It's going to be challenging to get the province ready for the federal government's deadline of July 1, 2018, for legalized marijuana in the country, says Premier Rachel Notley. Bills tabled Thursday in the House of Commons in Ottawa kickstart a national move toward legalization of recreational pot for people 18 and older. A lot of decisions in the "very ambitious project" will be left to provinces to figure out before the law takes effect, Notley told reporters Thursday at the Alberta legislature. [continues 466 words]
AIDS Bow Valley is getting the word out about dangerous drugs during Predatory Drug Awareness Week, which is held from July 26-31. Predatory drugs are those used to facilitate sexual assaults, and peer health educator Hana Thorson said the most common one is alcohol. "During the week, throughout all those evenings we're going to be out during our regular bar blitzes but we're going to be talking about predatory drug awareness," she said. There will also be a facts and myths information session held Wednesday, July 29 at the Senior Centre at 7 p.m. discussing the dangers of predatory drugs. [continues 189 words]
Marc Emery made the second stop on his farewell tour in Banff on July 6, speaking at the Central Park gazebo. Emery, known as the "Prince of Pot," is embarking on a cross-Canada tour before he returns to the United States to face incarceration for selling marijuana seeds online. Speaking to a crowd of about 100 people, Emery said that he is "totally proud" of everything he did, and he was happy to see so many people come out to see him. [continues 359 words]
The Libertarians, a party in Canada since 1973, believe the less government the better, and they were in Canmore Thursday during Marijuana Week promoting the idea that the government should get out of regulating its use by adults. They met the press at Hempire, one of three stores owned by the Wild Rose Libertarian candidate Krista Zoobkoff. Leader of six months Calgarian Dennis Young said criminalizing one in five Canadians who admit to using marijuana robs the country of future doctors, teachers and others valuable to its future. [continues 278 words]
Suppose we look at the crime statistics between Whistler and Banff and start to feel good about ourselves. Here we are, two mountain towns where skiing and snowboarding are the favourite winter pastime. We're both populated with a lot of young service workers here for a season to make money and have fun. We both attract thousands of tourists on any given day. But crime wise, Whistler has more of a problem. They have more violent crime, property crime and drug crime than Banff. [continues 213 words]
Cops in Banff say the streets are wild after 2 a.m., but this party town in the mountains has way less crime than Whistler, BC. Whistler has more violent crime, property crime and drug crime than Banff. That's according to numbers released by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics through Statistics Canada. Crime stats are calculated at a rate per 100,000 population. The 2006 statistics were calculated at 7,684 population for Banff and 9,595 population for Whistler, which doesn't account for tourists. [continues 879 words]
With Canadians earning the dubious honour of being the biggest marijuana users in the industrialized world, Bow Valley residents don't buck the toking trend -- though it's not as bad as it used to be. In the United Nations 2007 World Drug Report, it was found Canadians used marijuana four times the world average. Canada was also ranked fifth in the world for pot use behind Ghana, Zambia, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia. As the top industrialized nation on the list, Canada has to contend with being a country ready to light up. [continues 412 words]
Drug dealers out to boost profits are lacing cocaine and ecstasy tablets with methamphetamine to stretch their supplies and hook unsuspecting people. After receiving a tip illegal drugs were being spiked with highly addictive meth and then sold in Banff, the RCMP began to diligently test any drugs seized in town and discovered several batched had been laced. "Unscrupulous drug dealers do it to save money," said Cpl. Mike Stourac, who said meth is 10 per cent the cost of the other drugs. "There's also another drug dealer faction using it to hook unsuspecting people on meth." [continues 290 words]
The looming date of April 20 brings with it this question, have we traded in our hacky sacks for glow sticks? 420 is a term used in cannabis culture to describe the use of marijuana, and although the exact origin of the term is unknown, the end result is a day in which weed lovers alike smoke proudly on the 20th day of the fourth month. Whether or not you condone or condemn the use of the drug, the question is, will local pot smokers have problems lighting up this year on the annual celebration? [continues 361 words]
Re: One man charged after Lake Louise drug bust (March 6 Crag & Canyon) Why are they wasting funds keeping this person in jail? He is not charged with a violent crime that would require he stays locked up. When will we stop wasting huge tax dollar resources on the failed and non-winable drug war? Use the wasted funds on organized crime issues instead of a low level street dealer that will be replaced by another before he even was taken away to jail. I guess we want to model the USA. 1980 50,000 citizens in jail, today over 500,000 in US jails. Private big business in the USA locking up people for non violent crimes. Easier for big business to manage the non violent people equals more easy profits for big business on the tax payers backs of course. Calgary [end]
