Supporters vow to fight bid to permanently close businesses "They are looking to set a precedent. I hope they do..." - Britney Guerra, Cloud Nine Owner The city is escalating its battle with illegal storefront pot shops by seeking a court injunction to shutter a popular downtown dispensary and vapour lounge. But owners and supporters of the Hamilton Village Dispensary and Cloud Nine are vowing to fight to save the 275 King St. E businesses. The injunction request obtained by The Spectator cites zoning and bylaw violations in asking a judge to order the businesses permanently closed. It also wants Hamilton police to be required to enforce the order. [continues 399 words]
About 55,000 cases related to marijuana reported to police last year OTTAWA - The number of police-reported cannabis offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use. The tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported in '15 - despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise. [continues 314 words]
"Go slow take your time," is the excellent advice Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was given last year on his plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada. The speaker was none other than Anne McLellan, leader of the federal government's task force on the issue, and her message was do your homework and get the job right the first time around. The caution from this former Liberal deputy prime minister was wise. It seems even more urgent now after nine Canadian premiers told the prime minister last week they have so many concerns about his promise to legalize recreational pot starting July 1, 2018, that they may ask him to postpone the change. [continues 376 words]
Ontario's top court has overturned a man's drug trafficking conviction on the grounds that he was unlawfully detained by a Hamilton police officer during his arrest. Zwelakhe Mhlongo was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in April 2014 following a vehicle stop for a Highway Traffic Act offence two years prior. He filed an appeal based on the trial judge's decision not to exclude the cocaine and cash seized as evidence. While the trial judge found Mhlongo's charter rights around unlawful search and seizure and the right to counsel had been breached, he did not find that to be the case for arbitrary detention. [continues 409 words]
Everyone is making a big fuss about July 1 this year, the country's 150th birthday. But next year's anniversary will have a far greater impact on the nation than this year's bash. That's the day the Trudeau government's landmark policy to legalize weed comes into effect. July 1, 2018, will mark a sea change after almost 100 years of prohibition as Canada becomes the first G7 country to legalize and regulate the production, sale and use of recreational marijuana. [continues 420 words]
Supreme Court affirms landmark ruling on court delays OTTAWA - All players in the justice system need to do their part to target the "root causes" of unnecessary trial delays, the Supreme Court of Canada said Friday in affirming its landmark ruling on timely proceedings. The high court ruled unanimously that a Newfoundland and Labrador man facing drug and weapon charges should not go to trial under new rules spelled out last July for determining unjustifiable court delays. The latest decision comes amid intense public and political debate over the time limits for trials, including a Senate committee report this week that expressed concern over accused criminals walking free. [continues 465 words]
RE: Teens and drugs (June 3) Last Saturday's front page article exposed yet another warning as to the addictive, harmful effects of marijuana on youth. The federal government is not listening. In the same edition of The Spectator, Thomas Froese's piece highlights how assisted dying has removed us from the precious nature of life in both its joys and it sorrows. Once encoded, our laws are there in perpetuity. These dual governmental notions, currently both provincial and federal, have undermined the good health of our nation. Judy Pollard Smith, Hamilton [end]
Guns, yes - but knives, pepper spray, hammers, bats, batons and pipes have all been wielded as invaders strike in Hamilton The number of violent home invasions in Hamilton nearly doubled last year, highlighting a growth in what police say is crime fuelled by the illegal drug trade in the city. Last year Hamilton police investigated 67 violent home invasion robberies, up from 36 in 2015, said police spokesperson Const. Steve Welton. As of March this year there had already been 12 home invasions, according to police records. The Spectator is aware of at least five more since then, including two in which people were shot. [continues 643 words]
Drug use among teens is nothing new. But street drugs are a bigger threat than ever, because they can be laced with deadly substances. The Spectator investigates what youth are using, and how to identify the dangers A GIRL is hanging out with friends after school. One of them has stolen a gram of marijuana from an older brother. They pass around a pipe. It is her first time getting high. She is 14. A 15- YEAR-OLD walks through the hall at school. He sees a classmate selling cannabis-edibles out of a backpack and a friend making a purchase. A GIRL is invited to meet up with friends behind her school. Someone lights a joint and passes it to her. She is in Grade 7. [continues 1911 words]
At least 30 cases linked to drugs missing from a storage locker likely will be dropped, setting accused dealers free A Halton cop who spent years taking drugs off the street is facing five criminal charges after prescription opioids were stolen from a police evidence locker. At least 30 cases connected to the missing drugs likely will be dropped because of the evidence-tampering, setting accused dealers free. Staff Sgt. Brad Murray was in charge of the Drug and Morality Unit at the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) and had authorization to access the locked storage area where all drugs seized by the service were kept and catalogued. [continues 893 words]
