Nearly a century since the humble poppy first blossomed as an enduring symbol of military sacrifice, Canada's soldiers find themselves shoulder-deep in flowers of a very different colour, striking a delicate diplomatic balance between policy and practicality. The opium poppies that blanket Afghanistan in spring are far different and a great deal more treacherous than the red Remembrance Day variety that bloom on city streets in November. As Canadian soldiers patrol the vibrant pink opium fields of southern Afghanistan, they walk a narrow bridge of neutral territory that divides the Afghan government's U.S.-backed program to rid the country of poppies from the interests of dirt-poor growers whose help keeps coalition soldiers alive. [continues 619 words]
TORONTO - Police, government officials and private-sector emissaries pledged to put their heads together and press ahead Friday in a bid to turn the tide of what has been a decidedly one-sided battle against Ontario's burgeoning marijuana cultivation industry. The so-called "Green Tide" summit brought senior law enforcement and government officials together with members of the real estate, electricity, insurance and other industries with a vested interest in cracking down on the province's so-called "grow-ops." [continues 592 words]
Allegedly Forged Notes, Records TORONTO (CP) -- Six longtime veterans of Canada's largest urban police force were hit yesterday with a battery of criminal charges after a two-year probe into allegations of corruption, deceit and brutality among members of the city's drug squad. Between July 1995 and March 2002, the officers allegedly forged notes and police records, gave false testimony and affidavits to obtain search warrants and failed to account for seized evidence, said RCMP Chief Supt. John Neily, head of a special Toronto police task force probing the squad. [continues 395 words]
TORONTO -- Indoor marijuana-growing operations pose an increasing threat to public safety and cost consumers millions of dollars in stolen electricity and insurance costs, concludes a study by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. "This study rips the veil off this often concealed criminal activity," said association president Chief Ean Algar following release of the study yesterday. "Commercial marijuana-grow operations are found in urban and rural communities. They're located in residential areas. They are largely controlled by organized crime, endanger children and their families and cost our economy millions of dollars in stolen electricity." [continues 163 words]
Drug Squads Are Losing the Battle, Says the OPP's Deputy Commissioner. TORONTO -- Police in Ontario are fighting a losing battle against a burgeoning marijuana industry that's threatening public safety, lining the pockets of organized crime and robbing Canada's economy blind, law enforcement leaders said yesterday. The number of marijuana grow operations, or "grow ops," in Canada's most populous province grew by a staggering 250 per cent between 2000 and 2002, says a new report by the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario. [continues 580 words]
Adolescent drug use on a downswing but Ontario survey says binge drinking is a growing problem As is the case with most illicit drugs, the use of ecstasy is on the wane among students in Ontario, but binge drinking remains a problem, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reported yesterday. "The escalating trend in adolescent drug use that we have been following since the early 1990s has subsided, and there is some evidence of a downward movement," said Dr. Edward Adlaf, the lead researcher on the annual Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. [continues 537 words]
An Annual Study Shows A Worrying Trend Toward An Increase In Binge Drinking. TORONTO -- As is the case with most illicit drugs, the use of ecstasy is on the wane among students in Ontario, but binge drinking remains a problem, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reported yesterday. "The escalating trend in adolescent drug use that we have been following since the early 1990s has subsided, and there is some evidence of a downward movement," said Dr. Edward Adlaf, the centre's senior scientist and lead researcher on the annual Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. [continues 337 words]
Academics Split On Repercussions TORONTO (CP) - As the grownups bickered about the consequences, Ottawa started making good Tuesday on its promise to ease the criminal repercussions of possessing marijuana - and the kids took it all in stride. Young people across Canada celebrated the move as medical experts and academics clashed over whether decriminalization would light a fire underneath adolescent consumption rates. "It probably will encourage it, but from what I've seen most people do it anyway," said James Copley, a 19-year-old college student who lives in the Montreal area. [continues 353 words]
TORONTO (CP) - As the grownups bickered about the consequences, Ottawa started making good Tuesday on its promise to ease the criminal repercussions of possessing marijuana - and the kids took it all in stride. Young people across Canada celebrated the move as medical experts and academics clashed over whether decriminalization would light a fire underneath adolescent consumption rates. "It probably will encourage it, but from what I've seen most people do it anyway," said James Copley, a 19-year-old college student who lives in the Montreal area. [continues 757 words]
