A Chemainus dispensary reopened less than 48 hours after North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP raided three cannabis retailers in North Cowichan late Friday morning. Officers entered Leaf Compassion and Green Aura in Chemainus with a warrant at around 11 p.m. on Friday and were still on scene in the early hours of the evening. "They went ahead and arrested all of our staff that were on site and began their search and seizure," said Leaf Compassion's regional manager Justin Gurinskas outside the store just minutes after owner Kyle Cheyne was arrested and taken into custody. [continues 571 words]
North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP have raided dispensaries in Chemainus and made multiple arrests, including the owner of Leaf Compassion. Officers entered the Leaf Compassion store on Chemainus Road with a warrant at around 12 p.m. on Friday and were still on scene in the early hours of the evening. "They went ahead and arrested all of our staff that were on site and began their search and seizure," said Leaf Compassion's regional manager Justin Gurinskas outside the store. Green Aura in Chemainus was also raided by RCMP on Friday as well as Green Tea Medical Dispensary, located in Duncan but part of the North Cowichan municipality, on Thursday. [continues 470 words]
The Municipality of North Cowichan has delivered a lump of coal to two Chemainus dispensaries in the form of a $200 fine. Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary and Green Aura in Chemainus were slapped with tickets last Tuesday by the area's manager of building and compliance for not having a business license. North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure said the dispensary is operating contrary to federal law. "I don't see any grey area, it's very clear. We can't issue a business license for an activity that is illegal," he said. [continues 688 words]
DARE Program Teaching Local Students Consequences of Substance Abuse It's a subject that some parents don't like to broach with their children, but the Ladysmith RCMP is taking a proactive approach to educating kids about drugs and alcohol. Students in Grade 5 are currently participating in the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, a 10-week curriculum that will teach them facts about marijuana, alcohol and inhalants. They'll learn about self esteem, the value of friendships, and making good choices by using the Define, Assess, Respond, Evaluate decision making model. [continues 377 words]
The fire chief wants to decrease the risk from legal "grow-ops" and thinks that disclosing the locations will do it. He is wrong on both counts. First, the idea that growing this plant is somehow inherently risky is false - pure grow-opaganda. Cannabis is just as safe to grow as tomatoes if done properly. Second, disclosure of private health information is not going to change growing practices or make anyone safer. It will likely result in legal growers being harassed .. and exposed them to the risk of theft. [continues 68 words]
Editor: As an authorized federal medical marijuana user, I reject the notion that the fire officials should be aware of where legal medical marijuana gardens are located. Health Canada is correct in its decision to respect our charter right to personal privacy. I must admit that Health Canada has done little to reduce the harms, which is exactly the same as indoor vegetable gardens. Health Canada was ordered by the courts to allow designated growers to produce medical marijuana for more than one authorized user in one location - thus reducing the amount of legal gardens sprawled out across the nation. [continues 62 words]
Health Canada needs to do more to decrease the public safety risk from legal grow-ops, says Ladysmith's fire chief. Ray Delcourt echoed a call from Canadian fire officials who want the federal department to help improve regulation of licensed homes where pot is grown for medical use. Critics argue that inspectors should have access to the addresses of such homes, which Health Canada keeps secret for reasons of safety and privacy. In Ladysmith last month, a blaze destroyed part of a two-storey home on a hillside street near the golf course. [continues 148 words]
A legal marijuana grow-op may be to blame for the blaze last week that destroyed part of a Ladysmith home. Officials suspect a problem with hydroponic equipment sparked the fire that gutted part of the two-storey house that sits on a secluded hillside street near the town's golf course. Ladysmith fire Chief Ray Delcourt said the owner of the Arbutus Crescent home had the authorization required to grow pot. RCMP Cpl. Doug Brayley said no people were inside the building when the fire started but police and firefighters broke down a door and rescued two dogs. [continues 178 words]
VICTORIA - There's one area of B.C. business investment that's seen a boom in rural areas. Unfortunately, it's organized crime. You may have heard the saga of Likely, a tiny community east of Williams Lake. Last fall RCMP confirmed results of a two-year investigation that found eight properties with buildings fitted for large-scale marijuana growing. At least one of those has been seized under civil forfeiture legislation, a powerful new tool in targeting proceeds of crime. Nine Lower Mainland residents were charged. [continues 449 words]
A motion to scale back a bylaw mandating bi-monthly rental property inspections for illegal drug operations was defeated by North Cowichan council at its last meeting, sparking a debate on political process. Council's 3-3 tie on the motion to amend the controversial bylaw means the original regulation stands. But councillor Dave Haywood, who supported the amendment, says he expects the issue will be revisited when councillor George Seymour returns from vacation. Seymour voted for the amendment in principle at the Sept. 5 council meeting. [continues 485 words]
