The four-year jail sentence imposed on former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage by Justice Alexander Sosna and upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal last week is evi-dence some judges do treat impaired driving cases seriously. That's in sharp contrast to judges who don't seem capable of applying simple impaired driving laws as mentioned in last week's column. Many readers shared their theories on why some judges don't follow appellate directions or the law in impaired cases. [continues 468 words]
RACING FOR DRUGS: Event developed by RCMP coming to City of Kawartha Lakes for first time later this month The excitement of auto racing will be incorporated into a three day drug and alcohol awareness program coming to the City of Kawartha Lakes for the first time later this month. More than 800 local students will take in Racing Against Drugs, a community-based program developed by the RCMP that will be presented at the Lindsay Fairgrounds from Oct. 27 to 29. All Grade 5s in the municipality will take part. [continues 429 words]
Drugs: Local Health Unit to Use $284,308 Over Next 29 Months The federal government is supporting a project to help prevent youth from using illicit drugs. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit has been given $284,308 to kick off the Resiliency Project, which is designed to implement and promote activities aimed at preventing drug use among youth in Northumberland County, Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes. The money, from the government's Drug Strategy Initiatives Fund, will be used over the next 29 months. [continues 405 words]
It's never too early to start talking to your children about drugs. That's the message a retired police officer-turned-drug-educator told delegates attending the annual spring meeting of the Georgian Bay Conference of the ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada). "We give our kids medicine and tell them it's safe . . . what we have forgotten to tell them is that drugs are safe only if you follow the rules," Heather Hodgson-Schleich said. "As soon as a child starts talking, start talking to them, at age appropriate levels, about drugs. Make sure they understand the rules about medicine use. We don't wait for them to be hit before we tell them about traffic safety or talk to them about stranger awareness. It's the same with drugs. The more they know, the better prepared they will be." [continues 618 words]
Something is wrong when millions of dollars are being spent by the Conservatives to clean up our nation's drug-infested prisons -- yet almost a quarter of prisoners either tested positive or refused to be tested for narcotics and booze in 2008. Figures released by Correctional Service of Canada show 7,613 samples were requested for random urinanalysis tests designed to detect cocaine, cannabis, opiates and many pharmaceuticals. More than 850 inmates refused the testing competely while more than 13 per cent of those who agreed tested positive for an illicit substance. [continues 243 words]
Should the injection site for addicts in Vancouver be closed? Proponents argue that one million injections in Vancouver have saved lives and decreased the risk of HIV infection. Others contend injection sites send the wrong message and should be closed. But in this heated debate, why don't both sides and our government attack the root cause of this cancerous problem. First, how sick are these heroin addicts? I've no idea, as I've never treated addicts. But Dr. Theodore Dalrymple, a British prison doctor and psychiatrist, has treated addicts for years. In his book "Romancing Opiates", he writes that heroin is not as highly addictive as is claimed and withdrawal is not medically serious. He contends that a useless medical bureaucracy has been established to deal with addicts. [continues 584 words]
KAWARTHA LAKES - This is the time of year when marijuana harvesters plant their illicit crop, say police, who are asking rural citizens to be on the lookout for such activity. Swamps, corn fields, wooded areas and along rivers are prime areas for growing pot, according to the OPP Drug Enforcement Section's Central East Drug Unit. With an area located, growers bring fertilizer, shovels, chemicals, pails and the plants which are then maintained for about five months as they mature. The heartiness of the plant means it only has to be tended about once every two weeks, police said, adding that the growers will return in late September or early October to harvest the plants - leaving the roots behind. [continues 158 words]
In response to T.D. Allamby. It is this letter that is ludicrous. There has in the last 70 some years, been no need to search for alcohol in our schools. Why, because it has been legal, regulated, and controlled. It is the illegality of drugs that creates the criminality. What T.D.Allamby endorses is nothing more than fascism, and greater government control over our lives. Have we not learned from our past mistakes, and that of others? Can we reflect back on history, when it was illegal to be Jewish? When we sacrifice our freedoms for the sake of security, it is then, when we find that we lose both. C. Young Reynolds Rd Camby, Indiana [end]
"What is more private than a person's home?" I find the Supreme Court ruling that searches and the use of "sniffer" dogs can only be done in cases where there is "just" cause, to be ludicrous given the times we are living in. Adults, young adults and children do not usually disclose to the public when they are about to or have planned an illegal act against society. The element of surprise, secrecy, cover-up, hiding et al is usually the modus operandi of all criminals, terrorists and deranged individuals whether the criminal act they are the architects of is violent, non-violent or merely peddling drugs, guns, doing burglary, identity theft etc. [continues 552 words]
I'm sure Det. Const. Ernie Garbutt means well but the so called "dangers" of cannabis (marijuana) and it's cultivation (Grow-Ops Pose Many Dangers: Officer, Apr. 9, 2008) are alleviated by re-legalizing and regulating the relatively safe God-given plant. Garbutt also conveniently forgot to mention their take of the prohibition pie. Police and their unions know cannabis prohibition creates jobs they don't want to lose. It's time to stop persecuting, prohibiting and exterminating cannabis and live happily ever after. Truthfully, Stan White Climax Dr. Dillon, Colorado [end]