TORONTO - For the young owner of a hip new specialty shop, it's a special feeling when someone's mom or dad comes in to do a little last-minute Christmas shopping for the kids. But when the shop in question is the Friendly Stranger, a boutique that specializes in pipes, papers and other pot-smoking paraphernalia, it can only mean one thing: the times, they are a-changin' once again. "They come in, and they're like, 'He wanted this, this, and this; I have no idea what this is, but I know it's only for cannabis, so it's OK,' " Robin Ellins, founder of the Friendly Stranger, said with a chuckle. [continues 1347 words]
Violates People's Rights to Safety TORONTO -- The laws prohibiting marijuana possession in Canada continued to crumble yesterday as an Ontario judge declared unconstitutional Ottawa's scheme to allow the use of pot for medical reasons. It's not fair to allow people to smoke medicinal marijuana, then force them to get the drug from the corner drug dealer, which is what the scheme effectively does, said Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman. "Laws which put seriously ill, vulnerable people in a position where they have to deal with the criminal underworld to obtain medicine they have been authorized to take violate the constitutional right to security of the person," Lederman wrote in a 40-page ruling. [continues 298 words]
TORONTO (CP) - A group of seriously ill people has won the first battle in an ongoing war with Ottawa over a scheme to permit the use of medical marijuana the patients say violates their constitutional rights. An Ontario judge agreed Thursday that the federal government's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations are unconstitutional because they prevent more deserving people from exemption than they permit. The ruling from Ontario's Superior Court is binding on lower courts, subject to an appeal, and will likely wreak further havoc on the laws in Canada that make possession of marijuana illegal, said lawyer Alan Young. [continues 285 words]
Ontario Court Gives Ottawa Six Months To Fix Regulations Toronto - The laws prohibiting marijuana possession in Canada continued to crumble Thursday as an Ontario judge declared unconstitutional Ottawa's scheme to allow the use of pot for medical reasons. It's not fair to allow people to smoke medicinal marijuana, then force them to get the drug from the corner drug dealer, which is what the scheme effectively does, said Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman. "Laws which put seriously ill, vulnerable people in a position where they have to deal with the criminal underworld to obtain medicine they have been authorized to take violate the constitutional right to security of the person," Lederman wrote in a 40-page ruling. [continues 538 words]
TORONTO -- A group of seriously ill people has won the latest battle in an ongoing war with Ottawa over a federal scheme to permit the use of medical marijuana that the patients say violates their constitutional rights. An Ontario judge agreed Thursday that the federal government's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations are unconstitutional because they prevent more deserving people from exemption than they permit. The ruling from Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman is binding on lower courts and will likely wreak further havoc on the laws in Canada that make possession of marijuana illegal, said lawyer Alan Young. [continues 571 words]
Toronto - The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued Friday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 409 words]
TORONTO -- The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued yesterday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the Charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 493 words]
A group challenging Canadian rules hasn't a logical reason, federal lawyers argue. TORONTO -- The right to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons is no more enshrined in the Charter of Rights than the right to smoke crack cocaine, lawyers for the federal government argued yesterday. Yet that's the legal logic of a group of chronically ill Canadians who are in court to challenge the rules governing Ottawa's medical pot program, said federal lawyer Lara Speirs. Their argument "dilutes" the guarantee in Section 7 of the Charter to life, liberty and security of the person "to the point of absurdity," Speirs told Superior Court Justice Sydney Lederman. [continues 365 words]
Ottawa's Obstacles, Regulations For The Medicinal Use Of Pot Challenged In Court TORONTO -- A motley band of seriously ill people crowded into court Thursday to do battle with Ottawa over a scheme to permit the use of medical marijuana they say violates their constitutional rights. The group, with conditions ranging from AIDS and hepatitis C to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, wants to strike down federal rules governing medicinal pot, as well as the law that makes possession a criminal offence. [continues 613 words]
Medical Marijuana Advocates Fight Ottawa's Usage Rules TORONTO (CP) - A band of seriously ill people crowded into court Thursday to do battle with Ottawa over a scheme to permit the use of medical marijuana they say violates their constitutional rights. The group, with conditions ranging from AIDS and hepatitis C to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, wants to strike down federal rules governing medicinal pot, as well as the law that makes possession a criminal offence. "This is about the right to make fundamental personal decisions," Toronto lawyer and longtime cannabis crusader Alan Young told Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman. [continues 592 words]
