House arrest can be more confining than a jail cell. Former Holy Smoke owners and marijuana advocates Alan Middlemiss, Paul DeFelice and employee Kelsey Stratas, recently saw their jail sentences converted to house arrest by the BC Court of Appeals. But the conditions of the house arrest currently remain undefined. "Not being allowed out in the yard is not a condition you ever see but since they were released without these details being known then you have to assume that everything that's not permitted is prohibited," said the men's defense attorney, Donald Skogstad. "Right now, if you looked at it literally, they can't leave the house if there's a fire in the house. Prisoners get more rights than they do at present." [continues 331 words]
Middlemiss and Defelice Sentenced With House Arrest Instead of Incarceration in Holy Smoke Case On Wednesday, June 2, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, the highest court in BC, decided unanimously to reduce the sentences facing former Holy Smoke Culture Shop owners Paul DeFelice and Alan Middlemiss and employee Kelsey Stratas. DeFelice and Middlemiss faced a sentence of one year in jail that was reduced to nine months house arrest. Stratas, originally given nine months in jail, received six months house arrest. "This sentence is far more appropriate. In fact, it's better than what they had hoped for" said defense attorney Donald Skogstad. "When you go into an appeal you're saying to one judge that another judge is wrong and you have to prove pretty substantial error." [continues 267 words]
Dear Premier Please add my name to the thousands of British Columbians who do NOT WANT the privatization of our creeks and rivers, or the development around them! Do NOT PROCEED with the Howser Glacier project, we don't want it we don't want it we don't want it we don't want it! Please get the picture... I know money is needed to save B.C. because of the deep dark hole the Olympics has caused. Instead, why don't you legalize marijuana and industrial hemp and start a whole new industry...it wouldn't take long and would take us out of that hole. If you are anti-legalization of marijuana then it only makes sense that you must be pro for organized crime. It is a crime that good BC Bud is being exchanged for hard drugs. If it were legal it would be harder to do so. If marijuana is illegal because of our health, then why are cigarettes and alcohol legal. Prohibition does not work, education does! Perhaps the lives of politicians would be in danger if they voted for legalization. I hope it is on the tables for discussion soon because it is so ridiculous that is illegal. Linda Kelly West Kootenays, BC [end]
Dear editor. In your report of the Holy Smoke trial ("Holy Smoke4"guilty,Oct.1), the defendants claimed that they provided customers with safe marijuana that could also be used as medicine. In response, Judge Donald Sperry said that the undercover police who were sold marijuana there wanted it for neither purpose. The response by the judge is irrelevant. By analogy, people buy condoms mainly to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. That some people buy them to use as water containers has no bearing on whether condoms should be sold or not. The motive of the buyer is irrelevant to the argument of the defence that Holy Smoke has provided a community service. John Rowell Nelson [end]
Dear editor, Judge Donald Sperry was wrong to quickly dismiss the "Holy Smoke Four's" necessity defence. Judge Sperry said the undercover police officers who bought the marijuana were neither underage, sick or concerned with quality. First, it is true that the undercover police officers were not underage. If they were underage, they would not have obtained marijuana. The Holy Smoke Four stated that they only sold marijuana to people over the age of 19. That was a responsible business practice. [continues 137 words]
Don Skogstad Finishes Arguments In Case That Could Invalidate Thousands Of Search Warrants In The Interior A local lawyer has finished his arguments in a case that could change the way search warrants are handled across British Columbia and invalidate thousands of search warrants issued in the past six years, calling the police investigations and subsequent court cases into question. Don Skogstad has argued the current practice of issuing search warrants from a central office in Burnaby is at odds with the Canadian Criminal Code. This case has been brewing for some time, said Skogstad, who also defended the owners of Holy Smoke against drug trafficking charges this May. [continues 361 words]
Dear editor: Drug prohibition was never about public safety, it has always been about control. Drug prohibition laws offer the police all the "rights" they need to harass and detain the young, the poor and people of colour. This generates an ever-growing need for more cops and more jails, so that they can continue to justify their existence. Then, police and government use the media to perpetrate their propaganda about how terrible drugs are (even though junk food kills many people) and the snowball grows even more. Their message seems to be that we need more prohibition to protect us from the dangers of prohibition. But the only thing drug prohibition protects us from is our freedom. Russell Barth Ottawa [end]
Kudos to your opinion piece calling for the regulation of all drugs. This is an idea whose time has come (again). I would just like to point out that you missed something in your analysis of drug users. You assume they all need to be weaned off drugs. The fact is the vast majority of users of most drugs do so in a responsible, adult, manner. Cannabis, like alcohol, can be used throughout one's life, if done so in moderation and in appropriate settings. [continues 65 words]
Dear editor: Alcohol prohibition of course did not work and was repealed not because we want people to consume the hard, addictive and destructive drug, alcohol, but because we learned prohibition just created violent gangs that could care less what they sold to the alcohol-consuming public. I fully support the Holy Smoke and their actions to reduce the evil and harms caused by hard addictive drugs. We will never be able to stop humankind from consuming them if they so desire, centuries of history has shown that as solid fact. The Holy Smoke people are nothing short of serious heroes. In fact it is time I send them a donation today. Keith Fagin Calgary [end]
