Lois Jackson says municipal hall is receiving five to 10 inquiries a day as legalization date less than a year off There are a lot of questions that need answering before recreational marijuana is legalized, says Mayor Lois Jackson. There are a lot of questions that need answering before recreational marijuana is legalized, says Mayor Lois Jackson, who's troubled Delta could become the pot growing capital of Canada. Jackson is attending the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver this week where members on Wednesday endorsed a resolution asking for cities to have meaningful consultation on legalizing pot. [continues 572 words]
Ruling Shuts Dispensary on Scott Road, but It Re-Opens Days Later Under a Different Name The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a medical marijuana dispensary in North Delta shut down. In a ruling earlier this month, and posted on the court's website last Thursday, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick ruled WeeMedical Dispensary Society didn't have a business licence and contravened Delta's zoning bylaw. Since a permanent statutory injunction preventing the dispensary from operating was put in effect earlier this month, the store obeyed the order, shut down, but then re-opened a few days later under a different name. [continues 535 words]
Tilbury Proposal Sent to Public Hearing Later This Month Delta council this week reluctantly gave preliminary approval for another medical marijuana facility, this one in Tilbury. On Monday, civic politicians agreed to see what the public had to say about a rezoning application by David Rose to open an industrial medical marijuana growing operation in the 7300-block of Vantage Way. Canapacific Engineering Inc. would remain on the main floor of the building and the grow operation would occupy the second storey. [continues 419 words]
Civic Legislation Prohibits Growing or Selling of Medical Marijuana Delta council has approved a bylaw amendment prohibiting the production, storage, research or sale of medical marijuana anywhere in the municipality. Civic politicians unanimously agreed to grant third reading to the bylaw Tuesday following a public hearing at municipal hall. "The new methods of producing medical marijuana are coming, there is no question about that," said Coun. Bruce McDonald. "What Delta's intention here is to create a situation where the community has some control of the things that are happening within our community." Tougher new federal rules that take effect April 1 will dramatically change how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. The regulations are aimed at permitting larger-scale operations over smaller, home-based ones. [continues 441 words]
Lois Jackson Calls UBCM Resolution 'Wrong-Headed' And Says It Would Create More Problems Than It Would Solve Mayor Lois Jackson believes her B.C. municipal colleagues made a terrible decision in calling for the decriminalization of marijuana. At the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria, a majority of municipal leaders voted in favour of a resolution calling for the decriminalization and taxation of the drug, although the power to change the laws rests with Ottawa. The motion, which was brought forward from the community of Metchosin on Vancouver Island, was a divisive one among the delegates. Those opposed maintain decriminalization will lead young people to more harmful drugs, while those in favour claim the current system helps organized crime reap big profits. [continues 182 words]
Public access to Burns Bog shouldn't be banned completely, says the president of the Burns Bog Conservation Society. Eliza Olson was asked to comment on three outdoor marijuana grow-ops found near the 10400-block of 64th Avenue earlier this month, a discovery made by a police helicopter. Officers on the ground seized a total of 1,200 mature plants as well as related equipment. According to Delta police, the plants were just a few weeks from harvest and would have yielded an estimated street value of $450,000. [continues 257 words]
A sixth candidate has entered the race in Delta South in next month's provincial election. Running as an independent, North Delta resident John Shavluk, an advocate for legalizing marijuana, had plenty to say at the all-candidates meeting Thursday at Delta Secondary. He said the Liberal government may brag about its record on the economy, but that supposed good fortune, which was based more on luck than policy, didn't trickle down to adequate school funding. Saying education should be a guarantee, Shavluk said he's in favour of removing post-secondary tuition to give everyone a chance to get ahead. [continues 184 words]
Delta is going to make it tougher on those who have marijuana grow-ops and drug labs. Delta council approved a proposal Monday to follow the lead of several other municipalities and create a public safety team to target grow-ops by conducting inspections. Saying they will look at what has worked and what mistakes have been made in cities, such as Coquitlam and Surrey, that have already established teams, fire chief Dan Copeland and deputy chief Byron Funnell outlined the Public Safety Initiative, a plan to create a Delta team involving the fire department and municipal hall staff. [continues 480 words]
Council approves plan for municipal personnel to inspect homes that have unusually high electrical usage Delta is going to make it tougher on those who have marijuana grow-ops and drug labs. Delta council approved a proposal Monday to follow the lead of several other municipalities and create a public safety team that would target grow-ops by conducting inspections. Saying they will look at what has worked and what mistakes have been made in cities, such as Coquitlam and Surrey, that have already established teams, fire chief Dan Copeland and deputy chief Byron Funnell outlined the Public Safety Initiative, a plan to create a Delta team involving the fire department and municipal hall staff. [continues 573 words]
A 19-year-old man who forced the temporary shutdown of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal last summer after claiming to be a terrorist blames the episode on his use of marijuana. Justin Goodfellow, a Saanich resident, pleaded guilty in Surrey provincial court last Friday to mischief in connection with an Aug. 17, 2005 incident in which he told staff he was a member of the Taliban. The Taliban is one of the Mujahideen (known as holy warriors or freedom fighters) groups that formed during the war against the Soviets. [continues 174 words]
TSAWWASSEN - A 19-year-old man who forced the temporary shutdown of the Tsawwassen ferry terminal last summer after claiming to be a terrorist blames the episode on his use of marijuana. Justin Goodfellow, a Saanich resident, pleaded guilty in Surrey provincial court last Friday to mischief in connection with an Aug. 17, 2005 incident in which he told staff he was a member of the Taliban. Goodfellow was with a friend when he made the remark after being told not to smoke cigars in the terminal building. [continues 52 words]
The Delta school board wants to make sure its schools are safe and caring places. Earlier this year, the district hired a consultant from the Institute for Safe Schools of British Columbia at the University of the Fraser Valley to conduct a safe school responsibility review. The consultant met with district and school staff and community agencies over several months to assess Delta's current programs, policies and protocols dealing with bullying, drug use and other issues. He came up with a list of recommendations how the board, which is already revising the district's code of conduct, can improve its policies. [continues 490 words]
Local civic workers want to become extra eyes and ears for the police. Representatives from CUPE Local 454 were at Delta council this week outlining a proposed City Watch program, aimed at reducing crime by encouraging workers working outdoors to be on extra alert for suspicious activities. "While we are out in the community we'd be trained what to look for, things such as grow ops, chop shops, break-ins or high risk offenders," said Darryl Robison, president of Local 454. [continues 378 words]