While Detective Constable Ernie Garbutt may be correct that money drives the illegal drug trade, his presentation contained two major inaccuracies that undermine his credibility. Firstly, Canada is in no way the largest supplier of marijuana to the United States. A few minutes of research on the RCMP or DEA websites clearly shows Mexico's contribution dwarfs Canada's. The DEA's 2008 Drug Threat Assessment is particularly clear that Canada's exports to the US have remained more or less constant since 2001. [continues 152 words]
I'm writing about Jason Bain's story: "Grow ops pose many dangers: Officer (4-9-08). There is one way, and only one way, to stop illegal marijuana grow-ops. Re-legalize marijuana so it can be sold in licensed and regulated businesses for pennies per dose. All other efforts are counterproductive. How many grow-ops grow tobacco--the kind that contains nicotine? Probably none. Criminalize tobacco and the situation would soon change. Then tobacco would be unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminals - just like marijuana is today. Kirk Muse Clearview Ave. Mesa, Arizona [end]
OMEMEE - A small group of citizens gave out a collective gasp as they were shown a photo of a room filled with towering stacks of cash amounting to about $100 million. Peterborough County OPP Det. Const. Ernie Garbutt of the Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit had just made his point in showing what drives the illegal drug trade. "That's what its all about," he said. The plain clothes officer was making a presentation on marijuana grow ops at the Omemee fire hall on behalf of City of Kawartha Lakes OPP and the Emily Omemee Manvers Community Policing Committee. [continues 1008 words]
To The Editor, RE: Councillor Urges Regulation Of Hallucinogenic Herb "Whatever the effects are, James believes salvia is dangerous." Belief means nothing. The fact is, salvia is non-toxic to the brain and body, and except for the smoke (anything burning is carcinogenic), it is about as safe as marijuana. There is nothing wrong with altering one's consciousness - it has been going on since before history. For all we know, using herbs to blow our minds actually pleases whoever or whatever put us here, and maybe all this singing and praying and big churches is just making It angry. Who are we to say? The very real danger with salvia comes from secondary injury. While high on salvia, the body is loose and wild, often flailing and stumbling around, while the mind is in the oblivion. [continues 52 words]
You can smoke it like marijuana. It produces hallucinogenic effects like LSD. It's also likely available in a corner store near you. Salvia divinorum, also known as diviner's sage, maria pastora or Sage of the Seers, is a herb which is a member of the sage genus and mint family. It is being called the "new pot" in some circles and this has City of Kawartha Lakes Ward 12 Coun. Gord James concerned. Last year, James recommended a resolution received from the city of Port Colbourne about a petition to the Minister of Health to call Health Canada to undertake a review of salvia be received and referred to both the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Services Board and local OPP for comment. [continues 262 words]
I'm writing about: "DARE rolling along; reaches a dozen city schools" (1-25-08). Common sense tells us that the DARE program should deter our youth from using illegal drugs. But it doesn't. DARE graduates are more likely to use illegal drugs--not less. Common sense tells us that the Earth is the center of the universe and our solar system. But it's not. Common sense tells us that prohibiting a product should substantially reduce the use of the product that's prohibited. [continues 105 words]
It's come a long way in a short time, but those behind the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program want to see it become even more of a household name. The program, coordinated by City of Kawartha Lakes OPP community services officer Const. Mark Boileau to help teach grade 5s and 6s the dangers of drugs and bullying, began in five classrooms in 2006. By June, DARE will have reached some 1,300 youngsters in all of the dozen schools in the detachments jurisdiction in the balance of the Kawartha Lakes outside of Lindsay and the former Ops Township. [continues 482 words]
Tuesday night's Throne Speech in Ottawa paid a lot of lip service to crime prevention, but without the necessary measures in place, the Conservative government's stance on crime has no real teeth to take a bite out of crime. During the speech the Conservative agenda included furthering their efforts with a Safer Communities strategy to deal with the critical intersection of drug, youth and property crime, as well as strengthening the Youth Criminal Justice Act to ensure that young offenders who commit serious crimes are held accountable to victims and their communities. [continues 333 words]
An OPP helicopter takes to the sky from the Lindsay airport as a long convoy of police vehicles make their way east towards the rural recesses of the former Emily Township. Marijuana harvest season is here and it's time to haul in the crop. On this day, OPP officers - some clad in tactical gear and camouflage - would emerge from property on Colony Road just west of Settlement Road with about 75 pot plants. It was far from the only crop of narcotic-yielding plants that police would cut down this week. [continues 405 words]
City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service has released its Annual Report for 2006, a year police Chief John Hagarty called one that saw many improvements for the municipal force. That includes not only reducing crime overall, but providing a more effective targeted response to illegal narcotics - an effort he said is continuing to reduce property crime-related charges in Lindsay and the former Ops Township. "If you can take that element off the street then your numbers are going to go down," he said. [continues 526 words]
