Quebec is asking Ottawa for more time to set up an orderly transition to legal recreational marijuana - 24 hours before the province is expected to roll out a framework for sale and use of the drug. The Quebec National Assembly adopted a motion Wednesday seeking an extra year from the Trudeau government beyond July 1, 2018, when marijuana is set to become legal. The province says the process is being rushed artificially and the groundwork for issues ranging from law enforcement to taxation and revenue sharing are not ironed out. [continues 519 words]
Policy draws criticism after 15-year-old girl forced to remove her clothing over suspicions she was dealing marijuana Quebec's Education Minister has ordered an independent review of the province's school strip search policy after an uproar over a 15-year-old girl who was made to remove all her clothes over suspicions she was dealing marijuana. The debate over intrusive searches in Canadian schools had gone dormant for a decade after several controversies, lawsuits and a Supreme Court case in 2001 that said strip-searching should only be done for serious reasons during lawful arrests, preferably at a police station. [continues 581 words]
Montreal - If everything goes according to Gary Webber's plan, a national chain of 250 medicinal marijuana franchises will spread across Canada this summer. It's a big "if." Mr. Webber's ambition may just turn out to be the outlandish dream of an impatient activist - and if Montreal police prove their criminal case against him, he may also be branded as little more than an audacious dope peddler. Many pot activists already question Mr. Webber's credibility, and blame him for bringing the weight of police enforcement on them with his penchant for drawing attention and threatening unbridled expansion. [continues 632 words]
Marijuana Growers Secretly Taking Over Farmers' Fields In Central Quebec PIERREVILLE, Que. - The taint of an exploding pot trade is growing faster than the corn fields in this small farming community, leaving frustrated locals with an ominous new town nickname. "Bienvenue ^ Stoner City," said Jean-Francois Cote, a farmer who recently found 220 marijuana plants grown secretly by drug gangs in his field. "That's how sad it has become. This is how we're starting to think of ourselves. That is the worst part." [continues 630 words]
PIERREVILLE, Que. -- The taint of an exploding pot trade is growing faster than the corn fields in this small farming community, leaving frustrated locals with an ominous new town nickname. "Bienvenue a Stoner City," said Jean-Francois Cote, a farmer who recently found 220 marijuana plants grown secretly by drug gangs in his field. "That's how sad it has become. This is how we're starting to think of ourselves. That is the worst part." Cote's black humour, welcoming a visitor with this rough translation of his Pierreville hometown's name, tries to make light of the dark side of this pretty farming region along the St. Lawrence River. [continues 652 words]
Marijuana growers secretly plant crops on Quebec farmers' fields PIERREVILLE, Que. - The taint of an exploding marijuana trade is growing faster than the corn fields in this small farming community, leaving frustrated residents with an ominous new town nickname. "Bienvenue a Stoner City," said Jean-Francois Cote, a farmer who recently found 220 marijuana plants grown secretly by drug gangs in his field. "That's how sad it has become. This is how we're starting to think of ourselves. That is the worst part." [continues 569 words]
'A Lot Tothink About': Health Minister Tours Country's First Legal Pot Garden FLIN FLON, Man. - Allan Rock, the Minister of Health, said it was time for an open discussion on liberalizing Canada's drug laws as he toured the government's official marijuana growing plant yesterday. "When I was justice minister, I paid lawyers to prosecute these drug cases, many of them involving people, young people, with very small amounts. The question often arose as to whether or not this was a good use of dollars and the justice system. I think it's time for a discussion in Canada about all of this," he said. [continues 916 words]
An American First A woman has been convicted of killing her unborn child by using crack cocaine during her pregnancy in what is believed to be the first such homicide conviction in the United States. A jury in Conway, S.C., found Regina McKnight, 24, guilty Wednesday after only 15 minutes of deliberations. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison, although she could have faced a life sentence. "A child ended up dead," said Bert von Herrmann, the prosecutor. "She smoked cocaine as much and as often as she could ... if that's not extreme indifference to life, I don't know what is." [continues 768 words]
Mexican Police Demand $1,000 To Free Man A Saskatoon teenager might have avoided a Mexican jail over the holidays if only he'd had $17 to bribe the first cop who arrested him in an apparent shakedown in a city square. Instead, his father spent about $1,000 the next day to spring his son, even though the young man was never charged with any crime. "My advice to fellow Canadians would be if you're thinking of visiting Mexico with teenage children: Don't. It's not a place for kids," said Barry Anderson. [continues 782 words]
Sympathetic judge compelled to sentence man suffering multiple painful ailments for growing pot A man waiting for federal approval to grow his own medicinal pot pleaded with a judge Wednesday to allow him to continue to treat himself. Instead, Queen's Bench Justice Frank Gerein said he didn't have the power to grant such a request. He handed Eric Angst one-year of probation for growing his own marijuana. "I'm going to be confined to my bed and my wife is going to have to carry me around if I follow your order," Angst said. [continues 401 words]
