The owners of Green Aura, a marijuana dispensary in Chemainus, received another $200 ticket from the Municipality of North Cowichan last week. It's the second ticket from bylaw officers in a matter of weeks for the dispensary, given for not having a business licence, and co-owner Trevor Pewarchuk said he's "frustrated" with the municipality and the failure, so far, by the federal government to legalize marijuana. It's a sentiment shared not only by other pot dispensaries in the Cowichan Valley, but by many local officials as well. [continues 863 words]
Since Trudeau Pledged to Legalize Marijuana Sales, Stores Are Seeing a 'Noticeable Increase' In Prospective Owners Asking Advice The day after the Liberals won the federal election, cannabis consultant Eric Nash's inbox was hit with 20 e-mails from people across Canada asking for guidance on how to open marijuana dispensaries. Until now, the growth of dispensaries - which remain illegal under federal drug laws - has generally been concentrated in Vancouver and Victoria, where local governments and police have largely allowed them to flourish. [continues 670 words]
The Cowichan Valley is no stranger to medical marijuana. With scores of legal and illegal indoor grow ops plus a couple of large scale commercial growers including federally licensed Broken Coast Cannabis, the Warmland appears to be an ideal region for growing cannabis. Canada's history with legal medical marijuana dates back to 1997 when The Ontario Court of Appeals decision in R. v. Parker (2000), found that the law prohibiting cannabis possession (s. 4 of the Controlled Drug and Substance Act, or CDSA) was unconstitutional based on the idea that it forced people to choose between their liberty and their health in cases where marijuana is used for medically-approved purposes. [continues 2154 words]
MISSISSAUGA - The City of Mississauga is moving forward on licensing methadone clinics and pharmacies that dispense it after a proposed clinic in Port Credit riled up residents. City councillors today considered a report that recommended licensing the clinics to "address the health, safety and well-being of persons by identifying where methadone clinics and pharmacies are located in=C2=85Mississauga and ensuring that methadone clinics and pharmacies ar e complying with all requirements" that have been established at the federal and provincial levels. [continues 340 words]
How does one address a prince? According to Webster's Dictionary, a prince is a "nobleman of varying rank and status," and a nobleman is known to be "possessing, characterized by or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals." Superior rank, mind and morals? Now I'm really nervous. What will I say when I phone the "Prince of Pot?" Even though it was quite late, a very alert Marc Emery greeted me on the phone. After stumbling a little in the face of royalty, I haltingly asked where the name "Prince of Pot" came from. With a Gene Krupa rhythm, Marc ticked off the names Lamont, Bernard Shaw and Impact CNN, and explained how he took them around and showed them grow sites and Lamont nicknamed him "Prince of Pot." I figure from the way Emery answered this question he had been asked it a thousand times. [continues 772 words]
How does one address a prince? According to Webster's Dictionary, a prince is a "nobleman of varying rank and status," and a nobleman is known to be "possessing, characterized by or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals." Superior rank, mind and morals? Now I'm really nervous. What will I say when I phone the "Prince of Pot?" Even though it was quite late, a very alert Marc Emery greeted me on the phone. After stumbling a little in the face of royalty, I haltingly asked where the name "Prince of Pot" came from. With a Gene Krupa rhythm, Marc ticked off the names Lamont, Bernard Shaw and Impact CNN, and explained how he took them around and showed them grow sites and Lamont nicknamed him "Prince of Pot." I figure from the way Emery answered this question he had been asked it a thousand times. [continues 698 words]
A Peel Regional Police undercover officer was taken to hospital Thursday night after he was dragged alongside a car during an investigation. Peel Const. Kathy Gagnon said the street crimes unit officer was investigating a suspected drug deal just before supper last Thursday when things went awry. The officer and his partner had approached two men who were sitting in a car in a Dundas St. parking lot after observing what they believed to be a drug-related transaction. After identifying themselves as police officers, one of the plainclothes detectives put his arm through the passenger side window of the car. Police said the passenger in the vehicle grabbed the officer's arm and held on as the driver sped away. [continues 88 words]
Who: Russell Bennett What: Star of the one-man Fringe play, The Reefer Man Roots: Originally from Ontario, Bennett came to Vancouver last November to write The Reefer Man with co-author Gillian Stevens-Guille. Appearing as part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival starting Saturday, Sept. 11. Mary Southin ain't the only smoking judge:"I'm a lawyer by education, and when I was in law school it struck me as highly ironic that many students and friends of mine were smoking pot, including myself, and yet we had to take an oath when we became lawyers that said we never did anything criminal. It was clear that many of us had, including many of the judges and lawyers that are working today." [continues 789 words]
Now that the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled it is not unconstitutional to criminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, federal politicians must decide if such legislation is in the best interests of the nation. The onus is on the Paul Martin Liberals to open the debate in the House of Commons on the merits of the current law, or changing it. Christopher Clay, who in a deliberate challenge to the law sold marijuana seeds and seedlings through Hemp Nation in London, was one of three activists making the case for legalizing pot. His lawyer, University of Toronto law professor Alan Young, argued it has never been proven the recreational use of pot caused anything more serious than bronchitis. [continues 199 words]
