No Grounds For Stroke-Of-Luck Search, Judge Rules It seemed a stroke of luck for Halifax Regional Police that a pair of officers responding to a car accident last year found a large quantity of drugs and a loaded handgun stashed in one of the damaged vehicles. But their luck changed Monday when a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge ruled that the constables lied to Christopher Henderson in order to search his car because they knew they had no grounds for a warrant. [continues 370 words]
Appeal Court Clears a Dozen Drug Convictions It's been years since they pleaded guilty, but now a dozen Nova Scotia men have had their drug convictions overturned because of a dirty cop's involvement in the investigations. In a decision released Wednesday, the Nova Scotia Appeal Court quashed the convictions and stayed the proceedings after it came to light that the cases relied heavily on evidence obtained through search warrants issued on the basis of "fabricated or unreliable information" from Daniel Ryan, a former RCMP constable convicted of drug dealing. [continues 445 words]
Police, Health Officials Differ On Reasons The police say it's more enforcement. Health officials argue there are simply more cocaine users to bust. New crime statistics released Wednesday show that the number of cocaine-related arrests made in Nova Scotia has almost doubled since 2005. According to the 2006 study by Statistics Canada, officers laid a whopping 48 per cent more charges stemming from the possession, use and distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in the province. Police insist the jump is due to increased surveillance and police presence, but staff at an addictions treatment centre in New Minas believe the use of cocaine is on the rise. [continues 555 words]
Melanie Stephen was granted a rare bit of leeway in court Wednesday that allows her to review the transcript of her earlier testimony while still under oath. Ms. Stephen, the estranged wife of Michael Patriquen, founder of the Nova Scotia Marijuana Party, admitted in court that she took sleeping pills before testifying in her money laundering and possessing proceeds of crime trial, which began in February. The Lower Sackville woman, who is in the midst of being cross-examined by federal Crown attorney Ann Marie Simmons, told Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Felix Cacchione that she mixed the pills up with her anti-depressant medication. [continues 306 words]
One of three major grow sites run by the founder of the Nova Scotia Marijuana party could have yielded $200,000 a year in profits had police not busted the operation, a former RCMP officer testified Monday. Marc Gorbet, an expert in the valuation, propagation, cultivation and distribution of marijuana, said the 170 plants seized from a South Rawdon home seven years ago likely would have brought in between $5,500 and $7,700 a kilogram. "That's the potential for a grow like this," Mr. Gorbet told Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Felix Cacchione after guiding him through a videotape of the sophisticated setup. [continues 162 words]
The lawyer for a Halifax County man caught with more than two dozen kilograms of marijuana at Halifax International Airport tried Thursday to convince three Appeal Court judges that his conviction should be thrown out. Warren Zimmer, who is representing Paul Kenneth Creelman, argued that the search warrants that led police to find 28 kilograms of pot in his client's luggage were not valid and as a result the evidence should never have been admitted in a 2005 trial. Mr. Creelman was convicted of possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking. He was sentenced last July to 4 1/2 years in prison. [continues 240 words]
Crystal Meth, Pornography Problems On Horizon, Centre Director Fears Just as the province is beginning to understand the issues surrounding problem gambling, it seems government and health officials may have some new addictions to tackle. The executive director of Crosbie House Society, an addiction treatment centre in New Minas, said Thursday he fears addictions to crystal methamphetamine and pornography may soon become a problem in Nova Scotia. "I haven't had any approaches by anybody about that yet, but it is coming," George Libby told members of the legislature's community services committee. [continues 433 words]
RCMP Get Crash Course On Meth It's only a matter of time before crystal meth becomes a serious problem in Atlantic Canada, an investigator with the RCMP's synthetic drug division said Wednesday. In fact, Const. Paul Robinson said, the drug has almost certainly already reached Nova Scotia, although police have yet to locate any labs. "I would say the intelligence exists that would lead me to believe that there are meth labs in the province . . . although we haven't really seen or made any legitimate or bona fide crystal meth seizures," Const. Robinson said in an interview at the Cole Harbour RCMP detachment. [continues 452 words]
Imagine how you'd react if you were told the pilot in charge of your flight had just smoked a joint. Feeling a little uneasy, right? So why do some people think it's OK to drive a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana? That's the idea a new national campaign, Pot and Driving, is trying to plant in the minds of young Canadians so they don't get behind the wheel while impaired. "This is not a Just Say No campaign," Dr. Elinor Wilson, chief executive officer for the Canadian Public Health Association, said Monday. [continues 261 words]