VICTORIA - The Interior town of Williams Lake has done a good job of highlighting the problem of "prolific offenders" in recent weeks. Instead of playing down its distinction as B.C.'s crime capital as previous honourees Surrey, New Westminster and North Vancouver have done before, Williams Lake Mayor Scott Nelson has used police statistics to tackle the problem head-on. He's put the message out forcefully that the numbers are driven by a handful of hardcore repeat offenders who, especially in a small town, can generate a crime wave all by themselves. But the same story could be told in communities around the province, and it's usually a story about what people will do to get drugs. [continues 517 words]
A North Cowichan bylaw meant to put the kibosh on marijuana grow operations and drug laboratories in rental properties in the area will have a year of implementation before municipal staff take another look at its merits. The bylaw, which was implemented in February, requires landlords to inspect their properties once every six months to ensure they are not being used for illegal purposes. Councillor George Seymour said property owners told him the inspection visits were too costly to conduct, especially for landlords who do not live in the area. [continues 69 words]
Property owners are turning a blind eye to North Cowichan's bylaw mandating property inspections every two months. In February, the municipality introduced the bylaw to crack down on marijuana grow operations. But Rental Owners and Managers Society of British Columbia director Arthur Allan says it is inconveniencing the wrong people. "Owners are going to have to pay an extra $300 a year to get these inspections done," Allan says. "For the average condo or house where property taxes are maybe $1,500, that is a 20 per cent tax increase just to comply with this bylaw." [continues 359 words]
Editor: Re: 'Saltair pot bust nets 60 plants' (The Chronicle, April 10). Ladysmith RCMP Cpl. Rob Graves stated the net street value of 60 plants seized in the arrest was approximately $70,000. Such a claim leads me to two obvious conclusions. 1) Corporal Graves and his "Green Team" task force from the Nanaimo RCMP have been smoking the proceeds of [drug busts] to derive such a net worth from 60 plants, as they seem to believe one plant has a street value of more than $1,000 dollars. [continues 297 words]
Landowners warn North Cowichan's bylaw mandating property inspections every two months is expensive and ineffective. Just over a month after the bylaw took effect, Rental Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia director Arthur Allan told council the new bylaw, meant to crack down on marijuana grow operations, inconveniences the wrong people. "You are going to be annoying people who are not the problem," Allan says. Before the new bylaw, Allan, who is also the president of Rowan Property Management Ltd., would inspect new tenants within the first three months of moving in and every six months thereafter. [continues 493 words]
Editor: The recently enacted bylaw by North Cowichan council to have landlords police their properties for marijuana "grow-ops" places crime control efforts in the wrong hands. Hopefully, Ladysmith town councillors will not be seduced by the same flawed thinking. People grow marijuana for profit because federal politicians refuse to repeal the laws we have today, despite the recommendations for decriminalizing cannabis from two commissions of inquiry in 1969 and 2002. Our current laws against marijuana foster a perpetual black market and all the problems associated with it. Organized crime, violence, property damage, theft of electricity and money-laundering will continue to thrive under our repressive laws. [continues 52 words]
North Cowichan Landlords Will Soon Be Required To Keep Close Tabs On Their Tenants. On Feb. 21, North Cowichan council passed a bylaw that mandates land owners to inspect their rental properties once every two months to ensure tenants are not damaging dwellings. The bylaw is meant to deter people from running marijuana grow operations. "The bylaw is dealing with safety," North Cowichan director of administration Mark Ruttan says. Councillor Glen Ridgway says council worked in conjunction with police to establish the two month time frame. Based on the growth cycle of marijuana, routine checks every two month would prevent plants from reaching maturity. Council hopes the bylaw will prompt landowners to take responsibility for rental properties. [continues 266 words]
When a property owner rents out a home or apartment there is a tacit (and legal) expectation that the tenant will not destroy the property by converting it into a mini-marijuana factory. However, a new bylaw passed by North Cowichan council on Feb. 21 meant to curtail marijuana production in the area and limit the amount of damage that activity does to rental units represents an affront to tenants rights and will do little to limit the amount of marijuana on mid-Island streets. [continues 481 words]
Police and town council are joining forces to meet crystal meth head on. Crystal meth is on their radar, including meth laboratory operations in the community. "We think there is at least one operating in town," said Const. Todd Woon. The community and police have formed a crystal methampethamine task force. The majority of crystal meth is being distributed as ecstasy. Drug dealers capitalize on meth's cheap production cost and highly addictive qualities to unsuspecting drug users who think they're getting something else. [continues 160 words]
What was James Breau thinking when he decided to run the Mid Island Compassion Club and distribute marijuana without a proper licence? Did he think the police wouldn't find out that he was supplying 85 people with highly priced weed? Despite the fact that a 2006 Maclean's Magazine poll concluded 93 per cent of Canadians support the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, it's still illegal to distribute the drug without a licence. Ladysmith resident Mark Russell recently knocked the police for busting Breau, saying the police have now cut off an important source of pain medication for the club members, but how can we knock the police for doing their job? [continues 353 words]