Seized drugs keep rolling into the Banff RCMP detachment. In the past few months Banff's cops have seized a wide variety of drugs in several busts. They've confiscated everything from marijuana and cocaine to hashish, magic mushrooms (psilocybin) and ecstasy. The seizure success relates to a couple of different factors, according to Mounties. The first is the work of the three-member general investigations section unit shared between Banff and Canmore. The unit has two veteran Banff officers and another long serving member from Canmore. [continues 566 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon -- The Bow Valley's two busiest RCMP detachments have already laid more drug trafficking and trafficking related charges in 2006 than they did in all of 2004. The pace of charges is also more frequent than it was in 2005. Many of the 2006 charges have originated from the combined General Investigations Section for the valley that includes officers in both Banff and Canmore. As of Aug. 4, Mounties in the two communities had laid about 24 trafficking charges and another 27 possession for the purpose of trafficking charges in 2006. Over 50 drug possession charges had also been laid, with the vast majority of those in Banff. The tracking charges included 11 in Canmore and 13 in Banff. [continues 219 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon -- The sixth graders at Banff Elementary know about doing drugs and why they shouldn't be doing them. Last week the Grade 6 students graduated from their 10-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) course offered by the RCMP. Students were taught facts about cigarette smoking and drug use, their negative effects, and how to stand up to peer pressure. Constables Jason Krivoshein and Lisa McKay were teaching the courses and handed out certificates and gifts to the students. [continues 143 words]
Blossoming Use Of Speed Drug Not A Big Concern In Banff Banff Crag & Canyon -- Albertans will have to look behind the pharmacists' counters from now on when purchasing decongestants such as Sudafed. The Alberta government took this action because the drugs, also known as pseudoephedrines, are one of the main ingredients used in crystal meth, an illegal street drug. Although there are many drugs circulating around Banff, authorities say that crystal meth is not one of the most prominently used drugs locally. [continues 643 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon -- Methamphetamine use isn't yet deemed a major problem by Banff Mounties, despite the fact it was raised in the community's highest profile court case last week. "We're just not seeing the abuse here yet," Banff RCMP Staff Sgt. Bill Young said Friday, responding to a question from the Crag about the use of the stimulant in the community. While Young said he certainly couldn't claim the drug isn't being abused in Banff, information compiled by police and other agencies, including Mineral Springs Hospital and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, doesn't point toward widespread abuse of the drug in Banff. Methamphetamine use has been growing in many Alberta communities. [continues 411 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon - Unsuspecting Banff bar patrons are at risk of getting more than expensive booze in their drinks - and that could ultimately put bar owners and staff at risk. That warning came last week from a retired Calgary police officer, who told a small crowd of locals that bar owners need to be more vigilant about stopping drugs from entering their premises, as they may be held accountable. Drug use is a serious problem in Banff, and along with that drug use comes risky behavior and the looming threat of date rape -- something that is sometimes achieved by predators slipping drugs into drinks. [continues 815 words]
If marijuana is legalized in Canada police will have difficulty detecting the level of impairment in questionable drivers. Banff RCMP Staff Sgt. Joe MacDonald is concerned police won't be able to determine the level of impairment of people driving under the influence of marijuana. Unlike the breathalyzer test, used to detect the level of blood alcohol, no such quick test exists for drugs. "The only way to do it (judge the level of drugs in the system) is a blood test," he said. [continues 143 words]
Since tourists made up the main customer base of his Victoria, Nelson and New Denver, B.C., hemp stores Mike Finley thought Banff would be the next logical step to expand his company. Hemp & Company is Banff's newest hemp store selling a wide range of hemp clothing, accessories and health and beauty products. "If you're going to sell to tourists, what better place than Banff," Finley said. The opening of the Bear Street Mall location is planned for May 1st. Finley will hire about three full-time and five part-time staff. [continues 189 words]
Any hopes of renting out the recreation centre or any other Town property for a rave have been dashed. Banff's Town Council made it official Aug. 14 - no municipal property will be rented for the all-night dance parties, which are stuck with a drug-addled reputation. The main concern, the Town says, is for the safety of the dancers. "Town of Banff facilities won't be rented out for the purpose of rave-like events, late-night dance parties that are commercial events," said Mary Brewster, the Town's Community Services facilities and programs manager who is responsible for booking the spaces. [continues 842 words]
Drug use is higher in Banff and Canmore than any other area in the Headwaters Health Authority, according to a recently released health care survey. About 46 per cent of the people questioned in Banff and Canmore were most likely to have used illicit drugs, with marijuana being the most common drug. The joint HHA and University of Calgary survey, which questioned 801 people throughout the entire health region, showed that 30 per cent of those who admitted to drug use smoked dope, 10 per cent used hallucinogens and five per cent cocaine. [continues 534 words]