Dear editor: The courts are now processing the "criminal"charge against Holy Smoke Culture Shop. As we know cases are sometimes switched city location because a hostile environment surrounds it. It can be said that to a certain degree, the City of Nelson, by recently upping its cooperation with police in enforcement of breaking up cannabis grow ops, has worked to mobilize opinion against the growth and sale of cannabis, in spite of the fact that cannabis production and distribution generates local jobs and revenues. [continues 121 words]
Drugs are a problem that aren't going away in our society. The recent trial of the Holy Smoke Culture Shop owners shows this, as do the constant reports from the RCMP of another grow op or drug lab busted. At its most personal, drugs are a health problem, affecting the user in a host of negative ways. There is an option, and that's to legalize drugs so the government (can) control the quality and eventually wean people off of them. [continues 160 words]
Defence wraps up witness testimony for defence of necessity, judge expects decision in September Don't hold your breath for a decision on the Holy Smoke trial, it will be September (before) for the judge hands down a decision. All the witnesses have been heard in the Holy Smoke trial and now counsel will make their written arguments about whether the local shop was providing a necessary service to the community or just trafficking drugs. The defendants expect a decision in their B.C. Provincial Court case this September. [continues 529 words]
Nelson-Based Inspector to Run RCMP in Nelson, Castlegar, Trail and Grand Forks Pressure to deal with marijuana grow ops has forced the RCMP to reorganize their detachments in the Kootenays and introduce a regional top cop to co-ordinate their efforts. More plain clothes officers will also be added to the Nelson detachment to help rural detachments. An inspector, stationed in Nelson, will be placed in charge of the Nelson, Castlegar, Trail and Grand Forks detachments, says District Commander Don Harrison, head of the RCMP's southeast district in B.C. The four detachments will make up a new Kootenay Boundary police unit. [continues 317 words]
Municipal Departments Enter Agreement On How To Clean Up Grow Ops And Drug Labs In Nelson Nelson's police will get some special training from the fire fighters to deal with the high number of grow op busts and occasional drug lab investigations. Members of the Nelson Police Department's general investigation section will be trained to use the fire department's hazardous materials suits when they investigate some crime scenes, said Dan Maluta, Nelson's police chief. The move to use the suits commonly called haz-mat suits, is prompted by the fact the police deal with roughly 12 marijuana grow operations a year, the police chief says. [continues 342 words]
Dear Editor, Your December 13 editorial offered excellent advice on preventing adolescent substance abuse. The importance of parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be overstated. School-based extracurricular activities also have been shown to reduce use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely to get into trouble. In order for drug prevention efforts to effectively reduce harm, they must be reality-based. The most popular drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior is often over-looked by parents. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives each year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the number one drug problem. [continues 137 words]
Gritty Website Gives Kootenay Youth Hard, Cold Facts About Crystal Meth and Other Drugs The war against crystal meth has never been so widely publicized; nor has it ever been so out of control, with a high percentage of youth admitting they have tried the drug, and many suffering the devastating effects of addiction. To help combat the drug's deadly grip, a new website has been created for Kootenay youth, designed to unsheathe the bitter realities of substance abuse. The website, called staycrystalclear.com is part of Crystal Clear, a social awareness campaign that doesn't sugar coat issues around drugs and alcohol. The project was recently launched by Keeping Kids Safe, and was funded by a grant from the Union of BC Municipalities. [continues 435 words]
Long gone are the days where the use of drugs amongst teens stayed within the boundaries of that which could be picked directly from the earth. Now drugs like crystal meth have taken hold, creating an entirely new generation of drug users to whom dabbling in other drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, is no big deal. It is a sad fact that 15-year-olds know exactly where to get a big dose of brain-killing, mind altering substances, and it speaks to a generation that needs to re-educate its youth. [continues 227 words]
Dear Editor, This letter is regarding the recent arrest of Holy Smoke partners Paul DeFelice and Alan Middlemiss. I would like to express both my concern surrounding these events and my support for the Holy Smoke and its owners for the role that they play in our community. It is my opinion that the Holy Smoke Culture Shop is a positive community establishment. They promote the safe and responsible use of cannabis and cannabis products and give pot smokers a safe place to congregate off of the streets and outside of the city parks. I believe the Holy Smoke to be a vital part of the economic life of downtown Nelson. The Holy Smoke proprietors also involve themselves in the community in other positive ways such as the time that they all shaved off their beards to raise money for the Nelson Food Cupboard. [continues 113 words]
Dear Editor, It is encouraging to read "Marching For Mary Jane" (August 9, 2006), supporting a God-given plant. Re-legalizing cannabis would also be Biblically correct since God indicated He created all the seed bearing plants saying they are all good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). In fact the only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it be used with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). Stan White Dillon, CO [end]
Dear Editor, The recent "bust"in Nelson is just part and parcel of another failed war (this one on drugs) our Prime Minister has ordained Canadians to drag on. Police minions get their marching orders from the top boss, not the community. Canadian common sense was trumped by Harper's twisted American-style letter of the law, with its born-again mean spirited mentality. Canadians are drawn daily into the current morass of lies, bigotry, distrust, racism, intolerance and heinous brutality, in the neo-conservative, fortress we call North America. [continues 149 words]
