BISMARCK, N.D. -- North Dakota is pushing ahead with plans to license state farmers to grow industrial hemp even as it tries to allay law enforcement fears about marijuana's biological cousin. State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and his department are crafting hemp rules after meeting in February with Drug Enforcement Agency officials in Washington. A public hearing on the proposed rules is slated for June 15. The rules would require a criminal background check on farmers who want to grow hemp. The sale of hemp and location of the hemp fields must be documented. And the farmer must get a permit from the DEA. [continues 468 words]
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is the first in a series of monthly features on methamphetamine addicts' attempts at recovery. The remainder of the series will appear the first Sunday of each month in the Local section. In her struggle to rout methamphetamine addiction, Dawn Jackson has had an angel by her side. But this angel doesn't always live up to her name. Jackson's daughter, Angelique "Angel" Risley, has been tainted by her mother's demons. The 12-year-old suffers mental and behavioral disorders likely caused by exposure to meth in the womb. For four years, Angel was a ward of the state, living in foster care and treatment centers for children diagnosed with acute mental illness. [continues 695 words]
MEXICO WAS on the verge of executing a bold plan to decriminalize small amounts of drug possession. Now it's not. Mexican President Vicente Fox, who proposed the idea two years ago, backpedaled, saying he would no longer support the bill that the legislature pushed through in a last-minute effort last week. That'll help Fox's political relationship with the United States. We doubt it'll do much for the people of Mexico. Sixteen months ago, President Fox declared "the mother of all battles" against drug trafficking. The result has been a horrifying spate of violence -- more than 1,500 lives in the past year. It doesn't seem to be having an impact on Mexican drug cartels, which are growing in strength as Colombia's drug lords decline. The Mexican cartels spend as much time battling each other over lucrative trade routes into the United States as they do decapitating police officers in Acapulco. Much of the problem lies with the Mexican criminal-justice system, which experts acknowledge is corrupt. [continues 332 words]
A Toronto cop who played a key role in Canada's biggest police corruption probe has been charged with misconduct for talking to the media. Jim Cassells, a 29-year Toronto Police veteran with a distinguished career, allegedly talked to a newspaper reporter in November and "discussed" an ongoing probe. Cassells was among about 25 Toronto detectives who served on an RCMP-led special task force that probed alleged wrongdoing in a Central Field Command drug squad unit led by Det.-Sgt. John Schertzer. [continues 226 words]
Re: Tories unveil crime crackdown plan, May 4. Conditional sentencing is an important safety measure. Canada's growing prison population, mounting evidence that jail time does not reduce the chances of re-offending, and other factors have led to an increasing use of conditional sentences. Calls to eliminate conditional sentences for impaired driving causing death or serious injury seem to be driven by a sense of justice based on punishing offenders for the devastation they have caused. The argument is presented that long prison sentences are a more effective deterrent than house arrest. If that is true, offenders who go to jail should be less likely to re-offend when released than those given conditional sentences. Yet the two groups tend to re-offend at about the same rates. There is even evidence that long prison sentences without other remedial programs may actually increase the chances of re-offending after release. [continues 217 words]
Two anti-crime bills introduced by the Conservative government last week included some good initiatives. But mandatory minimum sentencing was not one of them. Yet that is the measure likely to have the biggest impact on Canada's justice system. The Conservatives estimate that between the mandatory minimum (MM) sentencing law and a second bill designed to eliminate conditional sentences such as community service or house arrest for a number of crimes, as many as 4,000 people will be added to the country's prison population. [continues 390 words]
Re: New Tory sentencing rules would put more criminals in jail at hefty cost, May 4. So Steven Harper says he will reduce crime by introducing mandatory minimum sentences and longer sentences. Does anyone seriously believe that a longer sentence will lead a drug lord to retire, or a sexual predator to celibacy? Criminals are criminals because they either don't believe they will go to jail or they don't care. Either way, increases in sentences won't deter them. [continues 270 words]
Editor, The News: I just wanted to say a big thank-you to Ridge Meadows RCMP for their recent shut down of another five marijuana grow-ops within the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge Area on April 27th. Reports have suggested that many motorists driving by some of these raids/take-downs were showing their appreciation too by giving the "thumbs-up" to the police as these operations were being shut down and dismantled. Sadly, it is now commonplace to see these grow-ops smack in the middle of residential neighborhoods. [continues 160 words]
Walk into practically any drug store, hardware or automotive supply store and you can buy materials that can supply a crystal meth lab. Sudafed, or any brand of cold tablets containing ephadrine or pseudoephedrine, acetone, paint thinner, brake cleaner, iodine, methanol in gas line anti freeze, red phosphorus from matches or road flares, propane, cat litter, rock salt, coffee filters and many more items are used to extract the methamphetamine from cold remedy tablets. "Common household items. Individually there's no problem," said RCMP Const. Beth Blackburn. "All this stuff together, we have issues." [continues 232 words]
A month-long campaign to bring awareness about the dangers of crystal meth use to youth and families begins tomorrow with a community forum at Wellington secondary. Members of Nanaimo's Crystal Meth Task Force have planned a series of forums, advertisements and mail-outs designed to give people information about the dangers of crystal meth use. The task force began in September 2005 with a community forum at McGirr elementary, which saw 325 people attend. The task force hopes to replicate that success with a series of forums throughout May. [continues 178 words]
I have had the privilege of meeting with the Grade 5 classes at Vermilion Forks School for the last nine weeks talking about tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, peer pressure and their harmful effect through D.A.R.E program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). D.A.R.E.'s ultimate goal is to provide children with alternative choices and options when dealing with the peer pressures they face every day. This program not only challenges the young people but provides them with personal tools and insight which assists them in making these healthy lifestyle choices. [continues 447 words]
