Used needles and syringes thrown into city recycling containers are threatening the health and safety of the workers who sort through the contents. Employees at the Grande Prairie Recycle Plus Depot are finding that recycling is a dangerous business as the needles have been showing up in the plastic containers throughout the city. This is nothing new, says Aquatera's recycling co-ordinator Michelle Lange, who noted used sharps have been showing up in the bins for at least the past four years. [continues 191 words]
Asian gangs are spreading their "tentacles" out from Alberta's major cities and trying to take a piece of Grande Prairie's lucrative drug trade, say law-enforcement officials. A number of "significant" cocaine busts by Mounties in the city over the past few months have been traced back to Asian organized crime groups, said Staff Sgt. Curtis Zablocki of the Grande Prairie RCMP. "Recently we've made some arrests in connection to drug trafficking activity and we've determined these people are from larger centres... and are linked to organized crime in those areas," said Zablocki. [continues 742 words]
Being involved in the process key to making city a safer place Several weeks ago, there was a series of meetings about crime in Grande Prairie that sought input from residents on suggestions about what could be done about the incidence, if not the increasing severity, of criminal acts. There was some dismay when the meetings, while yielding some people's personal experiences of how they were affected and fears for their personal safety, didn't attract as many citizens as was anticipated. [continues 383 words]
A four-month undercover drug sting in the B.C. Peace has ended in the arrest of 63 suspected drug dealers. Mounties said the operation began in February, and involved a team of 10 officers from the Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Chetwynd, Prince George and Vancouver detachments. A large quantity of cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth, ecstasy and high-grade marijuana was seized. One marijuana grow-operation was shut down and an unreleased amount of money and firearms seized. [continues 72 words]
Rapid growth in drug-driven, illegal activity cause for concern As grows the city, so grows a whole bunch of other aspects -- more people, more businesses, more jobs, more schools, more self-help and volunteer programs. More crime. And, as pointed out at two crime prevention meetings in Grande Prairie, more law enforcement personnel is not going to keep a lid on criminal activities or prevent their expansion. Nevertheless, citizen input and the expressed concerns that the city is increasingly less safe, will help devise a strategy against crime. RCMP Insp. Bryon Hodgkin said people's suggestions, coupled with those from social agencies, will help form the basis of a formal crime prevention program that will eventually be put to city council for consideration. [continues 358 words]
EDMONTON (CP) - The spread of methadone clinics in Alberta has helped triple the number of opiate addicts looking to kick the habit over the last three years, say health officials. But that network has to expand beyond the current five to serve addicts outside the Edmonton-Calgary urban corridor, advocates also insist. Grande Prairie or Fort McMurray would be good places for expansion, said Brenda Moore, director of HIV North. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) says there were 350 methadone clients across Alberta in 2001, when its single clinic existed in Edmonton. [continues 312 words]
EDMONTON - Learning Minister Lyle Oberg is leaving the door open for more school boards to use dogs trained to detect drugs. His department has no authority to enforce a provincewide policy, but he would have no problem with school boards bringing in drug-detecting dogs, he said. ''It can go ahead,'' Oberg said Monday during question period in the legislature. He also said he and Solicitor General Heather Forsyth will take a look at funding drug-sniffing dogs in schools. ''This is one element we can act on,'' said Oberg. [continues 83 words]
Marijuana possession charges may make up the bulk of drug offences in Grande Prairie and across Canada, but local Mounties say they aren't wasting time chasing after recreational pot smokers. Statistics Canada numbers released last week show marijuana charges make up the bulk of drug charges laid in Canada. In 2002 police across the country reported 93,000 drug incidents. Of those, a full 75 per cent were marijuana related. Cocaine incidents came in a distant second at about 12 per cent, with the spectrum of other illegal drugs rounding out the remainder. [continues 429 words]
OTTAWA - The federal government's plan to decriminalize pot possession would free up millions of dollars and thousands of police hours, the latest statistics suggest. Police laid a record number of drug-related charges in 2002 and most offences involved marijuana, Statistics Canada reported Monday. Seventy-five per cent of 93,000 drug-related incidents in 2002 involved pot. Almost three-quarters of those were possession offences, and more than half of those convicted were fined. ''The police-reported drug-crime rate has risen an estimated 42 per cent since the early 1990s and now stands at a 20-year high,'' the agency said. [continues 398 words]
EDMONTON - Mounties busted nine methamphetamine labs in Alberta last year, but didn't lay a single production or trafficking charge against the criminals behind them. Federal regulations mean Canadians can buy and store many of the chemicals used to make the drug without breaking the law, and that makes it difficult for police to lay charges in cases where the finished product isn't found at the scene. ''We haven't had a good year,'' said Sgt. Harold Trupish, who heads up K-Division's clandestine lab investigation service. ''We've taken some serious items away, but we haven't had charges.'' [continues 56 words]
