Innisfil will be attempting to smoke out drug dealers and grow-ops. Town council passed a controlled substances bylaw, which sets standards that allow municipal investigators to inspect properties that contain controlled substances like marijuana. It also sets fees and charges which result from an investigation, said councillor Bill Pring. The bylaw is expected to crack down on grow-ops and drug laboratories, and deter dealers from selling illicit substances on private property within the town, he said. "With the passing of this bylaw, the good citizens can inform the police of where these illegal operations are being held," said Pring. "We will be registering the buildings, so they cannot be rented or change hands until such time as our chief building officer is satisfied that the building is free of mold or anything that could create health problems." [continues 252 words]
The flyer residents recently received with their hydro bills regarding grow operations in the town has brought some tips to Simcoe- Dufferin-Muskoka Crime Stoppers. "All the information helps," said Joanne Gates of SDM Crime Stoppers. In a delegation before Committee of the Whole Wednesday evening, Gates told council there are 1200 world wide Crime Stoppers programs, with 39 in Ontario alone. Made of volunteers, Crime Stoppers is a non profit organization that holds fundraisers in order to raise the money needed for cash rewards. [continues 108 words]
Dear editor, I read with interest about the motion regarding grow ops, meth labs, etc. Although this may be an idea in principle, I believe it would be totally in vain. These people have no regard for life let alone property. I seriously doubt the township could ever "collect" on refurbishing or demolishing these properties or, at the very least, the owners/tenants would be long gone. Last year my neighbour was dealing drugs, so busy at one point that traffic at their house was steady 24 hr. a day for approx. 2 months. Our local police station referred me to our main narcotics detective covering all of Simcoe County & Muskoka. Despite understanding this large territory & workload, our neighbourhood wanted this stopped which did take a number of months after their money & sources began drying out. In the meantime, these neighbours somehow avoided having their house repossessed by the bank at the ninth hour and continued living there long after heat & hydro had been disconnected right into Nov-Dec. Another repossession notice, they stripped the house of cabinets & anything that could be removed, sold it for a song and WALKED, scot free. The house is a shambles, basement flooded with 5 ft of water, likely unfit for refurbishing. And who's left with this mess? The bank, not the owner. Not only have they not been arrested for illegal drug trafficking, they have no further responsibility to the property they trashed. [continues 127 words]
Dear Editor, It is commendable to stop citizens from driving while honestly impaired (Taking Action To Protect Our Community, Nov. 22, 2006), as long as citizens who use cannabis (kaneh bosm / marijuana) responsibly are not targeted for simply having trace amounts of THC in their body. Just like responsible alcohol consumers having alcohol in their body may pass impairment tests, so too should cannabis consumers. Discriminating responsible cannabis users able to walk-the-line is unacceptable. This is important since various jurisdictions in North America have attempted enacting laws targeting citizens with any trace amount of THC in their body as being impaired, yet is not a clear case of impairment. Truthfully, Stan White, Dillon, Colorado, USA [end]
Canada's New Government Will Introduce Drug-Impaired Driving Legislation Canada's New Government will take action to help police keep drug impaired drivers off the road. We hope to make drug-impaired driving as socially unacceptable as drunk driving has become amongst adults and teens alike. Our Government recognizes the need to target drug-impaired driving. We are prepared to take action to prevent future drugimpaired incidents. The objective of the proposed legislation is to avoid reckless deaths and injuries of innocent people. [continues 221 words]
