learned about the arrest only after being phoned by a newspaper reporter. "It's something that took us quite by surprise," Jones-Cook said yesterday. [continues 51 words]
Will a proposal to give legal drug substitutes to hardcore addicts solve Vancouver's drug problems? A majority of residents appear willing to give the idea a try. A new survey done for 24 hours suggests cautious support for Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to prescribe synthetic drugs to some 700 Downtown Eastside addicts. The survey, by official 24 hours pollster Strategic Communications, showed 57 per cent of respondents thought Sullivan's Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment proposal could be a "good idea." [continues 381 words]
One of the UK's top cops says his country's health system should be prescribing heroin to hardcore addicts, according to a published media report. Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, told Britain's Independent newspaper that prescribing heroin would reduce crime rates and prevent overdose deaths. "You need to understand there is a hardcore, a minority, who nevertheless commit masses of crime to feed their addiction," Jones told the paper last month. "We have got to be realistic. [continues 553 words]
Richmond fire inspectors want to take a peek at your next hydro bill. It's part of a trial strategy meant to sniff out the city's grow-ops. City council is being asked to give the idea the thumbs up at a meeting today. If approved, the plan would see the creation of an electrical safety inspection program targeting grow-ops. B.C. Hydro would be asked to reveal the names and addresses of residents who use at least triple the average electricity consumption rate, and a five-person team would be charged with investigating unusually high usage. [continues 184 words]
Vancouver's NPA-led city council looks set to approve permanent funding for the city's drug policy czar. City council approved a position for drug policy coordinator Donald MacPherson in 2000, but funding has always been year-to-year. It looks like that could change. "We've concluded that we might as well keep it going indefinitely," said Coun. Suzanne Anton, whose centre-right Non-Partisan Association has a majority on council. "If you ever manage to solve the drug problem, then the program could come to an end. But I don't think anyone sees that happening in the next couple of years." [continues 89 words]
The manager of one hotel that caters to low-income renters predicts more Downtown Eastside hotels will close, kicking its residents onto the street, if the city's drug conundrum isn't solved. Landlords just can't afford to deal with the costs of housing drug addicts, according to Harold Myshrall, who manages a low-income residential hotel on Granville Street. "A lot of landlords are just saying, enough is enough," Myshrall told 24 hours in an interview. "It's just easier to close than to stay in business." [continues 284 words]
Health officials in Vancouver are touting a new centralized phone line that refers addicts to addiction and detox services. The Access Central toll-free line will provide "one-stop shopping" for adults with alcohol and drug addictions, Vancouver Coastal Health president Ida Goodreau told reporters yesterday. VCH is the first regional health authority in the province to use a centralized addiction referral phone number, and Health Minister George Abbott said he would eye it as a "best practice" that could be rolled out province-wide in the future. [continues 93 words]
The woman who owned a local pot cafe that explicitly sold marijuana will have to wait at least another 10 days to discover her fate. Carol Gwilt, 39, owned the Da Kine Cafe on Commercial Drive when it was busted in a large police raid in September 2004. She was to have been sentenced yesterday on various possession charges, but Crown lawyer Paul Riley was granted an adjournment to deal with last-minute matters. Gwilt will now return to court next Friday, where both Crown and defence lawyer Jason Gratl are expected to make a joint submission on her sentence. [continues 58 words]
September means deadline time for Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site. The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users says it'll seek a court injunction to prevent the federal government from closing Insite. Meanwhile, supporters say a recent poll shows more than 70 per cent of Lower Mainlanders want to keep Insite open if scientific evidence supports its benefits. Yesterday, volunteer Aaron Greycloud sorted through some 4,000 letters to be sent to PM Stephen Harper, urging the Conservative government to keep Insite open. A decision is expected by Sept. 12. [end]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he expects an announcement on the status of Vancouver's supervised injection site "very soon." "I won't be making any announcements on this trip," Harper told reporters in a tightly controlled news conference in Vancouver yesterday. "But I anticipate [Health Minister Tony Clement will] be making an announcement on that very quickly." Insite, the Downtown Eastside injection facility, operates on a legal exemption that expires Sept. 12. The site's backers yesterday were still rallying support before the deadline. [continues 171 words]
Vancouver needs more supervised injection sites, not less, says former mayor Larry Campbell. As the federal government ponders shutting down Insite, the high-profile facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Campbell says we should instead be looking at new sites. "I would be disappointed if the federal government said, 'Oh, it's a good idea, but it's a one-off,'" Campbell said yesterday. Now a Liberal senator, Campbell was speaking at a press conference with other former mayors Philip Owen and Mike Harcourt, urging the government to keep Insite open. [continues 166 words]
Health Minister Tony Clement has been silent, but what are some local MP's thinking? - - David Emerson, Conservative, Vancouver Kingsway "So far, what I read in the newspaper looks very positive," Emerson told The Globe and Mail in July. - - Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Newton-North Delta "It's a public health issue. It's a part of Canadian values and we've got to deal with it," said Dhaliwal, who supports keeping Insite open. - - John Cummins, Conservative, Delta-Richmond East "You have to demonstrate clearly that because of the safe injection site, people are fighting their drug dependence and taking steps to end it," Cummins said. "I'm not convinced that kind of research has been done." - - Don Bell, Liberal, North Vancouver "I think we need to come up with a strategy to reduce drug use, but in the meantime I think the goal of harm reduction and cutting HIV transmission is one that makes this a worthwhile project." [end]
Injection drug users are more likely to enter detox programs after using Vancouver's supervised injection site, suggests new research to be presented today. Researchers at the Downtown Eastside facility say the findings refute the notion that the injection site, Insite, is encouraging drug use. "It tells us Insite is fulfilling one of its key objectives, which is to help people get into addiction services that can actually help people stop injecting," said Dr. Thomas Kerr, one of the principal investigators at Insite. "People have been concerned this site enables drug use. This is further evidence that it is actually connecting people to very important treatment services." [continues 162 words]