I'm writing to express concerns about the recent Snoop Dogg concert that was held in Grande Prairie last month. What concerns me is this "entertainer" is a known drug advocate, an alleged gang supporter, and has been indicted for major offences. And our community welcomed him with open arms. I heard people saying how great that Grande Prairie finally has a concert for the youth. If these are the ideals that we are trying to promote for our youth, than I think it's time I went somewhere else! [continues 149 words]
VANCOUVER - One of the men connected to a Sunday police raid on the legislature offices of two B.C. cabinet ministers said Monday he's done nothing wrong and expects to be exonerated. David Basi, ministerial assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins, said in a statement he was told by RCMP that he ''was not being arrested or charged at this time.'' Basi, who was fired Monday, made the statement after police raided the offices of Collins and Transportation Minister Judith Reid, seizing boxes of files. [continues 227 words]
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Paul Martin will press ahead with legislation, first proposed under Jean Chretien, to eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. But he hinted Thursday he'd like to see a new definition of what constitutes a "small amount" and invited a parliamentary committee to consider lowering the limit from the original proposal of 15 grams. Martin told reporters he sees a health risk in pot use and observed that "any doctor will tell you it's far from the best thing for you." [continues 241 words]
A 25-year veteran narcotics officer from Calgary says parents need to be aware of the "red flag indicators" warning them their kids may be using drugs. "Red flag indicators are not in and of themselves 100 per cent determining factors but two or three red flags at least warrant further investigation," Steve Walton said Friday. "I'd be wary of a dramatic drop in grades. I'd be wary of children who are changing their activities ... and they quit - whatever the activity is - and also, because there are powerful drugs being made available today I would look for a change in the appearance of young people who are drug consumers." [continues 465 words]
The "cocaine train" is how the city's top drug cop describes it: A runaway spiral of drugs and crime that's becoming more and more common in Grande Prairie. "When you start using crack cocaine it's a runaway train going down a hill. You're going to end up in a mess at the bottom unless you get off," says Cpl. Grant Bulford, head of the Grande Prairie RCMP's drug section. On an almost daily basis he talks to addicts, dealers and family members torn apart by addiction to hard drugs. [continues 557 words]
Thousands of Canadians facing pot possession charges are getting an early Christmas present from the Canadian government: A stay of criminal proceedings. The Canadian Department of Justice said this week it would be staying all outstanding minor marijuana possession charges laid in Canada between July 31, 2001 and Oct. 7, 2003. "The attorney general of Canada is staying marijuana possession charges across Canada," said Maureen McLellan, Justice Canada's prairies spokeswoman. About 4,000 files could be stayed as a result of the decision. Of those, 1,350 are from Alberta, added McLellan. [continues 345 words]
EDMONTON (CP) - Asking retailers to voluntarily restrict the sale of certain medications likely won't curb an explosion in the illegal production of methamphetamine, the head of the Alberta College of Pharmacists said Sunday. Alberta Solicitor General Heather Forsyth said last week she's hoping pharmacists will prevent customers from bulk-buying cold remedies such as Sudafed which can be used to make methamphetamine, a highly addictive street drug commonly called crystal meth. But Greg Eberhart, registrar of the pharmacists' college, said new provincial legislation is needed to close loopholes in the law. [continues 96 words]
Re: Random job-site testing idea worries union, human rights body, Nov. 10 Herald-Tribune: I, for one, would not mind being tested for drugs just the same as I would not mind not having to worry about some drunk idiot driving a truck or a coke head running the fork lift or a meth addict doing surgery. It is silly to protect the rights of people to violate our rights for safety on the job. Not just silly -- outrageous. Margo Hannah Dawson Creek [end]
A central Alberta woman suffering from multiple sclerosis fears her marijuana plants will die because her power was partially cut off. Wanda Nelson, 42, of Erskine, received authorization from her family physician in Stettler to grow and process medicinal marijuana about two years ago. Nelson grows 15 plants under bright bulbs as powerful as 1,000 watts. The plants are regularly harvested and rolled into joints for smoking. Nelson, who is bedridden, said the pot helps reduce her muscle spasms and soothe discomforts caused by MS. [continues 367 words]
EDMONTON (CP) - The concept of random drug testing of employees in some industries could be running into opposition from organized labour and the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Cabinet and caucus will review a report this month from a committee developing options for dealing with impairment from alcohol and drugs on job sites. Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the government shouldn't even be considering allowing companies to conduct random tests. ''We think it's just an infringement on people's rights,'' Steel said. [continues 147 words]
