A Program To Place OPP Officers In Wellington County High Schools Is Paying Off. Inspector Steve Walsh told the Wellington County Police Services Board at its meeting on February 8 in Mount Forest that the program has proven "successful" in combatting drug and alcohol abuse among students on school property. Officers reacted to 49 incidents in the current school year, most relating to marijuana use, Inspector Walsh said. The program was initiated shortly after OPP took over policing duties in Wellington County. [continues 193 words]
A Boxing Day shopping trip came to a tragic end when gang violence erupted - again - on a downtown Toronto street. Several bystanders were shot, one fatally. The 15-year-old girl was not the city's first murder victim, or the first innocent person shot to death in that city in 2005. But she was the victim who finally got the nation's attention. And the nation is saying a collective, "Enough is enough." We listen to the politicians, each of whom has some sort of simple solution to the situation, but most of us realize there will be no quick fix. Gang violence has been growing and becoming more virulent over the past decade and we fear it will get worse. [continues 456 words]
An estimated $163,000 worth of marijuana plants was discovered in a corn field near Elora recently, not a rare occurrence in this part of the world in the early autumn. What happens is someone in the illegal drug business plants marijuana along a fence or in the middle of a field of corn. No one knows the illegal crop is there, including the farmer. Sometimes a neighbour will wonder about a strange car parked along a country road, or fertilizer bags in the ditch. He might mention it in passing but rarely associates these things with drugs. [continues 497 words]
A recent comedy sketch by the Royal Canadian Air Farce described the recent drug bust at the old Molson plant in Barrie as "every young guy's dream come true -- a pot factory in a brewery." Discovery of the massive hydroponics operation in the vacant plant provided ample fodder for comedians. It also made the rest of us wonder how such an extensive operation could go unnoticed by the authorities. This was no college school kid growing a couple of strange plants in his bedroom; it was a sophisticated industrial operation that required a huge amount of electricity, water and chemicals. All of these leave evidence. Surely someone noticed the amount of electricity and water disappearing in the vicinity of the old brewery. [continues 528 words]
Local MP Murray Calder doesn't want a free ride for pot users, even if moderate marijuana use is decriminalized. Calder, MP for Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey and a Holstein chicken farmer, expects considerable debate on a movement to decriminalize the use of moderate amounts of marijuana. A recent report by a parliamentary committee suggested decriminalization of possession of up to 30 grams of pot or about 60 joints. Calder said he could support removing possession of 30 grams of pot from the Criminal Code, but added, users should face hefty fines. According to the MP the concern he has is that by decriminalizing possession of moderate amounts it leaves the message that pot use is alright. [continues 175 words]