TORONTO -- Canada's supreme court upheld the country's current laws against marijuana possession Tuesday, even as Prime Minister Paul Martin press to eliminate jail sentences for people caught with small amounts of the drug. In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled that possession of marijuana would remain a criminal offense for now. In a separate, unanimous decision, it maintained trafficking was illegal. The ruling does not preclude Martin from going ahead with a proposed bill that would soften penalties. President Bush has expressed concerns over the bill, fear it could encourage drug smuggling along the border. [continues 332 words]
Toronto pot activists, medicinal smokers and recreational tokers were shocked, disappointed, and angry that it won't be a green Christmas this year after all. They were forced to scratch Acapulco gold, African black, and B.C. bud off their holiday wish lists after the Supreme Court upheld the federal government's marijuana prohibition. "It's absolutely depressing, there's no merry Christmas this year," said epileptic Terry Parker, who won the right to smoke pot for medicinal purposes in 2000, but still has no safe, secure source of the drug. [continues 148 words]
U.S. drug czar John Walters praised Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday for vowing to overhaul federal marijuana legislation and said he hopes for an end to the "abrasiveness" that marked Canada-U.S. relations under Jean Chretien. In a sign of the Bush administration's eagerness to improve strained relations with the federal government, Mr. Walters took the rare step of publicly congratulating Mr. Martin for announcing plans to crack down on marijuana growers and repeat users when he reintroduces the government's marijuana bill next year. [continues 1108 words]
Charter Bid on Marijuana Possession Fails to Pass Supreme Court Scrutiny The Supreme Court of Canada drove a legal stake into the heart of marijuana liberalization yesterday with a judgment affirming that possession is a criminal act, and stressing the potential dangers of smoking it. "The evidence indicates the existence of both use and misuse by chronic users and by vulnerable groups who cause harm to themselves," a 6-3 majority said. "There is no free-standing constitutional right to smoke 'pot' for recreational purposes." [continues 614 words]
Trio Fail To Convince Justices That Law Is Unconstitutional The Supreme Court of Canada's decision yesterday to uphold the federal government's right to outlaw marijuana upset pot advocates, who believed history's tide was on their side. Vancouver pro-marijuana activist David Malmo-Levine said he was "totally bummed out" by the 6-3 ruling to uphold federal law making possession of small amounts of pot illegal. "I was dreaming of a green Christmas with a pot plant under every tree," Malmo-Levine, 32, one of three men spearheading the legal challenge, told The Province. [continues 736 words]
Canada's supreme court upheld the country's current laws against marijuana possession on Tuesday, even as Prime Minister Paul Martin presses to eliminate jail sentences for people caught with small amounts. In a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled that possession of marijuana would remain a criminal offense. In a separate, unanimous decision, it maintained trafficking of the drug was illegal. The ruling doesn't preclude Martin from going ahead with a proposed bill that would soften penalties. President Bush has expressed concerns over the bill, fearing it could encourage drug smuggling along the border. [continues 447 words]
High Court: Changes To Laws Left To Parliament OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada refused to elevate marijuana smoking to a constitutional right yesterday in a ruling that allows Parliament to criminalize any behaviour it sees fit to protect people from harm. "There is no free-standing constitutional right to smoke 'pot' for recreational purposes," justices Ian Binnie and recently retired Charles Gonthier wrote in the 6-3 decision. The majority, in upholding the current law, rejected the arguments advanced by three B.C. marijuana enthusiasts, who claimed it breaches the Charter of Rights to threaten someone with a criminal record for what they contend is a victimless crime. [continues 603 words]
OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada refused to elevate marijuana smoking to a constitutional right Tuesday in a ruling that allows Parliament to criminalize any behaviour it sees fit to protect people from harm. "There is no free-standing constitutional right to smoke 'pot' for recreational purposes," justices Ian Binnie and recently retired Charles Gonthier wrote in the 6-3 decision. The majority, in upholding the current law, rejected the arguments advanced by three B.C. marijuana enthusiasts, who claimed that it breaches the Charter of Rights to threaten someone with a criminal record for what they contend is a victimless crime. [continues 629 words]
IThe health risks of marijuana are "neither insignificant nor trivial," the Supreme Court of Canada said Tuesday, upholding laws against pot possession. A 6-3 majority said marijuana is capable of altering a user's behaviour to a point where it "creates a potential harm to others when the user engages in driving, flying and other activities involving complex machinery." Chronic users may also bring serious health problems upon themselves, Mr. Justice Ian Binnie and Mr. Justice Charles Gonthier wrote for the majority. [continues 703 words]
As the Martin government moves to relax marijuana laws, the Supreme Court of Canada will decide tomorrow whether to give pot advocates the big prize: legalization. The long-awaited rulings in three cases will be the Supreme Court's first test of the constitutionality of the country's 80-year-old ban on marijuana possession. "This is very significant," said Chris Clay, a B.C. Web-page designer who owned the Great Canadian Hemporium marijuana paraphernalia and seed store in London, Ont., before police shut it down. [continues 494 words]
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that possession of marijuana will remain a criminal offence until the government decides to change the law. The highest court has rejected the appeal of three B.C. men who argued it is unconstitutional to use the law to punish a harmless activity. The court ruled 6-3 that making marijuana possession a criminal offence does not violate Charter of Rights guarantees of liberty and security of person. Lawyers for the three B.C. marijuana users - David Malmo-Levine, Chris Clay and Victor Caine - had argued that the government has no right to tell people what they can put in their bodies. [continues 235 words]
