Lindor Reynolds' column on the tragic death of Philippe Haiart highlights a very important message -- a total lack of understanding of the criminal justice system. On more than one occasion Ms. Reynolds has cried out for longer sentences for criminals, demanding that the courts do more to send a message to those who would seize control of our city. I doubt Ms. Reynolds has ever taken a criminology course, so I offer this free education. Harsher sentences do not deter criminals. Period. End of story. You could hand out a life sentence to everyone who gave you a funny look, and crime would not go down. Coincidentally, this has been tried in several states down south. The "three strikes and you're out" rule -- which allows a person to commit any three felonies before he or she is handed a life sentence, regardless of the crime -- has not had a tangible effect. [continues 177 words]
Murray Would Hire 100 New Officers WINNIPEG would get 100 new police officers and three new detox facilities for kids addicted to drugs if the Conservatives form the next government. Though the next provincial election is likely two years away, Manitoba Tory leader Stuart Murray pledged yesterday as premier he would spend almost $20 million in his first year in office to combat crime. The multi-point plan, unveiled yesterday in Central Park, focuses mainly on gangs, guns, and drugs, and includes a promise to hire 100 new officers for the Winnipeg Police Service, with at least 30 of them dedicated to gang and drug units. [continues 399 words]
TORONTO - Marijuana smokers are less likely to get cancer than cigarette smokers, new research suggests. While cannabis and tobacco smoke are chemically similar, the key difference is that cigarettes contain nicotine, which appears to bolster the cancer-causing properties of tobacco, while cannabis contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active ingredient in pot), which may actually reduce the carcinogenic properties of some chemicals. "Current knowledge does not suggest that cannabis smoke will have a carcinogenic potential comparable to that resulting from exposure to tobacco smoke," said Robert Melamede, chairman of the department of biology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. [continues 294 words]
I'd like to respond to yesterday's editorial, "High(er) education," regarding your opposition to the drug use provision of the Higher Education Act. Speaking as an Ohio University alum and as a professional educator for 36 years - but more so as a parent of one past, one present and one future Bobcat - I support the drug provision. The legislation does not deny admission to college for convicted drug users, but only denies government financial aid. There are still other financial aid avenues for those students - including loans, other local/hometown scholarships, jobs, etc. [continues 58 words]
Billboard's Message Still Doesn't Satisfy Anti-Violence Forces Colorado -- A billboard promoting a pro-marijuana initiative on the Nov. 1 ballot is new, but advocates for victims of domestic violence haven't stopped fuming. "Let's stop pretending that I-100 has anything to do with the issue of preventing domestic violence," said Ellen Stein Wallace, executive director of SafeHouse Denver, a women's shelter and counseling center. "The billboard is still misleading. All they did is put the lie into words instead of pictures." Supporters of the marijuana legalization initiative on Wednesday unveiled a billboard proclaiming: "Alcohol use makes domestic violence 8 times more likely . . . Marijuana use does not." [continues 410 words]
The 911 call came in Monday night: A methamphetamine lab might be inside the caller's south Charlotte home. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, State Bureau of Investigation agents, hazmat crews and health department experts quickly swarmed the apartment on Reafield Drive as they've had to do more and more this year. It was the fifth methamphetamine lab found in Mecklenburg County since July, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Capt. Bruce Bellamy. That's as many labs found as in the previous four years combined. [continues 288 words]
Drug Convictions Cost Students Their Federal Aid A controversial provision added to the Higher Education Act in 1998, which blocks federal aid to students convicted of drug use, is up for reauthorization this year by Congress. Mark Souder, R-Ind., wrote the provision to "deter students from using and selling drugs," but critics like Tom Angell, campaigns director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, said this provision would be punishing students with drug convictions twice for the same crime. "Drug crimes are the only infractions that students lose aid for murderers and rapists are still eligible," he said. [continues 318 words]
QUEBEC -- The political career of Andre Boisclair, the front-runner in the Parti Quebecois leadership race, could have come to an abrupt end had former leader Bernard Landry known he had taken cocaine. "It would have been an extremely serious matter," Mr. Landry told reporters as he prepared to deliver a speech to Laval University students yesterday. "I would have asked for an investigation. I would have had to be informed of the facts and I would have made a decision based on the facts." [continues 393 words]
CALGARY - A TV commercial depicting crystal meth users vomiting, fighting and breaking out in sores is hitting the airwaves in Alberta. The four-week television campaign launched by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission this week is part of a $450,000 public awareness strategy to deter youths from trying cheap and highly addictive crystal methamphetamine in the first place. One of the two commercials mimics a prescription drug ad and depicts a smiling couple while a narrator extols the "benefits" of crystal meth. [continues 85 words]
Arrested In Hugh Pot Bust MEMBERS of Winnipeg's Chinese community say they're concerned about immigrants who were packed into a rural Manitoba farmhouse and accused of doing the "grunt" work in Manitoba's largest-ever marijuana grow operation. "These people are innocent victims," said Dr. Joseph Du, president of the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre. "They don't know the system or the language. People are taking advantage of them." RCMP said they found the accused -- 25 men and three women -- sleeping side-by-side, head-to-toe in every room of a tiny, 700-square-foot house during a raid earlier this month in Sundown, southeast of Winnipeg. [continues 303 words]
A ban created by the Higher Education Act refuses Financial Aid to drug offenders applying for college, according to The Post at Ohio University. Since 1998, 175,000 applicants have been denied Financial Aid in the U.S. based on drug convictions. The Students for Sensible Drug Policy are against this provision. Director Tom Angell said the ban is detrimental to the economy. It keeps many talented students out of college because of their drug-related pasts. Drug offenders also lack the benefits of food stamps, federally assisted housing grants and money from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. [continues 243 words]
What sense does it make to abandon the battle against methamphetamine in order to seize thousands of marijuana plants? (Oct. 2 article, "Pot production on the rise.") Let's take a quick inventory of the effects of the two drugs. Meth: anger/ rage attacks, weak bones, loose teeth and addiction that can make even the sanest law abiding citizen turn into a criminal. Now let's take a look at marijuana: strong appetite, the desire to drive slowly, and a mellowing effect. Any layman can see that taking time away from the battle against meth in order to hunt and destroy marijuana is a waste of time. Authorities should learn that the American people are in favor of legalizing marijauna and their ridiculous laws will be laughed at by future generations the way they laugh at prohibition today. Gary Beane Gold Bar [end]
Border Crackdowns And Increased Enforcement In Other States Make Remote Spots Of Washington Ideal For Growing Marijuana. ENTIAT - Wary eyes search for rattlesnakes in the desert grasses covering the dry hills. The scorched remains of pine trees from an old wildfire loom overhead. Then, hidden beneath a thicket of brush, bright green plants stand out. In terraced dirt, nurtured by an elaborate irrigation system, 465 marijuana plants are tucked away, obscured by the winding branches of vine maple and brush. It's a remote area of north central Washington's Wenatchee National Forest bordering the Entiat Wildlife Refuge to the south and an apple orchard to the east. [continues 358 words]