As the Trudeau government works overtime to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada by the summer of 2018, there's a huge job to be done outside Parliament. Health officials, educators, parents and the government must somehow persuade young Canadians to swear off a drug that will suddenly be legal for adults all around them to use for fun and relaxation. This won't be easy, especially when teens see Mom and Dad light up a reefer and are told: "Do as we say, not as we do." But the stakes for our youth couldn't be higher. New research out of the University of Waterloo highlights both the harm marijuana is doing to the young as well as the high number of Canadian teens already indulging in the drug. [continues 400 words]
Marijuana has been a concern of late. I am not a user. I feel that Trudeau government has it right. Prohibition of alcohol was never fully imposed in Canada but it was in the United States. Prior to prohibition being enacted in the United States, bars were dominated by men. During prohibition, speakeasies began to pop up and were more appealing to women. Therefore more alcohol was consumed. Also, it unknowingly fostered criminal organizations that are still here today. [continues 78 words]
I envision a future where users can buy a gram from the little old lady next door I don't want to write another LRT column, but I did want to say thank you to the councillors who voted in favour of the LRT for the 53rd time. Or is that the 54th? Does the vote to defer the vote count as a vote? Thank you to those who changed their position from "No" to "Yes". For those who voted "No", I hope you have the grace to accept the will of the people and get on board this exciting new phase of Hamilton's development. [continues 718 words]
Much of the criticism levelled at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his privileged background is legitimate, at least as it relates to his ability to understand everyday Canadians who don't enjoy the same privilege. But some amounts to partisan silliness. Opposition party charges of hypocrisy around Trudeau's involvement with marijuana fall into the latter category. Let's consider what he's being condemned for this week. He has been found guilty, apparently by association, because his father once used his legal connections to help his late brother, Michel, avoid marijuana possession charges. What his father actually did is reach out to contacts at a legal clinic in efforts to get a good lawyer. It's not clear that he abused his position as a retired prime minister. It's also fair to note there are thousands of Canadian fathers who have done the same thing, or would have if they could. And in any case, it's low even by partisan standards to suggest the son somehow bears the burden of the father's sins, real or imagined. Imagine if that vengeful principle was applied to all Canadian families. [continues 320 words]
RE: Legalizing marijuana I am not against the legalization of marijuana if it will curtail criminal activity and provide a source of funds for our government to spend. However, one aspect needs to be addressed. Like alcohol it must not consumed out in the open, but only in licensed f acilities or private residences. I have no urge to be exposed to second hand dope smoke in public spaces. Al Wilson, Brantford [end]
RE: Legalizing pot Who are these people who sit in our Parliament to represent us? How many of them smoke-up to consume the false pleasure of marijuana, so much as to personally endorse the open use of the weed to each and every Canadian who is beyond the age of 18? With all the charges previous laid for possession of and for illegally growing, then under-the-table selling of it, this drug has now become exempt from the fight against drug usage in our country, whereas, the National Institute of Drug Abuse in the USA has qualified that the plant contains the mind-altering chemical delta-9tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related compounds. [continues 70 words]
OTTAWA - The federal government has tailored its highly anticipated marijuana legislation to ensure younger teens don't wind up with criminal records for pot possession. Currently, people between 12 and 17 can be charged for having any amount of marijuana, but the newly tabled legislation proposes that people under age 18 would not face criminal prosecution for possessing or sharing up to five grams. Bill Blair, a Liberal MP working with federal ministers on the legislation, said Monday the ultimate goal is to give provinces and territories flexibility to prohibit young people from possessing any amount of cannabis, with the option to introduce non-criminal sanctions for having a small amount. [continues 216 words]
OTTAWA - The federal plan to legalize recreational marijuana does not include the general amnesty for past pot convictions some would like to see, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Newly tabled legislation would allow people 18 and older to publicly possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, or its equivalent in non-dried form. But the Trudeau government is not considering a blanket pardon for people with criminal records for possessing small amounts of the drug, Goodale said in an interview. "That's not an item that's on the agenda at the moment." [continues 261 words]
Hess Village enterprise back in business Thursday, day after visit by drug squad Hamilton police have seized about $21,000 in products from a Hess Village marijuana dispensary and charged a 49-year-old man with four drug-related offences. The Hamilton police vice and drug unit executed a search warrant at Georgia Peach Dispensary on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. The shop is located at 105 George St. Police allege the owner of the dispensary was "committing the criminal acts of possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana and THC" by selling or giving marijuana or marijuana derivatives to clients. [continues 184 words]
Once again, federal Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch is receiving massive public attention for a massively bad idea. On Tuesday, just two days before Justin Trudeau's Liberals were to unveil long-awaited legislation to legalize recreational marijuana, Leitch abruptly announced she would outlaw this use of the drug if she ever became prime minister. That's right. The woman who wants to screen immigrants to ensure they have "Canadian values" would roll back an initiative most Canadians support because it makes perfect sense. [continues 430 words]
