Richmond politicians want to take a close look at a pilot project in Surrey that renders marijuana growers literally powerless. "I'd like to examine the results of what has happened to this point, but I would definitely like Richmond to take a look at such a program," said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. Coun. Linda Barnes, who chairs the ccommunity safety committee, plans to ask Fire Chief Jim Hancock to look into a new approach of cutting power to suspected grow-ops. "Anything we can do to help shut down grow-ops and keep not only our residents - but also our police and firefighters - safe is worth looking into," she said. [continues 534 words]
As a founding member of the new Crystal Meth Victoria Society (CMVS), I read the June 17 story "Crystal Meth - Often Free" with great sadness. The parents' heartbreak of trying to deal with this poison called meth and seeing their child slide down a very dangerous slope is sadly all too familiar. Trying to gather information and resources, including treatment options, is often a daunting and exhausting task. This reality led to the formation of the society. The efforts of CMVS far exceed the bounds of Victoria. We are assembling a task force of people and organizations with the drive and expertise to battle this menace, similar to the successful task force in Maple Ridge. [continues 187 words]
The city granted business licences to at least 30 specialized garden stores without knowing they are allegedly selling equipment strictly to set up marijuana growing operations. It wasn't until city inspectors and police learned of the stores' link to the marijuana industry that the city's business licence division decided it must take action, said Barb Windsor, the city's deputy chief licensing inspector. "We've been licensing them and not realizing what these stores were doing," Windsor said. She believes a bylaw is needed to prohibit the businesses from operating. The stores are selling timing boards, electrical equipment, fertilizer and venting materials. [continues 498 words]
Kelowna councillors will pressure the province through the Union of B.C. Municipalities for a B.C.-wide strategy to crack down on marijuana grow-ops On Monday, councillors also voted in favour of submitting a UBCM resolution by Thursday's deadline, calling on the union to organize a meeting of interested municipalities to study the results of two pilot projects in Surrey and Abbotsford The UBCM convention isn't until September, and Abbotsford is only partway through its 90-day pilot project, but Surrey had great success with its team of in-house electrical and fire inspectors, deputy city clerk Stephen Fleming told council [continues 311 words]
Victoria is the second city in B.C. to get in line for the brave new world of safe injection sites," as they are persistently referred to in the mainstream media. If it goes ahead, our quaint old capital will also be the second city in Canada to embrace this trendy European strategy. Or North America for that matter, since so far only Vancouver has taken the plunge. Once this questionable bit of social engineering spreads to two cities, look for it to pop up in other B.C. communities that have a significant hard drug problem, which is to say most of them. They're already talking about it in Kamloops. [continues 521 words]
Your June 19th editorial made the common mistake of confusing drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. The good news is that B.C. has already adopted many of the common sense harm reduction interventions first pioneered in Europe. [continues 138 words]
It is hard not to overestimate the danger posed by methamphetamine. The drug, which was the focus of a conference in Chilliwack recently, packs an attractive combination for young people. It's cheap and the euphoric effects last a long time. It also carries a danger that people in this country are just starting to figure out. Crystal meth, as it's more commonly referred to, has already ravaged cities in the U.S., leaving crime, poverty and broken lives in its wake. The warnings coming from those cities have been blunt: This is no recreational drug that users can dabble in and move on. Its hooks are sharp and once imbedded they are difficult to remove. [continues 122 words]
"The history of the 'war on drugs,' and more specifically the well-documented history of marijuana legislation, makes it clear that the goals of the repeatedly declared 'wars' have little to do with availability and use of harmful substances, and a lot to do with what is called 'population control' in the literature of counterinsurgency. The targets are both at home and abroad-overwhelmingly the poor and defenseless... The 'war on drugs' has the dual function of eliminating the disposable people (being civilized, we lock them up rather than murdering them) and frightening the rest, and has been cynically used for these purposes. The case of Renee Boje illustrates this cynical abuse of power..." [continues 700 words]
Abbotsford property owners who have marijuana growing operations found on their premises will have that information put on their Land Title Office files in New Westminster. Anyone interested in purchasing the property will be aware of potential problems, bylaw manager Gordon Ferguson said in a report presented to city council last week. Owners who object to such a notice on their file can speak to the city council at a public hearing. The city is using Section 57 of the Community Charter to take the action. The section states notice can be filed with the Land Title Office when "construction or safety concerns related to a building or structure is discovered; or work without the required permit or inspection is discovered," Ferguson wrote in his report. [continues 318 words]
About 100 people, including students, parents and members of the education community, attended a meeting at Charles Hays last night to talk about drug use. Several members of the RCMP, including Sgt. Ken Burton, and Dale McKinnon from Northern Health's Mental Health and Addiction Services spoke about what drugs are available in Prince Rupert, (and what parents should be aware is available in town) and what services are offered to help parents who believe their teens may be abusing substances. [continues 443 words]
Last week, I wrote about how it has been almost nine months since local emergency service workers started noticing the scourge crystal methamphetamine is becoming in our community. As a reporter, it's been a few months since I started hearing the drug's name pop up more often. I found myself talking with regular sources about the issue and waiting for a time that it could properly be addressed for the whole community. In those months I have heard horror stories about meth and what it does to its users. [continues 486 words]
